Practical Demonkeeping

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Overview

In Christopher Moore's ingenious debut novel, we meet one of the most memorably mismatched pairs in the annals of literature. The good-looking one is one-hundred-year-old ex-seminarian and "roads" scholar Travis O'Hearn. The green one is Catch, a demon with a nasty habit of eating most of the people he meets. Behind the fake Tudor façade of Pine Cove, California, Catch sees a four-star buffet. Travis, on the other hand, thinks he sees a way of ridding himself of his toothy traveling companion. The winos, neo-pagans, and deadbeat Lotharios of Pine Cove, meanwhile, have other ideas. And none of them is quite prepared when all hell breaks loose.

Though he appears to be 20 years old, Travis O'Hearn is really 90--and he has been trying to get rid of Catch, his demon companion, for the last 70 years. He would enjoy the eternal youth granted him by the demon, except Catch has a nasty habit of eating humans for dinner. Martin's.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

A people-eating demon threatens a sleepy California resort town in Moore's offbeat, witty debut. (Nov.)

Kirkus Reviews

Good-natured, often funny, but excessively complicated tale that matches a people-eating demon against his reluctant master and the citizens of a small California town. First-novelist Moore throws in more plot twists than the Pacific Coast highway has curves. He obviously knows and is amused by the flawed but feisty denizens with which he inhabits Pine Grove, south of the Big Sur wilderness area. To this tourist town comes Travis O'Hearn, a 20-year-old who, 70 years before, got saddled with a demon, Catch, who gave him eternal youth plus problems. Catch is sometimes under Travis's control but often not, particularly when he's hungry. Travis wants out, namely by finding an incantation that will return the demon to Hell. On Travis's side are the King of the Djinns and August Brine, Pine Grove's purveyor of bait, tackle, and fine wines. Others who swell the cast past overflowing include waitress Jenny and her estranged, alcoholic husband Robert; tough old Mavis, who owns the Head of the Slug bar (it had been Head of the Wolf until animal-rights activists leaned on her); retired woodcarving codger Effrom and his wife Amanda; hotel night auditor Billy Winston, who flirts with other males by computer modem while wearing red silk panties; once-battered Rachael, who runs a coven to empower women through worship of the Goddess; and Detective Sergeant Alfonse Rivera, who fears he will end up bagging microwave burritos at a 7-Eleven unless he nails down a case. The author's youthful high spirits, insight into small-town people, and comic brashness help to overcome the fact that too many characters jump through too many hoops with too much unnecessary hocus-pocus.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780060735425
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 5/25/2004
Pages: 256
Sales rank: 105,813
Series: Pine Cove Series , #1
Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author

Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is the author of twelve previous novels: Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Lamb, Fluke, The Stupidest Angel, A Dirty Job, You Suck, Fool, and Bite Me. He lives in San Francisco, California.

Biography

A 100-year-old ex-seminarian and a demon set off together on a psychotic road trip...
Christ's wisecracking childhood pal is brought back from the dead to chronicle the Messiah's "missing years"...

A mild-mannered thrift shop owner takes a job harvesting souls for the Grim Reaper...

Whence come these wonderfully weird scenarios? From the fertile imagination of Christopher Moore, a cheerfully demented writer whose absurdist fiction has earned him comparisons to master satirists like Kurt Vonnegut, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams.

Ever since his ingenious debut, 1992's Practical Demonkeeping, Moore has attracted an avid cult following. But, over the years, as his stories have become more multi-dimensional and his characters more morally complex, his fan base has expanded to include legions of enthusiastic general readers and appreciative critics.

Asked where his colorful characters come from, Moore points to his checkered job resume. Before becoming a writer, he worked at various times as a grocery clerk, an insurance broker, a waiter, a roofer, a photographer, and a DJ -- experiences he has mined for a veritable rogue's gallery of unforgettable fictional creations. Moreover, to the delight of hardcore fans, characters from one novel often resurface in another. For example, the lovesick teen vampires introduced in 1995's Bloodsucking Fiends are revived (literally) for the 2007 sequel You Suck -- which also incorporates plot points from 2006's A Dirty Job.

For a writer of satirical fantasy, Moore is a surprisingly scrupulous researcher. In pursuit of realistic details to ground his fiction, he has been known to immerse himself in marine biology, death rituals, Biblical scholarship, and Goth culture. He has been dubbed "the thinking man's Dave Barry" by none other than The Onion, a publication with a particular appreciation of smart humor.

