“Pocket” named so because he was so small when left on the doorstep of the local convent that he fit into the apron pocket of the nuns therein; and they carried him around often in their pocket, though raised in the convent eventually became King Lear’s Jester at court.
Raised an orphan Pocket fond that he indeed had a mother, but she leaped from a bridge into the river and drowned herself over her cruel treatment from the King. He found that he had a father but that he was murdered by the order of the King. He found that the best friend he ever had was horribly murdered by the King.
Pocket progresses in Moore’s tale from orphan clown to a bastard prince to a cutthroat avenger for ghosts and witches to strategist for a general; from telling bawdy tales to entertain the royal elite to planning the overthrow of a kingdom.
In “Fool” Christopher Moore has penned a re-write of Shakespeare’s King Lear Tragedy but turned it into a ribald comedy. Moore takes great liberties with The Bard’s text, lifting little scenes like the three old hag witches in Birnum Wood and scenes of long discourses of despair from a failed and selfish king. But Moore certainly writes his own original text. This is not a cheap copy of King Lear but a totally irreverent new work of art. As Moore says in the jacket:
“This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank… If that’s the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story.”
The tragic world of the British monarchy of the imaginary 12th century is seen through the eyes of the court jester, Pocket. He makes fun of everyone and is the only one who can ridicule the king with impunity. He does so regularly and much of the time brings the king down to earth with his witty and irreverent wisdom.
This book is filled to overflowing with court intrigue and murder of sibling by sibling and manipulation of kingdoms. At the same time Moore gives us the dry British humor peppered liberally with out of time cockney phrases and accent. It is one of the finest satirical comedies you are likely to find in a long time. I give “Fool” a 7 of 10 on the Weaver meter.
