4 out of 5 Stars
Synopsis
Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy with a normal life, married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. They’re even about to have their first child. Yes, Charlie’s doing okay—until people start dropping dead around him, and everywhere he goes a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Charlie Asher, it seems, has been recruited for a new position: as Death.
It’s a dirty job, but hey! Somebody’s got to do it.
My Thoughts
This book was so funny. If you are easily offended than Christopher Moore may not be for you. His humour always has a very religious basis, and usually full of sex and profanity. Only Christopher Moore can have his main character, Charlie, get in a fight with someone about “Finding Jesus”
“In a way, Charlie started to enjoy the notoriety of being the guy with the cute little girl and the two giant dogs. When y ou have to maintain a secret identity, you can’t help but relish a little public attention. And Charlie did, until the day he and Sophie were stopped on a side street on Russian Hill by a bearded man in a long cotton caftan and a woven hat.
Sophie was old enough by then to do a lot of her own walking, although Charlie kept a piggyback kid sling with him so he could carry her when she got tired (but more often he would just balance her while she rode on the back of Alvin or Mohammed).
The bearded man passed a little too closely to Sophie and Mohammed growled and imposed himself between the man and the child.
“Mohammed, get back here,” Charlie said.
It turned out the hellhounds could be trained, especially if you only told them to do things they were going to do anyway. (“Eat, Alvin. Good boy. Poop now. Excellent.”)
“Why do you call this dog Mohammed?” asked the bearded man.
“Because that’s his name.”
“You should not have called this dog Mohammed.”
“I didn’t call the dog Mohammed,” Charlie said. “His name was Mohammed when I got him. It was on his collar.”
“It is blasphemy to call a dog Mohammed.”
“I tried calling him something else, but he doesn’t listen. Watch. Steve, bite this man’s leg? See, nothing. Spot, bite off this man’s leg. Nothing. I might as well be speaking Farsi. You see where I’m going with this?”
“Well, I have named my dog Jesus. How do you feel about that?”
“Well, then I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d lost your dog.”
“I have not lost my dog.”
“Really? I saw these flyers all over town with ‘Have You Found Jesus?’ on them. It must be another dog named Jesus. Was there a reward? A reward helps, you know.” Charlie noted that more and more lately, he had a hard time resisting the urge to fuck with people, especially when they insisted upon behaving like idiots.
“I do not have a dog named Jesus and that doesn’t bother you because you are a godless infidel.”
“No, really, you can not name your dog anything you want and it won’t bother me. But, yes, I am a godless infidel. At least that’s how I voted in the last election.” Charlie grinned at him.”
Or explain to us the “Evolution of Stripper Names” so eloquently,
““I’ve spent some time in strip joints, Charlie. I’m not proud of it, but it’s sort of what you do when you’re a cop. And you pick up on the pattern of stripper names.”
“Didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, and there’s sort of a progression going back to the fifties: Bubbles, Boom Boom, and Blaze begat Bambi, Candy, and Jewel, who begat Sunshine, Brandy, and Cinnamon, who begat Amber, Brittany, and Brie, who begat Reagan, Morgan, and Madison. Madison is a stripper name.”
“Ray, you weren’t even alive in the fifties.”
“No, I wasn’t alive during the forties either, but I know about World War Two and big-band music. I’m into history.”
The characters are all loveable in their own completely messed up ways; Charlie (the typical beta male) , Ray (the ex-cop turned shop keep looking for love in all the (very) wrong places) , Lily (the young Goth who wished to be Death) , Jane (the sister of Charlie to whom he is going to lose all of his good suits) , and the amazingly hilarious babysitters Mrs. Korjev (to whom everything is “like bear) and Mrs. Ling (who will eventually eat every pet in the neighbourhood) . If you want to relax and laugh at Death for a while…. Literally, I highly recommend this book! But, don’t just take my word, check it out for yourselves!!
Amazon U.S
Amazon Canada
Amazon U.K
A Dirty Job is Best Served With a
Grim Reaper
I got this recipe from A Healthy Life For Me
Ingredients
- 1oz Kahlua
- 1oz Rum
- 1/2 oz Grenadine
Directions
- Grab a whisky tumbler and fill with ice
- Pour in Kahlua
- Pour in Rum
- Pour in Grenadine
- Stir before drinking
- CHEERS!!
I’ve read a couple of his books in the past and I have enjoyed them. I think one was You Suck and that was at the height of the Twilight craze. So it was pretty funny to read a “romance” that was a bit more realistic for vampires.
