free counter with statistics A Dirty Job Book Review | Pajiba - Scathing Reviews for Bitchy People

dd_moore27_0038_el.jpg
100 Books in One Year: A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Cannonball Read / The Caustic Critic

Book Reviews | February 18, 2009 | Comments (31)

I really really wanted to like Christopher Moore’s A Dirty Job. Nearly everyone I know has told me I just MUST read Moore … he’s so quirky and funny and hilarious and quirky and I will LOVE HIM!

I’m not sure what my friends think of me to try and get me to read this book.

I’m not saying the story of Charlie Asher — a neurotic recent widower and single dad who discovers he is a part of the machinery of death — is bad, or that I didn’t enjoy it. I just felt like the author was … trying too hard. I guess I can relate, because — and perhaps this is why my friends thought of me when they read this — when I was writing, I had the very same problem Moore seems to have: a raft of “quirky” side characters who totally overwhelm the relatively dull main character. I liked the side characters, particularly Goth assistant clerk Lily and fellow “Death Merchant” Minty Fresh. Their descriptions were clear and vibrant. I wanted to know more about them and watch them go about their lives. However, I found Charlie himself kind of whiny and annoying. I was rather disappointed when we had to leave some of the other viewpoints and go back to Charlie and his fussing. Plus Moore’s constant return to the them of the neurotic, overprotective, ultra-worried “Beta Male” also seemed kind of like a cop-out to explain why Charlie was such a freak.

The plot in itself is not bad. There were many things I like and parts that I found funny. Moore is clearly a writer who knows how to cleverly turn a phrase. However, on the whole I found the book more or less forgettable. In fact, although I just finished it yesterday, it has left no particular dent on my memory — I know I read it, I remember what it was about, but I am left with nothing except the basic knowledge of what happened and a vague feeling of irritation.

I will probably give Moore another shot if only because I am tired of being asked if I have read that one about Biff, Christ’s childhood pal yet. As far as recommendations go, I guess it’s not bad as something to read on a bus trip or while stranded in an airport, but otherwise, there are probably a lot of better books out there.

This review is part of the Cannonball Read series. Details are here and the growing number of participants and their blogs are here. And check here for more of The Caustic Critc’s reviews.


← Movies for the Dumped | State of Play Trailer Crowe McAdams Affleck →



Comments

No Mike Rowe! If it's a dirty job, someones got to do it and that someone is Mr. Rowe.

However everyone shall hereby be known as Minty Fresh for the rest of the day.

Posted by: admin at February 18, 2009 9:23 AM

Sorry to add on, but yes you should read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.

It doesn't suffer from the problem of boring main character, quirky side characters. You'll care about everyone.

Posted by: Alice at February 18, 2009 9:25 AM

I really liked A Diry Job. It was my introduction to the wacky world of Christopher Moore. So far, I have only read "You Suck" (out of sequence, unfortunately...but it didn't lose much) and "The Stupidest Angel." Both are fun, mindless, wacked out reading.

Posted by: dammitjanet at February 18, 2009 9:33 AM

Christopher Moore was recommended to me after I wouldn't shut up about Good Omens, the Neil Gaiman / Terry Pratchett collaboration. I also sort of disliked Moore, but I assumed my standards were too high, since I was comparing to Good Omens. I think that might be a better fit, actually -- but be forewarned, it's a tiny tiny bit dated.

Posted by: ellipsis at February 18, 2009 9:40 AM

A Dirty Job was the first one I read of his. I loved that it made me laugh out loud. Little Zombies, The hell hounds, and Lily were fantastic. Lily was even more impressive because it was written by a man in his late 40s. I particularly enjoyed all of the insults. (I was able to convince my roommate to let me use "Fucktard," during a game of scrabble. It was a small victory.)

I have read several others and there are some parts that are fantastically funny. It goes from having you laugh out loud to being vaguely tepid, but it works because the laughter is even more of a surprise. The more recent books are by far better than the earlier ones. Although to fully enjoy The Stupidest Angel it is better to at least read a few of the old ones as it brings all the characters together.

If you have read the others, he frequently uses a type to describe the main male character "nerd in a cool guy's body" "Action Geek" etc. It is part of his writing style.

Fool just came out and I paid full price for it because I believe his writing is consistently more fun to read as he progresses.

Posted by: Morgagod at February 18, 2009 9:49 AM

I thought the exact same thing when I started reading this book at the local Chapters.

He just seemed to try too hard to be funny and weird. He seems to be trying to emulate a Gaimanian wit and (or) quirk which doesnt quite work with his style of writing.

the subject seems interesting but Moore cant deliver.

