Fool audiobook

It is little secret that I think that Christopher Moore is one of the funniest writers currently putting ink to page. Whether he's writing about playing stone the adulteress with Jesus, talking fruit bats or a schizophrenic former B-movie star who still believes that she's a warrior babe of the outlands, Moore almost never fails to leave you panting on the floor with tears in your eyes and lungs aching for air. Needless to say, I was all up ons Fool when I first heard of it.A humorous take on Shakespeare's King Lear told from the perspective of the royal jester, a fool named Pocket. Moore gets to wield his wit against such worthy targets as the British, the French, Royals, Shakespeare, redheads, scullery maids, British cuisine, witches, the hopelessly mad and, of course, the epically tragic Lear himself. Hell, one could roast Lear for hours and still have enough material left over for a follow-up. He's always been my least favorite of Shakespeare's protagonists and I loved reading Moore take him down a notch or two.If anything though, the book hewed too closely to the source material which only rarely allowed Moore to let loose with his trademark hilarity. The tongue-in-cheek takes on death and mortality that made A Dirty Job such a great read are missing here. Pocket tries to lighten the mood but when you are competing against the heinous fuckery of Lear's daughters you can't help but get dragged into dark waters. Still, it's a deliciously fun read that I'm sure I'll return to. Those looking to read Moore for the first time would be better off with Lamb or A Dirty Job.

I'm gonna go ahead and co-opt a term Dan used in his review of this bawdy book, and call it simply Moore-gasmic. Fuckstockings! is just one of the many expletives and/or insults that spew forth from the mouth of King Lear's fool, Pocket, that I'm hoping to sneak into my everyday vocabulary. Twatgoblin and chunder-monkey (used to refer to the King's bulimic royal taster) will definitely be making appearances as well. I'm not sure how much use I'll have for boffnacity, but I'll give you Pocket's helpful footnote just in case. Boffnacity—an expression of shagnatiousness, fit. From the Latin boffusnatious. Between Pocket's repertoire for off-color songs (including the "solemn ballad, Dragon Spooge Befouled My Bonny Bonny Lass” and the upbeat shanty, “Alehouse Lilly - She’ll Bonk You Silly") and his use of his puppet (and sometimes weapon), Jones, I couldn't help but be reminded of Gob and Franklin (and, obviously, Buster's Franklin highjacking as well). Christopher Moore's humor is of a specific breed that can't quite be described, but that leaves me literally (I'm using the term correctly) LOLing. I didn't enjoy this one quite so much as I did Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (one of my favorite books of all time), but that's likely due to my unfamiliarity with King Lear.

This was great even though it's been too long since I read King Lear & only have the vaguest recollections of the original. It didn't matter. Actually, it might have been a plus since I had no real expectations of where Moore was going with this. Sometimes I wondered if he knew, but it turned out he did & he eventually got there, not without a lot of shagging, death, & horribly funny situations, though.There was horror, but there was more fun & sex and a lot of funny sex. I can still see Pocket embracing the wall when the Bishop walked in. It's a good thing I was alone while I listened to this as I'm sure I was cackling out loud like a demented crone. They were in the story, too. Three of them, first met in Birnam Wood. Oh, you thought this was just a retelling of King Lear? No, it's mostly that, sort of, but Moore tossed in whatever seemed to work at the time, including the fucking French. Nothing is said in French or about the French, it's always the 'fucking French'. Does that offend you? Do poofters, carpet munchers, twats, discount Popes, manly nuns, & spunk monkeys? If so, don't read this. Even the place names are hilarious, such as Dog Snogging. As one of my friends wrote in his review, "...it's mind bogglingly vulgar at times." Quite often, in fact.This was REALLY good as an audio book narrated by Euan Morton. His voices, tones, & accents were superb & added a lot to the story. Shakespeare's barbs, jests, & curses rolled trippingly off his tongue no matter which character delivered them, but The Fool was always the best. While there were a lot of great characters, he was fantastic.My edition had an excellent afterword by the author. I pity him for his research, but thank him very much for the final project. Highly recommended. While I've enjoyed a couple of other books by him, none of the struck me quite so well or repeatedly in the funny bone.

Okay I laughed out loud numerous times reading this book. Bawdy, witty, a mishmash of various Shakespearean plays. Packet, the fool, is the main character and he rains barbed insults down on everybody from King Lear to the laundress (with spectacular breasts). This dangerous need to express himself leads to the daily threat, sometimes several times a day, of being hung (once even threatened with being hung twice) or run through with something sharp and deadly. I used this book as my "just before bed" reading. There is nothing like a shameful chuckle at the end of the day to cast aside the cares of the world. I read a good bit of the book to my wife. The need to share the best parts with someone is always the sign of a good book and in this case a very fun book.

