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JamieBeu

Books with a Beu

Jamie Beu, owner and co-author (with his wife) of CatholicFamily.info, is a "cradle Catholic", devoted husband, and father of two girls. He is a regular contributor to his parish newsletter, as well as an impassioned defender of the faith who is able to both support and challenge others as necessary -- all in an effort to build-up Christ's Kingdom on Earth. To this end, he does a lot of reading - not just of religious books (for education and research), but also of secular books, both to decompress as well as to keep a finger on the pulse of pop culture (the better to relate to others, as well as to help restore the culture).

Currently reading

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
Meg Meeker, Meg Meeker
Hyperion
Dan Simmons
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
'John Townsend', 'Henry Cloud'
Boundaries Face to Face: How to Have That Difficult Conversation You've Been Avoiding
Henry Cloud
Jesus of Nazareth
Pope Benedict XVI, Adrian J. Walker
Permutation City
Greg Egan
Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions
Pope Benedict XVI
Is Jesus Coming Soon?: A Catholic Perspective on the Second Coming
Ralph Martin
Prelude to Foundation (Foundation: Prequel, #1)
Isaac Asimov
Autobiography of a Saint: Therese of Lisieux
Thérèse de Lisieux, Ronald A. Knox, Vernon Johnson

Fool: A Novel

Fool - Christopher Moore I think the warning at the beginning of the book sums it up perfectly: "WARNING: This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason..."

It is a satirical spoof of Shakespeare's works (particularly King Lear, but allusions are made to other works of The Bard), and it is fairly witty in some parts, but mostly it comes across as crass, crude, and sacriligious merely for the sake of being crass, crude, and sacriligious.
I have no problem with some low-brow comedy, but it has to actually be funny and not merely shocking. This book really feels less like a satirical tribute to Shakespeare and more like a medieval version of "American Pie" - some humorous parts (even some genuine gems of comedy) sprinkled not-generously-enough amid a veritable Dark Ages thesaurus of bodily functions.

Like I said, I found it to be quite funny, but not consistently so. I probably would have liked it much more if there weren't so many insulting references to the Christian faith and practices. As a result, it felt like watching a comedian who says a few funny things that have you applauding for him and laughing out loud, and then he jarringly shifts gears into offensive material that just leaves you upset that he had to go there.