# Fool

*A Novel*

By Christopher Moore

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/fool-0dba7abe/

Lear's family is tearing his kingdom apart, and his court jester Pocket has a dangerously close view of the damage. Pocket tells this version of the story himself, with apprentice Drool alongside him and royal intrigue to contend with.

## What makes it funny?

Moore raids Shakespeare's other plays as freely as Lear's court: Macbeth's witches put in an appearance, and theatrical dialogue gives way to modern slang. A traveling troupe even performs Green Eggs and Hamlet.

### The comedy at work

Pocket has a fool's permission to mock his betters. Moore makes that license the starting point for a retelling in which royal treachery shares space with sexual farce and jokes about the language of Shakespeare.

### Try this if…

An appetite for bawdy literary parody matters more here than a taste for respectful adaptations. The Historical Novel Society's reviewer compares its scatological silliness to Blackadder.

### Good to know

Expect explicit sexual humor, strong language and murder. Moore takes substantial liberties with Shakespeare's plot.

## What to expect

- Genre: Fantasy · Historical
- Kind of humor: Farce · Parody · Wordplay
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Audience: Adult
- Format: Novel
- Published: 2009

## A few distinguishing details

- Lear's court seen through its jester's eyes
- Shakespearean dialogue mixed with modern slang

## Questions readers ask

### Do I need to read King Lear first?

Moore says there's no prerequisite. In his NPR interview, he suggests that readers unfamiliar with Lear start with Fool and read the play afterward.

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Fool — Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780060590314)
- Author commentary: [Christopher Moore discusses Fool — NPR Talk of the Nation](https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/101808487/fool-a-funny-ribald-retelling-of-king-lear?s=6)
- Book information: [William Morrow description and ebook listing on Apple Books](https://books.apple.com/us/book/fool/id360630240)
- Review: [Doug Kemp on Fool — Historical Novel Society](https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/fool)