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Interviews | June 19, 2009

All posts by Dave Jim Lynch Makes Landscape Art... Out of Text

If Carl Hiaasen set one of his novels on a residential stretch of boundary line between British Columbia and Washington, or if Richard Russo's characters had relatives in the Pacific Northwest, the result might be something like Jim Lynch's Border Songs. Continue »


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The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0

by Christopher Moore

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 Cover

Staff Pick

Please, Santa, come back from the dead! World-class satirist Christopher Moore is here just in time for the holidays.
Recommended by Linda, Powells.com

There's nothing wrong with a gut-busting, laugh-out-loud, twisted Christmas tale! Add a few zombies, a scream queen, and an angel too stupid to be true, and you have the perfect ingredients for the craziest holiday story ever. Just don't roll around on the floor laughing while you read The Stupidest Angel... people always get suspicious when you are having a good time. WARNING: Christopher Moore's books can be addictive and can cause sudden outbursts of uncontrollable laughter... but don't let that stop you.
Recommended by Linda, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe.

'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit. It is the hap-hap-happiest time of the year, after all.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say Kris Kringle, he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Only Christopher Moore, the man who brought you the outrageous lost gospel Lamb and the hysterical fish tale Fluke could have devised a new holiday classic that tugs at the heartstrings and serves up a healthy slice of fruitcake to boot.

Move over, Charles Dickens — it's Christopher Moore time.

Review:

"Hilarity abounds in Moore's latest satirical gem. Sleepy Pine Cove, Calif., is abuzz with Christmas spirit, but Lena Marquez is fed up with her despicable ex-husband, Dale Pearson. On his way home from playing Santa Claus at the local lodge, Dale spies sneaky Lena uprooting his Monterey pines; he pulls a gun on her, she lashes out with a shovel and — oops! — kills him. Seven-year-old Josh Barker, thinking he's just seen the murder of Santa, prays for a miracle to save Christmas. To Lena's rescue comes Tucker Case, a slimy, reformed Casanova and DEA pilot, who gives her an alibi and sweeps her off her feet. The marijuana-cultivating town constable, Theo Crowe, suspects foul play, but Tucker intervenes with a blackmail scheme to keep the crime buried. Meanwhile, there's a new arrival in town: the glowingly blond Archangel Raziel (last seen in Lamb) has come 'dirtside' on a 'miracle mission' involving Josh's wish and reviving the town's dearly departed. Pine Cove's biggest challenge surfaces as comically reanimated zombies begin to rise and feast on the living, and a huge El Nino-induced storm swirls. This little slice of perverse Christmas cheer is enough to make even the most cynical Scrooge guffaw. Agent, Nicholas Ellison. (Oct.) Forecast: Moore's reputation for quality satire and the book's compact size should make hand-selling this as easy as pie. " Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Mr. Moore is clearly the unhinged Hiaasen. He's Daily Show-funny and willing to subvert anything, even the 'pile of dead Kringle' that sets this fractured fairy tale in motion." Janet Maslin, The New York Times

Review:

"Delirious!" Booklist

Review:

"Christopher Moore's prose is hyper but never shticky, and his compassion for this island of misfits shines as bright as the samurai sword wielded by a schizophrenic warrior woman on a not-so-silent Christmas Eve. (Grade: A)" Entertainment Weekly

Synopsis:

'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Move over, Charles Dickens — it's Christopher Moore time.

About the Author

Christopher Moore is the author of ten novels, including the New York Times bestsellers You Suck and A Dirty Job. He lives in San Francisco, California.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Laurie Blum, December 6, 2006 (view all comments by Laurie Blum)
Need a good laugh & a hearty chuckle at this wild and crazy stressful holiday season? Christopher Moore's "The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror" is the answer. Waaaay creative & fun!
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(15 of 32 readers found this comment helpful)
Edward Martin III, December 3, 2006 (view all comments by Edward Martin III)
The Stupidest Angel isn't JUST a funny book. It isn't JUST a clever book. It isn't JUST an astonishingly addictive to read book. It's an astonishingly addictive to read hilarious and brain splatteringly clever book to read. Christopher Moore doesn't just use language to tell a story -- he uses language to delight and thrill you. He serves up phrases that are so breathtaking that you have to read them again, as if you simply could not believe that you read them the first time. For example:

"Blessed are the minimarshmallows," the angel said, swooning a little.

And I haven't even talked about the BOOK yet!

The Stupidest Angel is a Christmas tale of beauty, hate, greed, love, power, death, secrets, murder, revelations, magic, miracles, resurrection, the inexplicable appearance of Star Trek shirts, and the sweet peppery taste of gunpowder. Every character is perfectly drawn -- even the bat.

If you miss this book, then you'll spend Christmas wondering what the cool people are snickering about.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(17 of 29 readers found this comment helpful)
View all 2 comments

Product Details

ISBN:
9780060842352
Subtitle:
A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0
Author:
Moore, Christopher
Author:
by Christopher Moore
Publisher:
William Morrow & Company
Subject:
General
Subject:
Humorous
Subject:
Community life
Subject:
Seaside resorts
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Horror fiction
Subject:
Christmas stories
Copyright:
Publication Date:
November 1, 2005
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
306
Dimensions:
7.81x5.26x1.14 in. .88 lbs.

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