JUNE 2014 - AudioFile
Listeners are transported to Venice at the time of Shakespeare to follow the adventures and misadventures of the fool Pocket. He and his sidekicks, Drool and Jeff, become entwined in the intrigues of Venetian society—and a selection of characters and plots from the quill of William Shakespeare. Narrator Euan Morton is the perfect choice for recounting this bawdy tale. He infuses it with a sprinkling of the spirit of the Carry On movies of old, an approach that offsets the ribald and earthy language of many of the characters, not the least Pocket. Morton’s characterizations bring the full cast of this fantastical tale to life and ensure that it's never difficult to follow as it flows along at a lively pace. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
01/13/2014
Moore’s mash-up of Othello and The Merchant of Venice with Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” is a standout sequel to Fool, his twisted retelling of King Lear from 2009. After a dastardly trio of Venetians (including Iago) plot to bury alive Pocket the fool for thwarting an attempt to cook up a new Crusade from which they’d hoped to profit, he is saved by what he believes is a seriously horny mermaid. He washes up in Venice’s Jewish ghetto and is rescued by Shylock’s lovably abrasive daughter, Jessica. She leaves with Pocket, hoping to elope with a Venetian gentile with whom she is in love, as he attempts to rescue his motley companions with his friend Othello’s help, and to warn the general that a plot’s afoot. Moore’s imaginative storytelling, bawdy prose, puns aplenty, as well as his creation of a violent sea creature intent on helping Fool’s cause, and Jessica’s “piratey” disguise, succeed in transforming two classical tragedies into outrageously farcical entertainment. In conjunction with the historical setting, the humor also allows Moore to skewer greed, hypocrisy, and racism—e.g., Middle Eastern wars for profit, segregation (in this instance, of the Jews)—all of which are still endemic in modern culture. (Apr.)
Bookreporter.com on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
The Serpent of Venice is a remarkable reimagining of classic literature, churned through historical backgrounds and research and set to a different drum. Tragedy becomes comedy in this side-splitting, hair-raising adventure. . . . A piece of literary gold.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
[Moore] brings back one of his favorite characters, Pocket from 2009’s Fool. . . . Add a weirdly satisfying combo of literary in-jokes and low sex gags to the mix and what comes out of the Christopher Moore meat grinder is unique and sublime.
Seattle Times on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
A gleeful and wonderfully strange mash-up. Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, and Othello are its chief ingredients, with Edgar Allan Poe’s short story ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ thrown in. The result? An imaginative, wildly inspired satire.
Tampa Bay Times on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
To get a sense of the tone, imagine the merry pranksters of Monty Python in their heyday taking off on Shakespeare while simultaneously trying to break the record for F-bombs currently held by The Wolf of Wall Street.
Dallas Morning News on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
Moore . . . is an excellent writer, and there are passages of prose—Pocket’s defense of Othello and the entire Pound-of-Flesh trial—that sparkle with Moore’s trademark wit and intelligence. Moore’s strength is his ability to appropriate supporting characters and make them wholly his own creations.
Louisville Courier Journal on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
The dialogue is extremely witty, and . . . you will laugh hard and find yourself hurling bawdy insults throughout the day, even if you don’t say them out lout.
USA Today on THE SERPENT OF VENICE
Moore’s greatest asset is his skill with language. Readers with a certain Monty Python nerdiness will rejoice in its hundreds of insults . . . and jokes. . . . [W]itty and wise . . . Serpent is a bright, quick novel.” (3 out of 4 stars)
Carl Hiaasen
Shakespeare and Poe might be rolling in their graves, but they’re rolling with laughter. Christopher Moore is one of the cleverest, naughtiest writers alive.
Library Journal - Audio
11/15/2013
Several centuries ago in Venice, the rapscallion Fool Pocket, envoy of France and Britain and widower of Queen Cordelia, is lured to a dungeon by the merchant Antonio, the senator Montressor Brabantio, and the naval officer Iago. (Sound familiar?) They promise wine and debauchery but intend murder, a change of plans Fool Pocket heartily resists. With a one-day laydown on April 22 and a 250,000-copy first printing.
JUNE 2014 - AudioFile
Listeners are transported to Venice at the time of Shakespeare to follow the adventures and misadventures of the fool Pocket. He and his sidekicks, Drool and Jeff, become entwined in the intrigues of Venetian society—and a selection of characters and plots from the quill of William Shakespeare. Narrator Euan Morton is the perfect choice for recounting this bawdy tale. He infuses it with a sprinkling of the spirit of the Carry On movies of old, an approach that offsets the ribald and earthy language of many of the characters, not the least Pocket. Morton’s characterizations bring the full cast of this fantastical tale to life and ensure that it's never difficult to follow as it flows along at a lively pace. K.J.P. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2013-11-04
Iago from Shakespeare's Othello, Antonio, the titular merchant of Venice, and Monstressor Brabantio from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" walk into a bar…. It's a joke but it's quite a complicated one in the latest historical farce from Moore (Sacre Bleu, 2012, etc.). In this follow-up to Fool (2009), Moore brings back Pocket of Dog Snogging, his prodigious companion, Drool, and pet monkey Jeff for another round of satirizing the Bard of Avon by way of the Marx Brothers. After trouncing King Lear, Moore has decided a mashup is in order, reconciling its multiple inspirations to a mythical Venice circa 1299. Pocket starts his new adventure poorly, having been walled into Poe's fictional prison by Brabantio, where he's reduced to talking to the Chorus (there's always a bloody chorus). "I am not bloody mad, you berk," he exclaims, to which the Chorus replies, "You're shouting at a disembodied voice in the dark." Bid by his queen, Cordelia, to travel to the sunken kingdom of Venice to help the Moor, Othello, and stop a conspiracy forged in greed from prosecuting a crusade, Pocket fumbles his way through a complicated adventure buoyed by Moore's half-cocked Shakespearean dialogue, puerile humor and ceaseless banter. The setting helps the author's cause, lending a rich historical backdrop that includes trade disputes, political intrigue and Shakespearean spectacle. Readers who are steeped in Shakespeare and aren't too sensitive will enjoy outrageous lines like, "Cry havoc, and let slip the trousers of most outrageous bonkilation!" Purists are better advised to stick with safer adaptations, where they're less likely to encounter Marco Polo lollygagging in a Venetian prison, the prodigious use of perennial Moore vulgarities ("Fuckstockings!") or our hero shagging a dragon. It is, as the author himself calls it, an abomination, but fans who enjoyed the rollicking play within a play of Fool or the historical whimsy of Sacre Bleu will find many of the same gifts here. Fool's gold, replete with junk jokes, from one of America's most original humorists.