Posted by: Sara at February 18, 2009 9:59 AM

I recently read The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, and had pretty much the same reaction. I can just imagine Moore sitting at his desk, with two scotch-taped slogans on his computer monitor: "Bring on the zany!" and "Try harder!". Ninety percent of his characters are lovable losers, and that percentage is way too high.

Posted by: Wednesday at February 18, 2009 10:06 AM

I read The Stupidest Angel first. I laughed my fool head off. It was the first time in ages I read something that actually made me laugh out loud. I startled a cat.
I've started Lamb but I haven't finished it yet. I really am enjoying it, though. A friend of mine, if I recall correctly, told me she didn't really like Dirty Job, and she L-O-V-E-D Lamb.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at February 18, 2009 10:07 AM

I love Chris Moore, I started with Bloodsucking Fiends and then went on to Lamb. I enjoyed A Dirty Job though I think he does try too hard to be funny at times...that was my biggest problem with You Suck and Lust Lizard. But Lamb is effortless. There's heart to the story, which makes the funny parts funnier.

Posted by: Julie at February 18, 2009 10:20 AM

I loved this book! Really funny. It's not as good as Good Omens (if we're going to compare Moore to Pratchett/Gaiman) but enjoyable. Haven't read anything else, but for a quick and quirky read, I'd recommend it.

Posted by: Ariel at February 18, 2009 10:20 AM

Yeah, it's not even just a book recommendation at this point. [i]Lamb[/i] is how they should teach religion. My copy started getting passed around my family, and one day my 80 year old great-aunt--sister to a Roman Catholic bishop of Chicago--called up crying she was laughing so hard.

It's the bees' knees is what I'm getting at.

Posted by: JakesAlterEgo at February 18, 2009 10:23 AM

I've read almost all of Christopher Moore's books (Fool and Bloodsucking Fiends are on my wish list), and A Dirty Job was actually one of my favourites. However, I do realize he's not everybody's style; my husband had a similar reaction to yours after reading Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. He found the characters to be distractingly quirky.

On my recommendation, he recently gave Fluke a shot, and quite enjoyed it. Although the plot is pretty effed-up, the characters are quite relatable. It's set in the world of whale researchers (Mr. meaux has a science background, so I figured it'd be a better fit).

I would recommend Lamb to almost anyone, but I didn't think my analytically-minded, no-patience-for-religion husband would have any interest in it. If you are a similar sort, then don't set your hopes too high. Me, I like a little whimsy, and although I'm firmly agnostic (if there is such a thing as being "decidedly unsure about the whole god thing"), I was raised Catholic and was familiar enough with the characters to enjoy the hell out of the book.

However, I've never read King Lear, so I'm hoping this won't be to my detriment when reading Fool....

Posted by: meaux at February 18, 2009 10:25 AM

Jesus, Biff is so damn boring, I couldn't finish it. it made me feel like i was back in hebrew school, and when the hell is that a good thing? I did really like a dirty job though, so it seems we have 2 teams. The people who preferred a dirty job and the rest of you crappy-ass people. Religion isn't funny, religious people are funny. difference.

Posted by: Todd at February 18, 2009 10:26 AM

"I found the book more or less forgettable. In fact, although I just finished it yesterday, it has left no particular dent on my memory -- I know I read it, I remember what it was about, but I am left with nothing except the basic knowledge of what happened and a vague feeling of irritation."

Coincidentally, I had forgotten I'd read "Dirty" (and it was just in the last year) until I got some way through your plot summary: "This sounds vaguely familiar ... um-hmmm ... um-hmmm ... Oh, yeah, I've read this." I don't find Moore's books spectacularly funny, but just funny enough to get me to read the next one to see if he'll ever put it all together.

Got a Kinky Friedman on the shelf to get through first, though ...

Posted by: bucdaddy at February 18, 2009 10:56 AM

I fully agree, though I liked A Dirty Job better than you seem to have... something about the hellhounds and killing people by saying the word "kitty." Yes, trying too hard - but still chuck inducing.

Lamb is much better - like, can't believe it's written by the same guy better. I truly enjoyed that book, maybe because I'm a lapsed Catholic.

However, it's the last I'll read of Moore. He has a shtick, and it's not as consistently funny as, say, Sedaris, or as engaging and well-written as (even) Palahniuk (who isn't always all that great). It doesn't seem worth it to read anything else by him, because I've read it already in the two mentioned above.

Posted by: LA at February 18, 2009 10:56 AM

Got a Kinky Friedman on the shelf to get through first, though ...

I don't know what that is... is it like a Dirty Sanchez?

Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at February 18, 2009 12:18 PM

A Dirty Job had it's moments, but I found that "Beta Male" crap terribly irritating the 7,000th time Moore brought it up. Plus, the climax depends on a "twist" so obvious (I saw it coming about 200 pages earlier) that I got aggravated the otherwise intelligent characters never noticed it. But Lamb was a triumph. I mean, Jesus learns kung fu! How cool is that?

