Cannonball Read #1: A Dirty Job

Woot, woot! I actually finished a book before November came to a close! After 3 false starts with other books that just couldn't capture my interest, I picked up Christopher Moore's delightful bit of fluff and finished it in one tasty bite. I have enjoyed some of Moore's other books, but this one was a pleasant surprise in that there were moments in this novel which were actually a bit touching. The story deals with Charlie Asher, a Beta Male who we first encounter in the hospital with his wife Rachel and their new born daughter, Sophie. His wife sends him home - he is a bit paranoid and fretful about the newborn in his life and driving everyone nuts- but he returns to her room to bring her a CD and there he sees a tall black man in a mint green suit, who is shocked that Charlie can see him. Charlie demands that he leave the room where his wife is sleeping, and the man replies, "She's not sleeping. I'm sorry" before exiting the room and leaving Charlie to deal with life as a widower and a single dad. But wait, there's more! Charlie runs a secondhand shop, and begins to see objects on the shelves that pulsate with a red glow. Charlie sends his sister Jane down to see if she sees anything odd, and she sees nothing out of place except a tall black man who tells her to tell Charlie that he will be getting a book in the mail. Jane, distracted with consoling her brother and Rachel's family, neglects to do so, and the book fails to get to Charlie.

The red objects continue to haunt Charlie, and they appear to be related to the deaths of the people who own them. Charlie, in fact, appears to be responsible for the deaths and is becoming understandably freaked out. He hunts down the mystery man from the hospital and discovers that they are both Death Merchants, tasked with collecting soul vessels from the recently or soon-to-be departed and charged with seeing that they make their way to the people destined to receive them. Since Charlie's copy of The Great Big Book of Death was intercepted, the other fellow fills him in on the details of the job description along with the dire consequences of screwing up - namely, the Forces of Darkness rising from the Underworld, resulting in the destruction of the collective soul of humanity.

The book mostly follows Charlie as he tries to raise his daughter, cope with the loss of his wife and perform his new job, along with the help of various quirky people in his life. People die, soul vessels are collected and not collected, and vicious shades rise from the sewers to taunt Charlie and give him the hand job from Hell. An ultimate showdown occurs involving Charlie and an army of 14" tall frankencritters versus the Forces of Darkness. I found a number of twists to be broadcast quite loudly ahead of time, but Charlie was portrayed as rather clueless throughout the book, so perhaps I shouldn't hold it against him that I saw them first. As I noted earlier, the thing that surprised me the most was the undercurrent of sweetness and emotion that ran through the book. Moore goes out of his way to laud hospice workers and demonstrate a clear grasp on the emotions that come with the loss of a loved one, but the overall silliness of the book keeps it from being bogged down with maudlin sentiment.

I read the entire book in one sitting, which was a welcome change from the more intellectual books I had attempted earlier in the month. I had to force myself to plow through those and finally abandoned them. A Dirty Job was just what I needed to finally jump into the Cannonball Read waters.