More Moore

So back at the end of 2010 I gave a list of my favorite 2010 reads and my discovery of Christopher Moore. Well, I picked up Fluke this time. And this was the good Moore that I came to love. I had listened to some of his newer stuff on audio and was saddened by his lack of hidden wisdom within the book. But Fluke again reveals Christopher Moore at his best- a crudely humourous book that still makes you feel like you learned something in the end. This time we follow researchers in the study of cetaceans (aka whales, dolphins, marine mammals) all while experiencing whales that wave with their penises and a Rastafarian white boy.

In general, here is what I like about Christopher Moore. He can be crude and foul but he's funny and very smart. Usually crude humor is just that and I don't find it funny at all but when you mix it with religion Shakespeare and now whale science you have my attention. Only Moore can make me envious of the catch phrase "fuckery most foul" and he designs these fabulous characters that always surprise you. His plot lines are usually limited to a basic quest whose mystery is always a little magical but I think that sticking to that has allowed him to do what he does best which is character design and giving us an easy read that makes us laugh and gives us something new. Or at least that is when he is at his best. Other works like bite me have disappointed in a big way but Biff, Fool and now Fluke have made it on my list as some of my favorite humor literature.

Fluke is about studying the Humpback whales song and is set in Hawaii which lends itself naturally to great story lines and characters. There are nods to culture mythology, the Beatles, and Douglas Adams. Mixed in with truthful knowledge about the work being done with whales and Rastafarian lingo. He is still his crude self with way too much talk of whale penises including the description of a three some with two male whales and a research boat that will have any woman switching teams but it's that bizarre mixture that makes me love good Moore. Bonus is the protagonist is Canadian and did his undergrad at the U of S, but the worst part of this book is he spelled Saskatchewan wrong every. single. time. And since every other locale was spelled correctly I can't imagine why it would've been an intentional error.

So if you need a light summer read that is still worth your time and you can handle the humor I highly recommend it. I think I'll be picking up more of his in the future.