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Ha ha! It’s funny to hear Christopher Moore and MORE realistic in the same sentence. 😄 His books are all amazingly hilarious!
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Hilarious! Dude, I so want to rename my dog Mohammed now. I need to read this. I’ve only ever read “Lamb” which I adore and reread each year around Easter, just to get into the holiday spirit. But adding this to my list today. 🙂
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I’m sure you’d LOVE this one!! It was too funny. 😂😄🍻
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Haha.😂
‘godless infidel!’
This is too funny.
I have to read this one.
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I think you’d love it!! It’s so much fun! 😄💖
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I really liked this book and the cover you chose here is better than the one I had. I find Grim Reapers a little cloying though but it’s a great drink name.
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Definitely a little rich for my blood.. But the book was fantastic! And I know that there are people out there who would really like this drink! It has great flavour, but it’s pretty sweet and thick.
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It’s just that by the 15th one – I get a tummy ache…
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So true!! I’d only make it through a couple. But, that’s when you switch to straight whisky or Tequila to cut the sweetness. 😄
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So wise….I have much to learn
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Oeh that does look funny!
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It REALLY is!! 😂😂
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I was already laughing out loud with the little snippets you gave 😂😀
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I’m sure you’ll love it! The audiobook is read by Fisher Stevens, who is amazing, so that’s another way to enjoy it as well! 💖💖
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I love Christopher Moore and his irreverent sense of humor! I just had to read the excerpt you shared to my husband because he wanted to know why I was giggling.🤣 This is definitely going on the top of my tbr. Awesome review Nicole and I like your drink pairing as well.🤗
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This book was just too funny! The audiobook is read by Fisher Stevens if you want a great performance as well as a good story!! 🍻😄
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Love a Fisher Stevens!
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Who doesn’t?! 💖💖🍻
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It sounds hilarious. I couldn’t help laughing at the excerpt and your comments about Mrs. Ling. Ha ha. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂
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Oh, Mrs. Ling is absolutely too funny! Her and Mrs. Korjev were definitely a huge highlight in the book with their antics!! 😂😂 I really hope you check it out!
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This book sounds very entertaining, Nicole. I love your Grim Reaper too.
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Thank you! It was pretty sweet for a Grim Reaper, but great flavour! And the book is so good!!! Very funny! 😂
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argh, I’m liking this one!
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Oh Fraggle, I think you would get a HUGE kick out of this one!! 😄😄🍻
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yes damn your eyes, I’m swamped with tbr’s! 🤪
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Me too! Lol! Ah… The perils of the reader!! 😂😂🍻📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚 This one is SO WORTH THE TIME THOUGH!! A good book when you just want to relax and laugh!
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Just added it to the written l list I’m working through!
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I’ve read the Stupidest Angel by him and my book club will be reading The World according to Biff at Christmas time. You definitely have to be in the right mood, but I enjoyed it.
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It’s definitely not humour for everyone! Lol! You really need to like some crass and very religious humour! But, I really enjoy it! 😄🍻
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They’re fun:)
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Oh my word, I *have* to read this!! Ridiculous, fascinating premise = check. Profanity, dark humour, and sexual references = check. Narrator I’d like to have a drink with = check. It’s got it all!!
Unfortunately, I’m not sure the Grim Reaper is for me (life-long aversion to grenadine, I’m afraid, something about it just turns my tummy) – I was thinking maybe a classic Black Russian instead (no Coke)? 😉 Thank you for sharing, as always, another fantastic review!
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Oh, it has all of that, and more!!
The Grim Reaper is definitely not for everyone! You could always have a “Death in the Afternoon” with this one (absinthe and champagne), or a ‘Corpse Re-animator” (cognac, apple brandy and sweet vermouth), they would work as well! (but, they’re being saved for other books at the moment!) 😋😄🍻
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I find the weirdest, funniest crap on your page… it’s brilliant!!!! 😄😃😀
Will check this one out too. Lol.
Oh, and the best drinks too.
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This book is HILARIOUS!! You won’t regret it! And you know I only drink for all of you guys! 😉🍻
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So altruistic you are…..
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I’ve always wondered if his humour would be my cup of tea, and you’ve definitely convinced me into trying one of his books out hahah Great review! 😀
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If you try one, let me know what you thought!! (I would recommend this one, or the Gospel according to Biff, Jesus’ Best Friend) His humour is DEFINITELY not everyone’s cup of tea. He likes to make a lot of Jewish jokes… Really, religious jokes in general, and he can DEFINITELY be crass. But, SO FUNNY!! 😂😂🍻
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