As for story ideas, Moore elaborates on his website: "Usually [they come] from something I read. It could be a single sentence in a magazine article that kicks off a whole book. Ideas are cheap and easy. Telling a good story once you get an idea is hard." Perhaps. But, to judge from his continued presence on the bestseller lists, Chris Moore appears to have mastered the art.

Good To Know

In researching his wild tales, Moore has done everything from taking excursions to the South Pacific to diving with whales. So what is left for the author to tackle? He says he'd like to try riding an elephant.

One of the most memorably weird moments in Moore's body of work is no fictional invention. The scene in Bloodsucking Fiendswhere the late-night crew of a grocery store bowls with frozen turkeys is based on Moore's own experiences bowling with frozen turkeys while working the late shift at a grocery store.

1. Hometown:
  
  Hawaii and San Francisco, California
1. Date of Birth:
  
  August 5, 1958
2. Place of Birth:
  
  Toledo, Ohio
1. Website:
  
  http://www.chrismoore.com

Read an Excerpt

Practical Demonkeeping

Chapter One

The Breeze

The Breeze blew into San Junipero in the shotgun seat of Billy Winston's Pinto wagon. The Pinto lurched dangerously from shoulder to centerline, the result of Billy trying to roll a joint one-handed while balancing a Coors tallboy and bopping to the Bob Marley song that crackled through the stereo.

"We be jammin' now, mon!" Billy said, toasting The Breeze with a slosh of the Coors.

The Breeze shook his head balefully. "Keep the can down, watch the road, let me roll the doobie," he said.

"Sorry, Breeze," Billy said. "I'm just stoked that we're on the road. "

Billy's admiration for The Breeze was boundless. The Breeze was truly cool, a party renaissance man. He spent his days at the beach and his nights in a cloud of sinsemilla. The Breeze could smoke all night, polish off a bottle of tequila, maintain well enough to drive the forty miles back to Pine Cove without arousing the suspicion of a single cop, and be on the beach by nine the next morning acting as if the term hangover were too abstract to be considered. On Billy Winston's private fist of personal heroes The Breeze ranked second only to David Bowie.

The Breeze twisted the joint, fit it, and handed it to Billy for the first hit.

"What are we celebrating?" Billy croaked, trying to hold in the smoke.

The Breeze held up a finger to mark the question, while he dug the Dionysian Book of Days: An Occasion for Every Party from the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt. He flipped through the pages until he found the correct date. "Nambian Independence Day, " he announced.

"Bitchin'," Billy said. "Party down forNambian Independence."

"It says," The Breeze continued, "that the Nambians celebrate their independence by roasting and eating a whole giraffe and drinking a mixture of fermented guava juice and the extract of certain tree frogs that are thought to have magical powers. At the height of the celebration, all the boys who have come of age are circumcised with a sharp stone."

"Maybe we can circumcise a few Techies tonight if it gets boring," Billy said.

Techies was the term The Breeze used to refer to the male students of San Junipero Technical College. For the most part, they were ultraconservative, crew-cut youths who were perfectly satisfied with their role as bulk stock to be turned into tools for industrial America by the rigid curricular lathe of San Junipero Tech.

To The Breeze, the Techies' way of thinking was so foreign that he couldn't even muster a healthy loathing for them. They were simply nonentities. On the other hand, the coeds of S.J. Tech occupied a special place in The Breeze's heart. In fact, finding a few moments of blissful escape between the legs of a nubile coed was the only reason he was subjecting himself to a forty-mile sojourn in the company of Billy Winston.

Billy Winston was tall, painfully thin, ugly, smelled bad, and had a particular talent for saying the wrong thing in almost any situation. On top of it all, The Breeze suspected that Billy was gay.

The idea had been reinforced one night when he dropped in on Billy at his job as night desk clerk at the Rooms-R-Us motel and found him leafing through a Playgirl magazine. In Breeze's business one got used to running across the skeletons in people's closets. If Billy's skeleton wore women's underwear, it didn't really matter. Homosexuality on Billy Winston was like acne on a leper.

The up side of Billy Winston was that he had a car that ran and would take The Breeze anywhere he wanted to go. The Breeze's van was currently being held by some Big Sur growers as collateral against the forty pounds of sinsemilla buds he had stashed in a suitcase at his trailer.

"The way I see it," said Billy, "we hit the Mad Bull first. Do a pitcher of margaritas at Jose's, dance a little at the Nuked Whale, and if we don't find any nookie, we head back home for a nightcap at the Slug. "

"Let's hit the Whale first and see what's shakin'," The Breeze said.

