Biff, Minty Fresh, and Santa’s Little Helper of Death

I have a very quirky sense of humor. I find odd and random things funny as anyone who knows me or has read my more personal stuff knows. I find meaning in strange things and I sometimes get the feeling that I might live in a different reality than most folks. I appreciate these qualities in books I read too.

The book that started my obsession

Christopher Moore understands me and my sense of humor.

Actually, my mom started me on Christoper Moore. She had picked up “Blood Sucking Fiends” and fell in love with his humor and we started reading everything of his we could get our hands on. “Blood Sucking Fiends” is a brilliantly funny take on a vampire book. I think it is actually more relevant now that we have been inundated with the teenage girl vampire infatuation trend. It is a vampire love story but not like anything a twilitard would swoon over.

So, anyway, I loved “Blood Sucking Fiends” but when I picked up “A Dirty Job” I knew Christopher Moore was actually a demi-god of humor gracing our planet with his tales of humor and delight. This book so clearly defined for me everything I would come to love of Moore’s quirky and touching perspective. The book is a story of a man who finds himself suddenly a widow and a single father and, oh yeah, becomes a Santa’s Little Helper of Death. This book started my obsession with all things Christopher Moore.

He is like all writers. He has some fan-freaking-tastic books and some just awesome books. I haven’t read a book by him that I didn’t find funny and interesting and even his “worst” book is still better a lot of books you can pick up but he has some truly exceptional books that provide an unique perspective into something meaningful.

Two of his books really exemplify this for me: “A Dirty Job” and “Lamb.” While “A Dirty Job” is funny and crazy in it’s circumstances, it is also an oddly sensitive look at relationships, family, grief, and adjusting to life as it throws crap at you like monkeys at the zoo of fate. The main character isn’t a super human or really special in anyway except that he has a big heart and does his best to do what is right.

“Lamb” is the story of Biff, Jesus’s childhood BFF. This story has so many places where it could have sent very wrong in the hands of a mere mortal but in the hands Christopher Moore it managed to be something truly special. This book is not a book for someone who has no sense of humor about their faith but I do think someone with faith and a sense of humor can read this book and enjoy it. Moore attempts to show us what is good about Jesus through the very human eyes of Biff. It doesn’t pretend to be realistic or even sacred, but I felt like he was truly trying to show the love and forgiveness that most of us have heard about our entire lives. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone but I think the right people have a real chance of seeing something meaningful while still funny.

Okay, I can’t not talk about Christopher Moore and not talk about two of my other things about his books, okay well maybe it is one thing with two parts. His books create a unique world in a modern realistic setting. One of the ways he does this is by using the same characters and the same settings in various books. He develops side characters in different books so they add something just by simply being there. For example, there is a character named Minty Fresh, whose father was a dentist, in several of the books. He could have been easily a static comic character, he is a very large black man who dresses in mint green, but throughout several books you learn more about him and he is a certain treat for people who read all of Moore’s books. Moore also manages to do this with his books set in San Fransisco. He creates side characters that weave in and out of his San Fransico books and sometimes you even catch a glimpse of a main character from one book dashing in and out of Moore’s other books.

In summation, Christopher Moore is awesome. You should read his books. They are funny in strange way. Read Him!