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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Another great, funny read by Christopher Moore. I have read all three books in the Pine Cove series and have found them all uniformly excellent. I feel like this review is too brief, but there's really not much to add. Moore is hilarious - he hasn't let me down yet.
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Laugh out loud funny and utterly ridiculous the whole way through. I enjoyed this immensely and it fit exactly into the Moore style. This is 4 stars, but a very high end of that. I think I'll read more of his silliness this year.
I forgot how much more demented Moore was in his early days - like, WOW. I keep wanting to describe this as "demented and sad, but social" even if the book and that quote are more than a decade apart. Like all great literature, this story includes: a stoner cop, an Amish murder, a trailer park, a dive bar, a sea monster, an ex-B-movie star, anti-depressants, a greasy spoon, a blues musician, a robotic barkeep, doggie insights, religious fanatics, and tons of erections.
The characters are caricatures, of course, but it doesn't stop you from loving them. The antics are outlandish but if you pick up a book with this title and think that won't be the case, you have only yourself to blame.
Every line is ridiculous but the writing is fantastic. Instead of coming off completely camp (Motherfucking Sharks, anyone?) it's got a combo pop-reality meets "magical realism" vibe that I just love. Def passing this one along.
The characters are caricatures, of course, but it doesn't stop you from loving them. The antics are outlandish but if you pick up a book with this title and think that won't be the case, you have only yourself to blame.
Every line is ridiculous but the writing is fantastic. Instead of coming off completely camp (Motherfucking Sharks, anyone?) it's got a combo pop-reality meets "magical realism" vibe that I just love. Def passing this one along.
A silly story of a giant sea monster that comes to shore in the sleepy tourist town of Pine Cove, CA. The monster can send brainwaves to those around it, making them give themselves up to be his meal, or making them very horny. At the same time, the town's psychiatrist, feeling guilty that one of her patients has committed suicide, decides she has been over-medicating her patients and puts them all on placebos. Large-scale drug withdrawal + mind-altering sea monster = silly things.
I guess I'm just not much of a Christopher Moore fan. Like other books of his that I've read, this one is funny, but not laugh out loud funny. The characters are endearing and likeable. But the book doesn't quite get the absurdism right, somehow. It's too absurd to be realistic, but not absurd enough to be a total fantasy.
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was wonderful.
I honestly wasn't impressed with this book at all until somewhere between half and two-thirds of the way through, at which point it became hilarious. I found most of the characters annoying until events caused them to develop in accordance with the mandate that characters grow and become better people...or get eaten. Having finished now, though, I have to say that it was pretty good and I became fond of some of the characters by the end.
somewhere around 4.5/5*
aside from the absolutely absurd and outrageous plot, the pacing of this book was much better than the first in the pine cove series. the ending was much more satisfying as well. overall a super entertaining read, as always with christopher moore’s work.
aside from the absolutely absurd and outrageous plot, the pacing of this book was much better than the first in the pine cove series. the ending was much more satisfying as well. overall a super entertaining read, as always with christopher moore’s work.
This isn't my favorite Christopher Moore book, but it is always darkly delightful to read his books. I recommend "The Stupidest Angel" for Christmastime. The next CM book I want to read is "Bloodsucking Fiends."
Another delight from Moore. A great weekend read during the summer. #SteveLives