martytdx's Full Review: Christopher Moore - A Dirty Job
Charlie - the typical Beta Male - is about to have his first child, and is wandering through his life as Beta Males do: worrying about everything that he can, and trying to provide the most stable environment for 'The One' woman who truly loves him. But when he spots a man in a mint-green silk suit in his wife's hospital room just before she dies, the lives of him and his new daughter take a drastic, and certifiably odd, turn.
From that moment, Charlie becomes a "Death Merchant" - a being tasked with helping the souls of those have died move to the next level of their existence. The problem is, Charlie doesn't quite get the manual when he becomes a "Santa's Helper of Death", so he has to make up a lot of it on his own - at least until a fellow "Death Merchant" comes along and starts to guide him on his path. His path, however, is destined to be a rocky one: the forces of Evil are gathering in San Francisco, and Charlie must learn not only who he is, but how he can use his powers to defeat this evil group before they can bring the Underworld above to the domain of man.
[ • about CHRISTOPHER MOORE • ]
Christopher Moore is a decidedly odd writer - his works a careful blend of humor, fantasy, quirky happenings and the mythological come to life. From his first book, Practical Demonkeeping (in which a semi-immortal man and his demon come to call on a hapless little town), to his best novel, Lamb (which tells the tale of Jesus, the teenager), he has covered the gamut of vampires, cargo cults, sea monsters and hapless angels. Nothing is ever normal in a Christopher Moore book, but if you want normal go read John Updike. Instead, he takes off-center characters and puts them in impossible - and ridiculous - situations, extracting humor in often bizarre and amusing ways.
[ • the buddhist, the lesbian AND DEATH'S LITTLE HELPER • ]
The story is about Charlie, the owner of a second-hand shop and apartment building, who is the typical "Beta Male" - a man given to sit in the background and accept most of what life will dish out, and take advantage of what few positive things that happen. In ancient times, the Beta Male was the one who took care of the Alpha-Male's women after they got stomped by a mammoth or killed in battle; today, they are the ones that make the world run while the Alpha-Males take up the air-time. In Charlie's case, he has quietly taken over the thrift store inherited from his father, and goes through his life with little ambition and drive. However, he was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful women far out of his league, who loved him nonetheless. Everything was as good as he could hope for - until she died shortly after giving birth to his daughter, Sophie.
However, her death wasn't run of the mill - instead, he walks in on a very large, ebony man in a mint-green suit, one that he wasn't supposed to be able to see. From that point on, his life takes a series of odd twists and turns, beginning with having to care for his daughter as a single parent and continuing on to his new super-secret identity as an agent of Death. As if seeing the man-in-mint-green isn't strange enough, he suddenly starts to see radioactive objects all over the shop - objects that glow a deep red and seem to have their own heartbeat. According to the manual - which he receives late because his goth-teen sales clerk Lily decides to 'borrow' it in hopes that she is the next Death - his duty is to collect these objects - called soul vessels - and pass them on to those that should receive them.
But the how and the why of this are a bit open to interpretation, as "The Great Big Book of Death" is a little vague at best. But as Charlie begins to learn his role, he also learns that there might be a little more to his new position than he had been led to believe. It turns out that a time of reckoning is upon them, and Charlie has been set up to go against a demon lord and the Morrigan - a trio of harpy-like evil creatures - who are trying to steal the souls in effort to strengthen themselves for the coming battle - a battle that will determine the fate of 'the Above' - the current world that humans reside in, and if they win, mankind is in for a lifelong hangover.
Charlie is not alone - he has a team of trusty (well, mostly) sidekicks that run the gamut from the simply odd to the borderline deranged:
• Dan - the former cop and current employee of the shop, who thinks Charlie may be a serial killer.
• Lily - the teenage goth who is jealous that Charlie - a total dweeb - became a Death Merchant instead of her
• Mrs. Korjev & Mrs. Ling - two of Charlie's tenants and sometimes watchers of Sophie.
• Jane - Charlie's lesbian sister who happens to have the same taste in suits as Charlie does - and looks better in them than he does.
• The Emperor of San Francisco - who knows that something is wrong in his city, and uses his 'knights' to aid Charlie in his battle.
As Charlie moves toward his destiny, he has to contend with Jane's constant search for a soul-mate and invasion of his closet, his two neighbors and their oft-strange attempts to help him, a number of other "Death Merchants" in the city, two hellhounds who show up in the middle of the night as a protective barrier around Sophie, a police detective who has seen too much before to think that any of this is too odd ... oh, and his daughter's burgeoning talent of killing people by pointing at them and saying, "Kitty".
In the end, after several mini-battles between the Morrigan and the "Death Merchants", Charlie must come face-to-face with his destiny: to become the Luminatus - the "Big D" (THE Death), or find death of a completely different sort while watching evil take over his world. Can he and the rest of his odd cast defeat the denizens of the Underworld before it's too late?
[ • about BECOMING DEATH • ]
If you're familiar with Christopher Moore's work - particularly some of his earlier novels - then you'll recognize the style of this story immediately. His penchant for having subtle cross-overs continues here as some characters from "Blood-sucking Fiends" make an appearance. But that's not the good part. The good part is Moore's irreverent humor as he tackles the battle between good and evil in his trademark off-kilter way. Moore tends to use real legends and mythology in his stories, and this one is no different, although he (as usual) takes more than a little creative license to make the story live up to his oddball style.
In the end, Moore's off-the-wall depiction of this fantastic and wild ride is often amusing, if a bit odd for many. Just when you think the strange quotient has reached a max, it turns out that there's always a little more odd to be spread around. This isn't his best work - Lamb owns that title - but it was one of his better ones. Even better, his penchant for 'easter eggs' continues here as several characters from past stories make appearances in this book, some in minor roles and some in more substantial ones. Fans of Moore's books will enjoy seeing some old names pop up throughout.
As far as books about becoming Death go, this was pretty good, although I still think that Piers Anthony's On a Pale Horse was better. But it does have that typical Christopher Moore charm that I always enjoy. As usual, this story is not for the faint of heart (language can be an issue) or those who take themselves too seriously. For me, "A Dirty Job" was a perfect read for my time sitting on the beach, laughing not so silently to myself.
[ • other CHRISTOPHER MOORE • ] (in order of preference)
Lamb » Jesus and his best friend Biff as teenagers. Absolutely hysterical.
Practical Demonkeeping » A man and his demon visit a small town in California, looking for some peace and a small struggle for the future of all mankind.
Island of the Sequined Love Nun » A hopeless geek trapped in a cool guy's body goes on a journey of self-discovery, and finds cannibals, talking bats and a Sky Priestess along the way.
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Melancholy Cove has always been a (relatively) tranquil town. But when a wee radioactive spill wakes a creature from the deep, anti-depressants and an ex-porn priestess may be the only way to save the town.
Blood Sucking Fiends » - review coming soon Jody never asked to become a vampire. But since she is one now, she teams up with a Tommy the Grocery Clerk to discover what this neck-biting business is all about.
Coyote Blue Sam "Samson Hunts Alone" Hunter ran from his past and became a successful insurance salesman. But a little visit from Coyote - Indian trickster and royal pain-in-the-@ss - changes his life and makes him face his destiny.
Fluke » Nate Quinn runs into a whale with attitude and a penchant for pastrami on rye - and then things get bizarre.
and coming soon (after I read it)
You Suck » - a follow-up to Blood Sucking Fiends.
Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fell...More at HotBookSale
The modern master of comic satire, Moore delivers a hilarious and heartwarming story in which the ultimate Beta Male--the kind who is very, very caref...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.