Christopher Moore has writer’s magic. Reading Bloodsucking Fiends was a joy. Words flowed in and around my brain engaging me in his version of San Fransisco.
There are very few things I know about San Fransisco. I have seen its Golden Gate Bridge in movies, Alcatraz is somewhere nearby and it was one of the first places where you could openly hold hands with one of your own gender without getting beaten or killed within the first few minutes. Oh, and the gold rush. Must not forget the gold rush and a couple of tinee tiny fires.
Actually, now that I think about it San Fransisco has been part of several books that I have read, but not until Bloodsucking Fiends did San Fransisco settle in my mind. There were two contributing factors to San Fransisco becoming part of my repertoire. One was The Emperor. The Emperor was the most loveable character of the whole story and I don’t really know why that is. The other factor was Tommy moving from Incontinence, Indiana to San Fransisco. That combination was one of the funniest moments in the story for me. The US being the US I actually wondered if there was a place called Incontinence in Indiana, but looking it up left me empty-handed.
Then we have Jody’s mother. Jody had forgotten to phone her mother the month she became a vampire because Jody had not gotten her period. She would combine the two most unpleasant things in her life to get the unpleasantness over with. Not getting my period ever again is certainly one advantage to becoming a vampire that would appeal to me.
Details like this are some of the many things that made Bloodsucking Fiends as fun as it was. That moment when Tommy walked into the store the first time and owned the Animals. Or the time when Jody decides she has had enough questions and asks Tommy one of her own.
“Men are pigs: Fact or fiction?”
“Fact!” Tommy shouted.
“Correct! You win.” She leaped into his arms and kissed him.
Finally I got to read a story with the kind of romance that I understand. Christopher Moore’s irreverent take on homelessness, gender, stratification, relationships and stalking will probably end up being a repeat read for me.
Reviews:
Bloodsucking Fiends on Little Brown
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