A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

I found A Dirty Job completely by accident. My paperback book club sent it to me because I forgot to send in my card. I find the most interesting books that way. A Dirty Job is one of the funniest and sweetest books I have read in awhile.

A Dirty Job tells the story of Charlie Asher. Charlie is one of those guys who fades into the background. He runs a secondhand store and is constantly imagining the worst. On the day his wife gives birth to their daughter, he returns to her room to see a tall man in mint green standing over her. His wife is dead, and now Charlie has another problem. People start dying around him, and random objects start glowing red. Charlie discovers he’s a Death Merchant, one who guides the soul of one person to the next. His daughter starts behaving weirdly, the agents of evil are trying to rise up into San Francisco, and his sister wants him to just find a girl to go to bed with. Life just keeps getting more and more complicated the more Charlie finds out.

Christopher Moore writes a multi-faceted story full of truth disguised in humor. It’s laugh out loud funny, but in the next minute you are so very sad. Charlie is one of those characters that sticks with you. He is Everyman, and his daughter Sophie is so much more complex than your normal 6 year old. Regardless of that, she’s never unbelievable. In fact, despite his characters being a part of a comedic story, they are never caricatures. They are honest, and the book itself is such a lovely story about death and dying. It addresses your fears and your sadness over lost loved ones, all while making you laugh. Rarely do I find something so good to read, with so much that sticks with me long after.

I really must get more of Christopher Moore’s books. A Dirty Job reminded me of Good Omens and the like. There’s a story there with a lot of good things to say, but it never preaches. It lets you follow along and discover the points of the story on your own. I’ve got to see if his other books are as good.

Rating: 5 Purrs for giant hell hounds, little animal dolls, lesbian sisters, and Minty Fresh