The Nuked Whale was San Junipero's premier college dance club. If The Breeze was going to find a coed to cuddle, it would be at the Whale. He had no intention of making the drive with Billy back to Pine Cove for a nightcap at the Head of the Slug. Closing up the Slug was tantamount to having a losing night, and The Breeze was through with being a loser. Tomorrow when he sold the forty pounds of grass he would pocket twenty grand. After twenty years blowing up and down the coast, living on nickle-dime deals to make rent, The Breeze was, at last, stepping into the winners' circle, and there was no room for a loser like Billy Winston.

Billy parked the Pinto in a yellow zone a block away from the Nuked Whale. From the sidewalk they could hear the throbbing rhythms of the latest techno-pop dance music.

The unlikely pair covered the block in a few seconds, Billy striding ahead while The Breeze brought up the rear with a laid-back shuffle. As Billy slipped under the neon whale tail and into the club, the doorman-a fresh-faced slab of muscle and crew cut-caught him by the arm.

"Let's see some I.D."

Billy flashed an expired driver's license as Breeze caught up to him and began digging into the pocket of his Day-Glo green surf shorts for his wallet.

The doorman raised a hand in dismissal. "That's okay, buddy, with that hairline you don't need any."

The Breeze ran his hand over his forehead self-consciously. Last month he had turned forty, a dubious achievement for a man who had once vowed never to trust anyone over thirty.

Billy reached around him and slapped two dollar bills into the doorman's hand. "Here," he said, "buy yourself a night with an Inflate-A-Date. "

"What!" The doorman vaulted off his stool and puffed himself up for combat, but Billy had already scampered away into the crowded club. The Breeze stepped in front of the doorman and raised his hands in surrender.

"Cut him some slack, man. He's got problems."

"He's going to have some problems," the doorman bristled.

"No, really, " The Breeze continued, wishing that Billy had spared him the loyal gesture and therefore the responsibility of pacifying this collegiate cave man. "He's on medication. Psychological problems. "

The doorman was unsure. "If this guy is dangerous, get him out of here."

"Not dangerous, just a little squirrelly--he's bipolar Oedipal, The Breeze said with uncharacteristic pomposity.

"Oh, " the doorman said, as if it had all become clear. "Well, keep him in line or you're both out."

"No problem." The Breeze turned and joined Billy at the bar amid a crunch of beer-drinking students. Billy handed him a Heineken.

Billy said, "What did you say to that asshole to calm him down?"

"I told him you wanted to fuck your mom and kill your dad."

"Cool. Thanks, Breeze. "

"No charge." The Breeze tipped his beer in salute.

Things were not going well for him. Somehow he had been snared into this male-bonding bullshit with Billy Winston, when all he wanted to do was ditch him and get laid.

Reading Group Guide

Introduction

Discover Chris Moore's ingenious debut novel, in which we meet one of the most memorably mismatched pairs in the annals of literature. The good-looking one is one-hundred-year-old seminarian and "roads" scholar Travis O'Hearn. The green one is Catch, a demon with a nasty habit of eating most of the people he meets. Behind the faux Tudor façade of Pine Cove, California, Catch sees a four-star buffet. Travis, on the other hand, thinks he sees a way of ridding himself of his toothy traveling companion.

The winos, Neo-pagans, and deadbeat Lotharios of Pine Cove, meanwhile, have other ideas. And none of them is quite prepared when all hell breaks loose ...

Topics for Discussion

Travis O'Hearn is given immortality at a very high price. Would you make the trade-off? Would you be able to resist the power that Catch affords to his master? What would the best thing be about immortality? The worst?
Each person in the book sees Catch as what he or she believes him to be (e.g., Howard sees him as one of the Old Ones, Rachel sees him as an earth spirit). Are people's preconceived notions of how the world works an asset or a liability in the face of adversity?
Practical Demonkeeping refers to Pope Leo 11th as having been involved in sorcery. There were eleven Popes in history who were tried for sorcery. Does this reflect the superstitions of the time, or were these witch trials used to shift power in the Church? Do you believe that religious leaders can abuse their power?
Muslim legend tells of a race of beings that was created to walk the Earth before man (the Djinn), yet they believe thatthe Old and New Testaments are valid holy books as well. Is there a chance that there are parts of the creation story that were left out of the Bible?
Augustus Brine has resolved to live out the rest of his life pursuing simple pleasures, without strife or anxiety, yet his philosophy is dashed to pieces when he is called to fight the demon; is the "Epicurean" way of life, "simple pleasures tempered by justice and prudence" possible? What would it take to live the Epicurean lifestyle in our society?

About the author

Christopher Moore is the author of Fluke, Lamb, Practical Demonkeeping, Coyote Blue, Bloodsucking Fiends, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.

