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Century City After Hours
By Edward T. Swanson
FOR THE BOOKSHELF
A (Sort Of) Retelling of King Lear: Fool by Christopher Moore
I was forced to read King Lear in high school. Once was enough, I thought. However, Christopher Moore has transformed this (tedious) tragedy into a rollicking, bawdy comedy. The humor will make you laugh so hard your side may start to hurt. However, beware! This is not a novel for those who are offended by coarse language or sex. As the author himself in his introductory Warning: “This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as non-traditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank.” The warning is an accurate one. Nevertheless, in Fool, the quality of humor is not strained. Nay, it falleth from the book in torrents, sweeping away any dour attitude of the reader.
The protagonist of Fool is Pocket, the fool for King Lear. Pocket has a biting wit that is something of a cross between Groucho Marx and Jack Nicholson’s character in As Good As It Gets. Pocket’s wit is nearly the end of him on numerous occasions, but his tongue refuses to be bridled. Pocket, in a role sadly missing from the original King Lear, manages to protect his witless (but thankfully not fool-less) king and manipulate the other characters into a satisfactory conclusion. This is a wonderful book to pick up when in need of some mental relaxation and laughter.
I particularly enjoy the unabridged audio book version of Fool, performed by Euan Morton. Morton is a master at bringing the characters to life, and the audio version is excellent for passing the time during a long drive. Beware, however: excessive laughter can make steering the car a bit difficult at times.
Christopher Moore is one of my favorite authors. Prior works by Moore include Bloodsucking Fiends, a marvelous tale about how a young woman who is turned into a vampire, and the young man who falls in love with her (when he is not frozen turkey bowling late at night at the Safeway where he works), The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, a hilariously warped novel about a prehistoric monster who spends much of the book disguised as an RV, and of course Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, a hilarious interpretation of Jesus’ childhood. Moore is twisted in the best of ways, and to paraphrase Will Rogers, I never met a Moore book I didn’t like.
RESULTS FROM PRIOR TRIVIA CONTEST
Congratulations to Louis Dienes, who knew the answer to the trivia questions in the last article. The answers are below:
- Black Or White was by Michael Jackson
- Born To Be Wild was by Steppenwolf
- Cryin’ was by the immortal Roy Orbison
- Feeling Good was by Nina Simone
- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction was by the Rolling Stones
- If I Can’t Have You was by the Bee Gees
- Mad World was by Tears for Fears
- One was by U-2
- Play That Funky Music was by Wild Cherry
- Ring Of Fire was by Johnny Cash (and also June Carter)
- The Tracks Of My Tears was by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
- Whole Lotta Love was by Led Zeppelin
NEW TRIVIA CONTEST
Forty years ago, during the year 1970, Richard Nixon was President, television commercials for cigarettes were banned; the disbanding of the Beatles was announced; Elvis Presley did a concert tour for the first time in 12 years; Janis Joplin died of an overdose of heroin; Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury cartoon strip debuts in newspapers. The following songs were hits during 1970. Please name the performer, or just send an email to say hello, to etswanson@att.net.
- Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Let It Be
- War
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
- American Woman
- Evil Ways
- 25 Or 6 To 4
- Lola
- Fire And Rain
- Cracklin’ Rose
- Mama Told Me (Not To Come)
- Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head
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