The
Stupidest Angel
By
Christopher Moore
"Christopher
Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of that word,"
says noted author Carl Hiaasen on the back cover of The Stupidest
Angel. This was a Christmas gift to me from my oldest son, who bought
the book for me based on that comment.
The
Stupidest Angel takes place in Pine Cove, CA. These are indeed
the wackiest characters I have encountered in ages. It all begins
with Lena Marques, who is working the Salvation Army buckets in
the parking lot of the local supermarket, getting into a confrontation
with a real-estate developer when he refuses to make a deposit in
the bucket. From there there is no stopping them. Everybody is soon
involved, and before you can say "Merry Christmas," Santa
Claus is being beaten with a shovel out in the woods at the edge
of town, and a very weird stranger (whose constant companion is
a fruit bat that used to talk but has lost his verbal abilities)
helps her bury the body. The only problem is that a little boy witnesses
the whole thing, and he doesn't know quite what to do, as he has
just left his best friend, a Jewish boy, who insists that Santa
Claus isn't real, anyway.
Enter
the angel, whose only instructions upon being sent back to earth
were that he was to perform a miracle on Christmas eve for a child.
What child does he encounter and decide to help? None other than
the witness to the murder! When he goes to the cemetery, after deciding
to try out his "super powers" to resurrect Santa, he sort
of overdoes it, and the whole cemetery rises to the occasion, and
the local celebration is invaded by the dead, who decide to take
matters into their own hands to revenge their deaths on those who
caused them. The only problem is, how do you kill a dead man?
If
you want the joys of the holidays to last just a little bit longer,
this one is sure to do it. You will be falling off your chair laughing.
It does come with this warning by the author, "If you're buying
this book as a gift for your grandma or a kid, you should be aware
that it contains cusswords as well as tasteful depictions of cannibalism
and people in their forties having sex. Don't blame me. I told you."
Well
worth the effort, even after the season.
|
The
Book |
William
Morrow |
2004 |
Hard
cover |
0060590254 |
Mystery/Humor |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt
|
NOTE:
Some intense language, as well as a bit of violence |
The
Reviewer |
Janet Elaine Smith |
Reviewed
2005 |
NOTE:
Janet Elaine Smith is the author of 12 published novels, as
well as a well-known magazine writer of over 25 years. Her
next Patrick and Grace Mystery, Old Habits Die Hard,
should be out this spring.
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