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Sean_From_OHIO

Posted May 14, 2010

more from this reviewer

Moore's first but not best!

I have loved every piece of Christopher Moore's work I have read, until this. Here, in Practical Demonkeeping, you can really see how much Moore has evolved into the comedic story telling master that he is now. In this novel he needed more room to let these characters take more shape. The comedy was there but it was much more subtle as opposed to his next novel taking place in Pine Cove (Lust Lizard Of Melancholy Cove). Overall it was a good book but the author has spoiled me with his later and funnier works. This is a good place to start but not where I started!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 11, 2012

Fun, very off the wall

If you like Christopher Moore, which I do, you will enjoy this book. If you don't know Christopher Moore and you like quirky, off beat and dark humor you should really read this book.
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LittleLAM

Posted August 22, 2011

more from this reviewer

First Moore book Ive read

I wanted to start with this book after finding out it was Moore's first - I look forward to reading more of his work and being able to see him progress as a writer - I loved this book! - It was def laugh out loud =) - Editing could be a little better but it wasnt a big deal at all.
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Anonymous

Posted April 18, 2011

Great fun.

Inventive and funny though not Moore's best. Still, it's worth the read. Definitely not for the prudish.
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NerdLuv

Posted January 21, 2011

more from this reviewer

Best. Book. Ever.

Freaking fun.
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LittleLAM

Posted January 1, 2011

more from this reviewer

First of many Moore

I read this book before any of the rest of his work because this is the first book Moore wrote. I love it - however, it was lacking something, and Im excited to continue to read his work and see him envolve as a writer; filling in that something lacking. I really do recommend this book as a quick fun read. I can see how it would be a let down for someone who has started with more of his evolved books, however, its still laugh out loud fun.
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Woodrose

Posted August 6, 2010

Always a Winner

I have never read a bad book by Christopher Moore. He's always unique and funny. The characters are original and believable despite their unbelievable nature. This is a great little escape.
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movieguy84

Posted July 13, 2010

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I Also Recommend:

Great Moore book to start with!

I very much enjoyed this. It was funny and had me interested from start to finish. I love Pine Cove and all the crazy characters in it. This is a great book to start with that has anything to do with Pine Cove. I followed this with The Stupidest Angel and loved that one even more!
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Tmjr2

Posted May 2, 2010

GREAT BOOK, GREAT AUTHOR!

Loved it! Very entertaining, kept me laughing!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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of-course

Posted February 22, 2010

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Worth Reading

Strange and fun. Great for a chuckle or two.
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TexasJayhawk

Posted November 15, 2009

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If you liked Lamb...

A friend recommended Lamb, and I have read it twice and lent it out to a friend for more than a year. I bought this because it looked similar, and it is. But it didn't help me with my understanding of religion like Lamb did, and it didn't make me laugh so hard that milk shot out my nose like Lamb did. A good companion to Lamb, but definitely the younger brother who looks up to big brother.
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Anonymous

Posted October 21, 2009

"Practical Demonkeeping = A Lot of Fun" Andrew B.

The story of Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore, opens with one hundred-year-old ex-seminarian, Travis O' Hearn, and an evil, flesh-eating demon named Catch, driving into the small town of Pine Cove. The most mismatched and oddest couple of all time met in 1916 during World War I, when Travis was about to enter seminary to become a priest. During his training to become a priest, the Vatican sent a set of priceless silver candlesticks in for repairs. Travis, who was assigned to polish the candlesticks, discovered they were hollow. Shocked by his discovery, he unscrewed one of the candlesticks and found a piece of parchment inside with an invocation on it. After Travis finished reading the invocation, the events that would follow changed his life forever. Suddenly, the demon Catch arose from the fiery pits of Hell, making Travis the master of an evil demon. This creation would link Travis and Catch in the worst way possible. Travis' life would never be his own. His survival depended on Catch. Therefore, Travis was forced to leave the seminary. His conscience would not permit him to pursue a path of righteousness when he was linked to such an evil beast. Catch revealed a terrible secret to Travis; if he did not feed, they both would die. After several years with Catch, Travis could no longer allow Catch to kill just any person to meet his dietary needs. So, in order to protect the innocent, Travis vowed to find the scum of the Earth for Catch to feed on once or twice a week. Unfortunately, Catch desired human flesh twenty-four seven and hated his master for restricting his needs. Catch's turmoil led him to make sure Travis' life would be a terrifying entanglement of pain and misery. Travis on the other hand, was tired of trying to control Catch, so he decided to come to Pine Cove to find the one person who could rid him of Catch once and for all.
The book Practical Demonkeeping is a highly enjoyable and brilliantly written piece of comedy fiction. The book is full of humor, mystery, and suspense. The book mostly takes place in modern day California, but parts of it flashback to the early 1900's during World War I. The rural woodsy setting of Pine Cove adds to the suspense of the story when Catch goes on his "hunting" trips. The problem with Catch and Travis is resolved in a way that will leave readers satisfied. Practical Demonkeeping is a rare comedy gem that no one should miss out on.
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lovetoreadAR

