Fool: A Novel

✍ Scribed by Christopher Moore

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 190 KB
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN: 0060590319

✦ Synopsis

A man of infinite jest, Pocket has been Lear's cherished fool for years, from the time the king's grown daughters - selfish, scheming Goneril, sadistic but hot Regan, and sweet, loyal Cordelia - were mere girls. So he can see trouble brewing when Lear demands that his kids swear their undying love and devotion before a collection of assembled guests. Of course Goneril and Regan are only too happy to brownnose Dad. But Cordelia's blunt honesty ends up costing her her rightful share of the kingdom and earns her a banishment to boot. The only person who can possibly make things right is Pocket, who has already managed to sidestep catastrophe on numerous occasions, using his razor-sharp mind, rapier wit and the equally well-honed daggers he keeps conveniently hidden behind his back. He's going to have to do some very fancy maneuvering - cast some spells, incite a few assassinations, start a war or two (the usual stuff) - and shag every lusciously shaggable wench who's amenable along the way. Pocket may be a fool ...but he's definitely not an idiot.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Here's the Cliff Notes you wished you'd had for King Learthe mad royal, his devious daughters, rhyming ghosts and a castle full of hot intriguein a cheeky and ribald romp that both channels and chides the Bard and all Fate's bastards. It's 1288, and the king's fool, Pocket, and his dimwit apprentice, Drool, set out to clean up the mess Lear has made of his kingdom, his family and his fortuneonly to discover the truth about their own heritage. There's more murder, mayhem, mistaken identities and scene changes than you can remember, but bestselling Moore (You Suck) turns things on their head with an edgy 21st-century perspective that makes the story line as sharp, surly and slick as a game of Grand Theft Auto. Moore confesses he borrows from at least a dozen of the Bard's plays for this buffet of tragedy, comedy and medieval porn action. It's a manic, masterly mixwinning, wild and something today's groundlings will applaud. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

In Moores randy alternate Britain, in which Lear is a thirteenth-century monarch rather than the fourth-century BCE figure he most probably was (if he was real, not legendary), the fool doesnt disappear in the third-act storm. Indeed, he sets the ball rolling that eventually crushes the king, his ingrate elder daughters, and most of the others that perish in Shakespeares most devastating tragedy. He and Cordelia survive, though, as well they might, since the fool loves Cordelia. Hows that for a new wrinkle? Others include a horny, dumbbell, giant apprentice fool, named Drool after his chronic propensity; all manner of hot-to-trot supernumeraries; and more or less wall-to-wall, farcical fornicating and fighting. While a jolly good time can be had, the horror and high pathos of the basic plot frequently douse the comic and sexual fires like so much ice water in the face, or lower. King Lear is one tough play to parody, at least at this length, and the book feels like something Moore had to get out of his system. His legion of fans will forgivingly enjoy it,while newcomersshould be quickly steered toward The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (1999) or The Stupidest Angel (2004) for a giddy taste of Moore at his ludicrous best. --Ray Olson

✦ Subjects

A Novel