A Dirty Job: A Novel by Christopher Moore Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Dirty Job: A Novel
Book Review: funny
Summary: 4 Stars
this was a good book. i rarely laugh out loud while reading but this book is really funny, if you have issues about showing emotions in public read this book at home. the concept was interesting and told in an easily readable way. though the plot was predictable, i didn't mind knowing what was going to happen as i read because the way the author writes... i don't want to say makes you feel like you don't know, but i guess knowing doesn't matter.
the only negative comment i have about the book was that sometimes i felt like the author was trying to shock me with what he said, or the emotions in a certain passage seemed fabricated or covered by a smugness or disdain, but this was a faint undertone and isn't really representative of the book on the whole, but you can pick up on it if you look for it. but again, thats such a small part of the book that its almost irrelevant, but because of that fact i couldn't give it a five, but i guess its a 4.5,,, or 4.3. but it was a good book, my first by him, but it wont be the last. i recommend
Book Review: The Harvester of Souls
Summary: 5 Stars
Christopher Moore has been called many things; the quips on the backs of his books highlight his comedic genius and inventive storylines. All of this praise is proved to be true in "A Dirty Job", a book about death and dying that is so laugh-out-loud funny that readers may question why so many fear death after all.
Charlie Asher was a very normal, seemingly happy-go-lucky guy - married to a woman out of his league, worried about what impending fatherhood would entail - when his whole world was quickly turned upside down. For his wife dies shortly after giving birth to their daughter, and Charlie is certain he saw an impossibly tall black man in her room at the time of her death that the security cameras did not pick up. Everyone around him assumes that Charlie is going off the deep end due to grief, but weird things continue to happen to Charlie, all of which are explained when he learns that he is death. Not "the" Death, but a death merchant, responsible for collecting the soul vessels of the recently dead, and placing them in his secondhand store for the right customer to come along.
Charlie takes to his job with relish, never feeling so alive as he has now that he is death, but life becomes even more complicated. His baby daughter suddenly gains the companionship of two enormous and mysterious hellhounds who never leave her side. Strange shadows and voices from the sewers begin to plague Charlie as he goes about his job. And he learns that right there in San Francisco, the forces of evil will rise and darkness will take over if he messes up at his job.
"A Dirty Job" is a wildly funny and inventive story, realistic in all of its lunacy, the required suspension of disbelief easily gained by readers who follow Charlie's exploits and mishaps as he comes to terms with life and death. Moore's writing is full of sarcastic wit, aptly using humor to explore and very dark and fearsome subject, making "A Dirty Job" a devilishly good read.
Book Review: Fisher Stevens as narrator
Summary: 4 Stars
Fisher Stevens is such a great choice for the reader of this book. Just the right voice for the dry,dark humor of the novel.Book Review: Dirty Job, Great Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the in-store promotions for Christopher Moore's novel, You Suck, so many times, that I decided that I would read one of his earlier works to gauge my interest in him.
The novel I chose, A Dirty Job, wasn't one that I would normally pick up, as it is, I suppose, a "horror" novel. But not like one that I have ever read. The book opens with the death of the main characters wife, shortly after she gives birth to their daughter, Sophie. But as the woman expires, Charlie Asher, the main character, sees a tall man, in a green suit, standing by her. The strange thing is that no one else saw the man, not the nurses, the security cameras, no one but Charlie. Soon, Charlie finds out that he is a Death Merchant. And since he saw him, Charlie is now a Death Merchant (and he gets a book: "The Great Big Book Of Death" to teach him the finer points). Death Merchants, and there are several in the San Francisco area, collect items from the recently departed. These items contain the souls of these people, which Charlie then sells, from his secondhand shop. But the people that buy them, only pick a specific item and only one. Thus, the soul of the departed gets transferred to a new, soulless person. But Sophie isn't exactly a normal little girl either. Every pet that Charlie purchases for her ends up dead. Very strange. And to this little macabre family, Moore adds some very nasty creatures of the Underworld, ones who will stop at nothing to rule the Earth.
This was an excellent novel. The writing had me laughing out loud. The way that Charlie handles his new daughter, his place as a Death Merchant, and the realization that he is the only thing standing between the Underworld and humanity had me in stitches. Also, Sophie's baby-sitters are great characters, one a Russian, the other Chinese. They add some real sparkle to the novel, and provide Sophie with some great catch phrases (you know, those impressionable children). The dialogue and the characters pulled me through the book. It is one of those books that I found hard to put down. If you have never read Christopher Moore, this is an excellent introduction. Now, I have another author that I have to follow. :-)
Book Review: It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first Christopher Moore book and I loved it. A friend of mine from work was reading "You Suck" and I thought I'd check him out. I was soon hooked and am looking forward to reading more of his books.
The story:
Beta male Charlie runs a secondhand shop and he's just lost his wife just after she gave birth to thier daughter. Charlies swears there was a man in a mint green suit there in her recovery room, but no one else sees him. Charlie soon finds out he's got a new job and it is collecting souls before the Dark forces get them as well as protect his daughter and friends.
I really did enjoy this book.