Posted January 31, 2009

I Also Recommend:

A Good Start

I have a lot of Moore's work in my collection. He's one of my very favorite authors, but I'd never read his first book. I just finished it, it's not his best. Later works are much better, he seems to have gotten into the balance and flow of his writing with the later ones. But it's not a bad book. A bit more sex instead of the more relaxed way it's done later, which I didn't care for as much. And a little too much going on with the plot, I think it's probably just because it was such a different story, it threw me off. Lol. The man definitely had his vision and unique flavor right from the start. You can see what's to come with this one.
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Anonymous

Posted August 1, 2008

Demonically Delicious!

This story happened to take place in California and I always think that `California writing¿ has a certain feel to it. That may just be my weirdness. I liked this Mr. Moore's style he reminded me of a very cynical Dean Koontz. He had great little one-liners: The Catch demon: ¿What¿s morality?¿ Travis: ¿It¿s the difference between what is right and what you can rationalize.¿ Catch: ¿Must be a human thing.¿ It had some nice intertwining storylines that had me rooting for all of the characters, not just waiting for the ones I like to pop back up. I liked that there was a happy ending for everybody (except the poor victims) that didn¿t seem contrived and was pure feel-good without being cheesy. I think if they ever make a movie of this, I could see Jason Lee (¿Syndrome¿ from The Incredibles)doing the voice of Catch. He definitely fits Catch¿s creepy balance of impishness and sociopath tenancies. I also loved that even the potential caricatures, like the restaurant owner who follows an .H.P Lovecraft novel-based religion or the secret computer sex addict/part-time drag queen are just believable as normal diverse people and not mocking caricatures. Very enjoyable and there was just something about it that made me see why it was on the list.
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Anonymous

Posted October 11, 2007

Came by it by accident

I came by this book by way of our book club. We'd read Palahniuk's 'Lullaby' and McCrae's 'Katzenjammer' and when I asked what else we could read that was a great, Christopher Moore's name came right up. And rightly so. His story is bizarre and you're going to have to do a lot of suspended disbelief, but every moment is worth it. I was also reminded of 'little Shop of Horrors' though not in the same way--the protagonist (?!!?) is a human-eating demon. Nothing but pure fun, this book.
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Anonymous

Posted December 3, 2006

I loved it!

This was my first Christopher Moore novel, and I just loved it. I'm going to read Coyote Blue in a few minutes because I want Moore!:)
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Anonymous

Posted December 3, 2004

Great First Novel

Christopher Moore should be considered one of the funniest fantastic writers of today. He follows in Tom Robbins's style of combining humor fiction and science fiction, finally doing away with genrefication. I had never been interested in science fiction novels until i read Moore's Fluke. After that I have picked up Practical Demonkeeping, Blooksucking Fiends, and i am now reading, Island of the Sequined Love Nun. At the exact moment you think nothing crazier could happen, Moore drops the perfect idea. Read all Moore's novels.
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Anonymous

Posted July 23, 2000

Sad to see the book end

This was the first, but not last, Christopher Moore novel I read. After finishing this one I promptly went out to get Bloodsucking Fiends and promptly after that, Coyote Blue. Moore's novels, which readers will inevitably find out, contain some definite similarities. Highly developed, sad to see them leave characters, creative plots, creative problems and creative finales. You will most definitely laugh out loud.
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Posted May 25, 2010

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Posted October 17, 2010

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Overview

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Editorial Reviews

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Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

Meet the Author

Christopher Moore

Biography

Good To Know

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

The Breeze

Reading Group Guide

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Moore's first but not best!

Fun, very off the wall

First Moore book Ive read

Great fun.

Best. Book. Ever.

First of many Moore

Always a Winner

Great Moore book to start with!

GREAT BOOK, GREAT AUTHOR!

Worth Reading

If you liked Lamb...

"Practical Demonkeeping = A Lot of Fun" Andrew B.

A Good Start

Demonically Delicious!

Came by it by accident

I loved it!

Great First Novel

Sad to see the book end