"Life is loneliness, broken only by the gods taunting us with friendship and the odd bonk."Not since Shakespeare has Shakespeare been this clever. "Fool" is a retelling of Shakespeare's "King Lear" from the Fool's perspective. The fool in Shakespeare's text is an integral supporting character who utters most of the play's philosophical secrets. Moore picks up on that and expands it into the plot for this novel.Although I have heard many people say (including Mr. Moore) that you don't need to be familiar with "King Lear" in order to appreciate this book, I am not sure I agree. The basis of the plot is that all of the intrigues that one reads and sees in the original play are actually the machinations of the fool, named Pocket in Moore's version, who is manipulating almost all of the novel's actions. This is a clever device, and well woven into the original story from the play. It is appreciated on a whole other level if one can actually recognize what Moore is doing. In order to get this, one must know Shakespeare's "King Lear".One of the strengths and weakness of this text is its humor. It is clever, and mindbogglingly vulgar at times. That is a blessing and a curse. Too much of a good thing becomes an irritation, and after a while it takes away from the story and the characters themselves, turning them into caricatures. A little more restraint on Moore's part with the bawdy humor would have gone a long way.One of the strengths of this text is the creation of Pocket. His is a wonderful voice to guide the reader and through his eyes most of the other characters come across as believable, despite some of their more outrageous characteristics. No easy feat, kudos to Moore.This comic novel has some touching moments, and if you are familiar with British humor, you will enjoy the numerous nods Mr. Moore makes to a style of humor that he freely admits he loves. Also fun for those who are familiar with the Bard are the references to at least a dozen of his other works strewn throughout the text. The novel mimics and celebrates the anachronisms to be found in Shakespeare and also very cleverly utilizes the pagan and Christina references that are both in the original "King Lear"I enjoyed this novel, but the ending is a letdown. Rather anti-climactic after the buildup that precedes it. Still, it is better than many other reading choices, and if it leads you to Shakespeare, then even better.

Moore takes the idea of re-telling King Lear from the Fool's perspective and makes a very funny hash of the whole thing. My second favorite Moore novel after Lamb now.

OK so, I don't wright many reviews, but I had to for this one because it is one of the funniest books I have ever read. Even if you hate Shakespeare or can't stand the sound of iambic pentameter, this book will make you laugh. If it doesn't, well then at least you know that you don't have a good sense of humor... and that's a good thing to know.

Yet another outrageously hilarious tome from the keyboard of Christopher Moore! I know for a fact that not all of my friends and family will like Fool, but many will love it as much as I did, and many will be rolling around laughing, in fits of laughter, as I was. The jester of the court of King Lear, known as Pocket, proceeds to orchestrate the history of England, Great Britain and most of Western Europe. There is very little authenticity, quite deliberately, and absolutely no respect for either royalty or aristocracy. I particularly liked the pseudo glossary, which you really must refer to as you hit the reference marks on your journey through the book. Examples include:Tosser - one who tosses, a wanker. The dog's bollocks! - Excellent! The bee's knees! The cat's pj's. Literally, the dog's balls, which doesn't seem to be a great thing, yet, there you are. Now, this truly is authentic English usage!Balls up - Slang, to ruin, to fuck up, also "bollocks up" and "cock up."I was actually surprised that Moore didn't use this opportunity to transfer the legendary cock up of King Alfred's burning of the cakes to King Lear!The author's notes at the end should not be over-skipped. They are well wort reading. Christopher Moore must be delighted that the London 2012 Olympics were centred on Stratford. The only pity is that the IOC omitted the one sport that Moore recommended. You'll see what I mean!My final thought on Fool is that I couldn't help noticing a similarity between the opening lines of this book and those of Puckoon. Here we have "Tosser!" said the Raven, there we have "Caw" said the crow. Both books made me laugh in equal measure. PS. If historical inaccuracies irritate you, you'll be scratching like you've got fleas!

Ah, Christopher Moore rewrites King Lear (and steals from host of other Shakespeare's works in the process) and presents a delightful, bawdy comedic romp through soggy Britain. Fool tells the tale of Pocket, King Lear's favorite Fool, and the events that unfold as King Lear is driven into madness and destruction, and the kingdom is divided amidst treachery, scheming, princesses, fuckery, washerwomen names Bubble and Squeak, and a bloody ghost (there is always a bloody ghost, of course). And lovely Pocket is right in the middle of it all with his jangling bells and handy little stick. And there are three witches with a boiling cauldron, too. It will keep you laughing out loud and learning all sorts interesting new definitions to the English language. I do believe Fuckstockings is my favorite new swearword.

A shaggalious good time!Christopher Moore nails it again with his twisted take on King Lear from the point of view of the Fool. Pocket, a sarcastic, manipulating, horny little court jester, takes us for a wild ride of shagging, fighting, shagging, warring, shagging, murdering, shagging.... you get the point.Oh, and there's a ghost. There's always a bloody ghost!I have not read the original, (gasp), but I don't feel it's necessary. Moore takes court jestering and kings and loyality to a whole new level!!

Fool is Christopher Moore's comic retelling of the Shakespeare tragedy King Lear. Not to mention numerous references to other Shakesperean plays. You've got your witches, your ghost, your regacide... But, in my mind, Moore displays his own comic genius best when he combines Shakespeare with Dr. Seuss and gives us a ditty called Green Eggs And Hamlet Green eggs or not green eggs ? Whether' tis nobler in the mind to eat them in a box with a fox--