"The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror"
(Reviewed by Mary Whipple DEC 19, 2004)
"If you think anyone is sane, you just don't know enough about them. The key—and this is very relevant—is to find someone whose insanity dovetails with your own."
Whenever you read something by Christopher Moore, you enter a whole new world. In the case of The Stupidest Angel, the world you enter is familiar if you have read Moore's previous books, since Moore is reprising many of the most popular characters from his previous novels in this Christmas-inspired satire of life in Pine Cove, a California coastal community, filled with "holiday quaintage" and "festive doom." Lena Marquez, divorced from Dale Pearson, an unmitigated boor, first appeared in The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, and becomes the subject of the major plot here when she inadvertently "kills" Dale, who is dressed as Santa. The local constable, Theophilus Crowe, who is married to Molly Michon, formerly a porn star known as Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland, also appeared in Lust Lizard…, and Tucker Case, who comes on the scene and falls madly in lust with Lena, was the main character in Island of the Sequined Love Nun. His sunglass-clad fruit bat, Roberto, also appears plays a role.
Lena's fight with Dale is witnessed by young Josh Barker, age seven, who is distraught at the thought that "someone killed Santa." Soon Josh is visited by the Archangel Raziel, who appeared in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, a klutzy angel whose mission it is to "Go to Earth, find a child who has made a Christmas wish that can only be granted by divine intervention," and do something for him. Josh wants Santa to come back to life.
As always, Moore's off-the-wall imagination takes over, and the investigation of Dale Pearson's disappearance becomes complicated. Tucker Case is working as a DEA helicopter pilot, and, from the air, he sees the very large marijuana patch belonging to someone who would find it a professional embarrassment. The "prints" of Roberto, the fruit bat, have been found inside the truck of the missing Dale, and Molly, Theo's wife, has gone off her meds for her psychotic problems. She is trying to save up for a hand-made bong for Theo for Christmas, and her conversations with "The Narrator," show the level of her psychosis.
As the holiday comes closer, Raziel starts to work his bizarre magic and bring about his Christmas "miracle." The world becomes crazier by the minute, as Moore declares, "Life is messy. Would that every puzzle piece fell into place every word was kind, every accident happy, but such is not the case. Life is messy. People, generally, suck." As the reader becomes more and more involved in the zany happenings at Pine Cove, the ironies of the Christmas message and the violence in town are seen in sharp relief, and the question of whether there are any heroes in this novel and whether Raziel is truly an archangel come to the fore.
A no-holds-barred, let-it-all-hang-out free-for-all which gives a whole new meaning to "the willing suspension of disbelief," this novel is a great gift for the zanies on your Christmas list. The young at heart will not bat an eyelash at its profanity, its vulgar hilarity, and its unexpected satiric twists and turns. You may want to think twice, however, about getting it for your staid and proper Aunt Martha.
- Amazon readers rating:
from 91 reviews
Read a chapter excerpt from The Stupidest Angel at HarperCollins.com
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Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)
- Practical Demonkeeping: A Comedy of Horrors (1992)
- Coyote Blue (1994)
- Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story (1995)
- Island of the Sequined Love Nun (1997)
- The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (1999)
- Trench Fever (May 2000)
- Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (March 2002)
- Fluke: Or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings (June 2002)
- The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror (November 2004)
- A Dirty Job (March 2006)
- You Suck: A Love Story (January 2007)
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Book Marks:
- Visit the Official Christopher Moore web site
- MostlyFiction.com reviewof Fluke
- Rambles review of The Stupidest Angel
- BookReporter review of The Stupidest Angel
- MostlyFiction.com review of A Dirty Job
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About the Author:
Christopher Moore grew up in Mansfield, Ohio and went to Ohio State for a bit and studied Anthropology. Then, he moved to California and studied photography at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, and took a bunch of extension courses in writing. He has held many jobs including journalist, radio deejay, waiter, roofer, a factory work making ceramic nativity scenes, a photographer, motel clerk and insurance broker. When he turned 30 and realized that he wasn't famous, he decided to write a book. His first book was published when he was 32 and was very successful so he wrote more.
He lives in Cambria, California.
