Noir - Christopher Moore 4/5

[Nicole D.]

This isn't a totally trademark Christopher Moore book, but you know what? I'm totally OK with that. People evolve and frankly I didn't want to read a formulaic novel.

I struggled a bit at first - I think Moore was working on creating the Noir feel and it just felt like a lot of words going nowhere. But I'm a fan and I knew that it couldn't be that far off the mark, so I needed to persevere. What came next was maybe a little sophisticated that we perhaps expect.

San Francisco 1947. Your ragtag bunch of misfits get caught up in something which would be too much to handle for most. Using their street smarts they slither from one trouble to the next yet manage to overcome. The characters are great (typically Moore) and at the center of story is the relationship between Two Toes and the Cheese, which I absolutely loved. I don't know what it was about those two together, but for me it was magic.

The only disappointment for me was the lack of laugh out loud moments. It's humorous but definitely more subdued.

San Francisco is often featured prominently in Moore novels, and this (for me) was a new and fresh look at the City. In the afterword he gives us a glimpse into the process of writing this book and into the people and places who influenced him. I loved that. It made the reading of the book more special.

I enjoyed it.

[Anita]

I see your love for Moore burns bright! I wish I had authors I loved as much. My closest is Elizabeth Strout . . .but I like the idea of wanting to read everything an author writes. And I'm not really close on any author.