"The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror" by Christopher MooreOriginally published in 2004
My rating: 4 out of 5
"The Stupidest Angel" was unlike any book I've read before. I kind of expected that, after the lady checking me out at the library told me she could never get into Moore's books because of his very sarcastic writing style and wished me luck. Now I can see where she was coming from. Don't be fooled by the childish drawing of the halo-clad angel on the cover!
If you're easily offended by things like swear words, scrotums, sex in graveyards, marijuana, murders, and angels of God portrayed as complete nutcase morons, please -- I beg you -- avoid this "tale of Christmas terror." If you believe you possess the open-minded, somewhat sick sense of humor needed to enjoy Moore's writing, read on.
The "stupidest angel" in the novel is Raziel, who has been selected from above to perform for one earthling child a Christmas miracle. Little Josh Barker has just witnessed the murder of Santa -- or, rather, evil small-town developer Dale Pearson who in a drunken rage attempted to shoot his ex-wife for stealing his Monterey pine trees to give to poor families and found himself on the wrong end of her shovel, all while dressed in a Santa suit -- and he prays for the dead Santa to come back to life. From Josh's mouth to Raziel's ears! Sadly for Josh and the small town of Pine Cove, California, Raziel is hardly heaven's most competent angel and his presence unleashes mayhem, complete with brain-sucking zombies hell-bent on finding the nearest IKEA store after their gory meal.
The "stupidest angel" in the novel is Raziel, who has been selected from above to perform for one earthling child a Christmas miracle. Little Josh Barker has just witnessed the murder of Santa -- or, rather, evil small-town developer Dale Pearson who in a drunken rage attempted to shoot his ex-wife for stealing his Monterey pine trees to give to poor families and found himself on the wrong end of her shovel, all while dressed in a Santa suit -- and he prays for the dead Santa to come back to life. From Josh's mouth to Raziel's ears! Sadly for Josh and the small town of Pine Cove, California, Raziel is hardly heaven's most competent angel and his presence unleashes mayhem, complete with brain-sucking zombies hell-bent on finding the nearest IKEA store after their gory meal.
Moore's writing is all at once funny, clever, sadly realistic, biting, offensive, witty and often nonsensical. If nothing else, Moore is memorable. I won't soon forget this "heartwarming tale" -- which did indeed have a happy and surprisingly heartwarming ending.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite passages from the novel:
"I'm working in here, so things are a little messy."
A little messy? An understatement on par with calling the Bataan Death March a nature hike -- it looked like someone had loaded all of Gabe's belongings into a cannon and fired them into the room through the wall.
A little messy? An understatement on par with calling the Bataan Death March a nature hike -- it looked like someone had loaded all of Gabe's belongings into a cannon and fired them into the room through the wall.
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I will have to keep this book in mind for next year's holiday season. Sounds like a fun read.
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