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at February 18, 2009 12:40 PM

jesus isn't funny... or cool... not unless she's played by mandy moore, i'd watch that.

Posted by: Todd at February 18, 2009 1:23 PM

I read Moore's "Practical Demonkeeping" about a man who inadvertantly calls up a demon who eats people, but now he can't get rid of the demon. The book is full of quirky, wacky types. It was hard to like the book, I think, because I didn't always appreciate the black humor involved with a demon who eats people, some of whom were sympathetic characters, and also because the book is overcomplicated by all those quirky, wacky characters. My reaction to Moore is similar to this reviewer's, in that it wasn't a bad book, but that there are so many other books out there waiting to be read. On the other hand, I may try the Biff book. PD was Moore's debut, so perhaps the quality improved with later books.

Posted by: rlr260 at February 18, 2009 1:59 PM

I actually adored this book, but haven't really at all enjoyed any of the others I've tried to read. I'd apply this review to You Suck, Bloodsucking Fiends, and The Sparkling Flying Nun or Whatever the Hell It's Called, which I haven't even been able to finish yet.

But Dirty Job I loved, yeah.

Posted by: dsbs at February 18, 2009 3:59 PM

I actually adored this book, but haven't really at all enjoyed any of the others I've tried to read. I'd apply this review to You Suck, Bloodsucking Fiends, and The Sparkling Flying Nun or Whatever the Hell It's Called, which I haven't even been able to finish yet.

But Dirty Job I loved, yeah.

Posted by: dsbs at February 18, 2009 4:08 PM

Err, sorry about the double post.
Also - I agree, he does try to hard, but sometimes his books manage to be funny in spite of that.

Posted by: dsbs at February 18, 2009 4:22 PM

I am solidly on Team Dirty Job. I tried to force myself through Biff but I just thought the whole thing was like something a high school kid would write to piss off his religious parents. Yawn.

I had the same kind of feeling about A Dirty Job in parts--the over the top quirks and feeling of vague desperation--but the story and most characters were engaging enough that I was able to overlook it and found it quite enjoyable. Team Dirty 4eva!

Posted by: Cara at February 18, 2009 4:59 PM


One of my friends recommended Lamb to me and I thought it was AWESOME! Then I read Good Omens... that book upped the par!

I must say though, we don't know if Jesus had a sense of humour or not, i would like to think he did.

Posted by: Four Eyes at February 18, 2009 8:18 PM

How to Get the Most Enjoyment Out of Reading Christopher Moore:

1. Read Practical Demonkeeping

2. Read Bloodsucking Fiends

3. Stop.

Posted by: Brett at February 19, 2009 12:30 PM

How to Get the Most Enjoyment Out of Reading Christopher Moore:

1. Read Practical Demonkeeping

2. Read Bloodsucking Fiends

3. Stop.

Posted by: Brett at February 19, 2009 12:32 PM

How to Get the Most Enjoyment Out of Reading Christopher Moore:

1. Read Practical Demonkeeping

2. Read Bloodsucking Fiends

3. Stop.

Posted by: Brett at February 19, 2009 12:38 PM

I just finished Lamb and I thought it was fine, but there were definitely parts that made me want to yell out "Get to it!" because I could foresee 20 pages into the future, which makes reading those 20 pages a little slow. Maybe I'm just really really smart...but probably not. I'm probably just drinking the same kind of booze Moore is.

Posted by: Cassandra at February 19, 2009 2:51 PM

Lamb is one of my all-time favorites. That shit was funny AND poignant. It made me shoot coke out of my nose and also made me get a little verklempt. It's SO good. I made my Mormon friend read it and SHE loved it too. It IS effortless.

I really liked A Dirty Job, though. Charlie is a little annoying.. but aren't MOST (and by that I mean ALL) men that way? (I loved the Asian Powers.) I have liked everything I've read by Moore, except for Fluke- but everyone can have an off-day.

Posted by: Cletus at February 19, 2009 9:30 PM

I love him!It is said he is interested in da*ting pretty models at a celebrity site --Richromances.com--. I will become a member soon!

Posted by: lawrence at February 20, 2009 12:06 AM

so even though i'm coming pretty late to this game...had to give my 2 cents....i love Christopher Moore but I think I'm forever tainted because I started reading him with Lamb and nothing else I've read of his can stand up to it. I like Fluke and I've tried to read Dirty Job about 3 times without successfully finishing it but I've reread Lamb about 10 times and tell anyone I know that likes Gaimen/Prachett to read Lamb.....

jujitsu....way of the jew....priceless!

Posted by: SashaCA2 at February 20, 2009 4:30 PM