On the HahaFiction shelf
Fool
A Novel
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.
Paid link · We earn commissions from qualifying Amazon purchases. Affiliate disclosure
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.
A few distinguishing details
- Lear's court seen through its jester's eyes
- Shakespearean dialogue mixed with modern slang
From book groups
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.
More funny fantasy
Sources & further reading
Something we should correct? Let us know.
