The Pop Pirate

Christopher Moore

If you've never read anything by Chris Moore, stop what you're doing, go to your local purveyor of literature, and pick up one of his hilarious books. I suggest starting with Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.

The thing about Moore's work is that he's not just funny- by the way he is hilarious- his work has a unique mix of absurd situations with incredibly real people making surprisingly poingant choices. In the seminal Lamb, for instance, Jesus is reclaimed in the name of rebelious youth and stripped of two-thousand years of Catholic dogma. Biff, the aforementioned childhood friend of ol' Joshua, gives his take on what really went down during the missing 30 years of His life and beyond. He brings an immediacy and reality to a mythic figure, and shows what a cool guy Mr. Nazareth might have been. It is irreverent and hilarious, and way more heartfelt than you might expect.

Then there's The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror. Zombies come to muck up the Christmas of a few of Moore's recurring characters. 'Nuff said.

So, now I've just finished Island of the Sequined Love Nun. This is one of his earlier books, and neither the humor nor the heart are as fully developed as his later works, but it is definatley worth the read. Despite having to carry a bright pink book around work. Between Tucker the geeky jet pilot in a cool guys body, Kimi the Philipino transvestite hooker, Beth the self-styled goddess who really enjoys being naked, Sarapul the grumpy old native who just wants to have a taste of the "long pig," and Roberto the talking bat who wears sunglasses, you're bound to find a character that you can relate to, or at least be tickled by.

If you're looking for a laugh, and a smart read to boot, you could do a lot worse than Chris Moore.

posted by Jeff @ 6:35 PM