Christopher Moore--You Suck: A Love Story
SPOILERS
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
Even if you live 500 miles away from me, you probably heard my giant scream when I heard that Christopher Moore was coming out with a new book. I have a deep, abiding obsession with his books. I gave a gushing and crappy review of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal right here. I can't really pin down what I love most about Moore's writing. He's obviously an absurdist, but I think he's a damn good satirist as well. You Suck is subtle in its satire of the MySpace generation (but absolutely hilarious as "minion" Abby Normal gets her fair share of the narration, sometimes lapsing into pure net-speak that just about fries your brain even as it makes you laugh out loud), and also what I thought of as its critique of the whole romance-novel genre and horror genre at the same time--it pokes fun at them both while simultaneously being both extremely romantic and scary in lots of parts.
But most of all, it's funny as all get-out. The story is a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends, in which we were first introduced to the vampire Jody and to C. Thomas Flood, the small-town Indiana boy who became her boyfriend and minion. The very first line of this book sets up the plot, as Tommy says, "You bitch, you killed me! You suck!" Jody's explanation: "I wanted us to be together." That's the set-up. Throw in the Animals, who Tommy worked with at a Safeway grocery store, Abby Normal and her friend Jared White Wolf, two confused, goth-wannabe teens who eventually get mixed up in this mess, a blue hooker from Vegas named, appropriately, Blue, the evil vampire who turned Jody, Elijah Ben Sapir, and a giant shaved cat named Chet, and you are in for a comic tour-de-force. I was also glad to see recurring Moore characters like the Emperor of San Francisco and his loyal troops Bummer and Lazarus, as well as detectives Cavuto and Rivera. There is even a cameo treat for longtime Moore fans: Charlie Asher, the protagonist from A Dirty Job, show up briefly in a scene that also appeared in that book. In Job, it was from Charlie's point of view; in You Suck, it's from Jody's. There's even a hilarious Phantom of the Opera reference, as well. ("I heard people tried to kill themselves rather than sit through it." "Something like that.")
Moore's dialogue is crisp, realistic, and howl-out-loud funny. More than once my roommate asked me what the hell I was laughing at. The action is fast and slick, but the plotline and story come together into a satisfying, hysterical, and altogether sweet ending. Seriously, I love it. I can't wait until his next book.
5 Stars out of 5.
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
Even if you live 500 miles away from me, you probably heard my giant scream when I heard that Christopher Moore was coming out with a new book. I have a deep, abiding obsession with his books. I gave a gushing and crappy review of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal right here. I can't really pin down what I love most about Moore's writing. He's obviously an absurdist, but I think he's a damn good satirist as well. You Suck is subtle in its satire of the MySpace generation (but absolutely hilarious as "minion" Abby Normal gets her fair share of the narration, sometimes lapsing into pure net-speak that just about fries your brain even as it makes you laugh out loud), and also what I thought of as its critique of the whole romance-novel genre and horror genre at the same time--it pokes fun at them both while simultaneously being both extremely romantic and scary in lots of parts.
But most of all, it's funny as all get-out. The story is a sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends, in which we were first introduced to the vampire Jody and to C. Thomas Flood, the small-town Indiana boy who became her boyfriend and minion. The very first line of this book sets up the plot, as Tommy says, "You bitch, you killed me! You suck!" Jody's explanation: "I wanted us to be together." That's the set-up. Throw in the Animals, who Tommy worked with at a Safeway grocery store, Abby Normal and her friend Jared White Wolf, two confused, goth-wannabe teens who eventually get mixed up in this mess, a blue hooker from Vegas named, appropriately, Blue, the evil vampire who turned Jody, Elijah Ben Sapir, and a giant shaved cat named Chet, and you are in for a comic tour-de-force. I was also glad to see recurring Moore characters like the Emperor of San Francisco and his loyal troops Bummer and Lazarus, as well as detectives Cavuto and Rivera. There is even a cameo treat for longtime Moore fans: Charlie Asher, the protagonist from A Dirty Job, show up briefly in a scene that also appeared in that book. In Job, it was from Charlie's point of view; in You Suck, it's from Jody's. There's even a hilarious Phantom of the Opera reference, as well. ("I heard people tried to kill themselves rather than sit through it." "Something like that.")
Moore's dialogue is crisp, realistic, and howl-out-loud funny. More than once my roommate asked me what the hell I was laughing at. The action is fast and slick, but the plotline and story come together into a satisfying, hysterical, and altogether sweet ending. Seriously, I love it. I can't wait until his next book.
5 Stars out of 5.