Goodreads | Marty's review

Marty's review

A Dirty Job: A Novel
by Christopher Moore

[close]

blog this review

Copy/paste the text below into your blog.

<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50331.A_Dirty_Job_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="A Dirty Job: A Novel" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1170828061m/50331.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50331.A_Dirty_Job_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">A Dirty Job: A Novel</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16218.Christopher_Moore">Christopher Moore</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3644049?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 4 of 5 stars More to come later ... but for now:
 
 If you're familiar with Christopher Moore's work - particularly some of his earlier novels - then you'll recognize the style of this story immediately. His penchant for having subtle cross-overs continues here as some characters from "Blood-sucking Fiends" make an appearance. But that's not the good part. The good part is Moore's irreverent humor as he tackles the battle between good and evil in his trademark off-kilter way.
 
 Charlie - the typical Beta-Male - is about to have his first child, and is wandering through his life as Beta-Males do: worrying about everything that he can, and trying to provide the most stable environment for 'The One' woman who truly loves him. But when he spots a man in his wife's hospital room just before she dies, the lives of him and his new daughter take a drastic, and certifiably odd - turn.
 
 From that moment, Charlie becomes a "Death Merchant", a being tasked with helping the souls of those have died move to the next level of their existence via a soul vessel: an inanimate object with special relevance to that person. The problem is, Charlie doesn't quite get the manual when he becomes a "Santa's Helper of Death", so he has to make up a lot of it on his own - at least until someone comes along and starts to guide him on his path.
 
 His path, however, is destined to be a rocky one: the forces of Evil have gathered in San Francisco, and Charlie must learn not only who he is, but how he can fight off a demon and his minions before they can bring the Underworld above to the domain of man. 
 
 With his trusty sidekicks Dan (the former cop who thinks Charlie may be a serial killer) and Lily (the teenage goth who is jealous that Charlie - a total dweeb - became a Death Merchant instead of her), he moves toward his destiny. Along the way he has to contend with his daughter's burgeoning talents (such as the deadly "kitty" phrase), his lesbian sister's inability to find a good woman but a distinct ability to pilfer Charlie's best suits, his Russian and Chinese neighbors, two hellhounds who have come to stay and a police detective who has seen this all before. 
 
 In the end, Moore's off-the-wall depiction of this fantastic and wild ride is often amusing, if a big odd for many. This isn't his best work - Lamb owns that title - but it was one of his better ones. Not for the faint of heart or those who take themselves too seriously, "A Dirty Job" was a fun read for my time sitting on the beach, laughing not so silently to myself.
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/193946?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Marty's review
rating:
recommended for: avant-garde humorists

More to come later ... but for now:

If you're familiar with Christopher Moore's work - particularly some of his earlier novels - then you'll recognize the style of this story immediately. His penchant for having subtle cross-overs continues here as some characters from "Blood-sucking Fiends" make an appearance. But that's not the good part. The good part is Moore's irreverent humor as he tackles the battle between good and evil in his trademark off-kilter way.

Charlie - the typical Beta-Male - is about to have his first child, and is wandering through his life as Beta-Males do: worrying about everything that he can, and trying to provide the most stable environment for 'The One' woman who truly loves him. But when he spots a man in his wife's hospital room just before she dies, the lives of him and his new daughter take a drastic, and certifiably odd - turn.

From that moment, Charlie becomes a "Death Merchant", a being tasked with helping the sou...more More to come later ... but for now:

If you're familiar with Christopher Moore's work - particularly some of his earlier novels - then you'll recognize the style of this story immediately. His penchant for having subtle cross-overs continues here as some characters from "Blood-sucking Fiends" make an appearance. But that's not the good part. The good part is Moore's irreverent humor as he tackles the battle between good and evil in his trademark off-kilter way.

Charlie - the typical Beta-Male - is about to have his first child, and is wandering through his life as Beta-Males do: worrying about everything that he can, and trying to provide the most stable environment for 'The One' woman who truly loves him. But when he spots a man in his wife's hospital room just before she dies, the lives of him and his new daughter take a drastic, and certifiably odd - turn.

From that moment, Charlie becomes a "Death Merchant", a being tasked with helping the souls of those have died move to the next level of their existence via a soul vessel: an inanimate object with special relevance to that person. The problem is, Charlie doesn't quite get the manual when he becomes a "Santa's Helper of Death", so he has to make up a lot of it on his own - at least until someone comes along and starts to guide him on his path.

His path, however, is destined to be a rocky one: the forces of Evil have gathered in San Francisco, and Charlie must learn not only who he is, but how he can fight off a demon and his minions before they can bring the Underworld above to the domain of man.

With his trusty sidekicks Dan (the former cop who thinks Charlie may be a serial killer) and Lily (the teenage goth who is jealous that Charlie - a total dweeb - became a Death Merchant instead of her), he moves toward his destiny. Along the way he has to contend with his daughter's burgeoning talents (such as the deadly "kitty" phrase), his lesbian sister's inability to find a good woman but a distinct ability to pilfer Charlie's best suits, his Russian and Chinese neighbors, two hellhounds who have come to stay and a police detective who has seen this all before.

In the end, Moore's off-the-wall depiction of this fantastic and wild ride is often amusing, if a big odd for many. This isn't his best work - Lamb owns that title - but it was one of his better ones. Not for the faint of heart or those who take themselves too seriously, "A Dirty Job" was a fun read for my time sitting on the beach, laughing not so silently to myself....less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it) flag

comments (showing 0-0 of 0)

newest »

date

all Marty's books »