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Book Summary and Reviews of Noir by Christopher Moore

Noir by Christopher Moore

Noir

by Christopher Moore

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2018, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Think Raymond Chandler meets Damon Runyon with more than a dash of Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes All Stars. It's all very, very Noir. It's all very, very Christopher Moore.

The absurdly outrageous, sarcastically satiric, and always entertaining New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore returns in finest madcap form with this zany noir set on the mean streets of post-World War II San Francisco, and featuring a diverse cast of characters, including a hapless bartender; his Chinese sidekick; a doll with sharp angles and dangerous curves; a tight-lipped Air Force general; a wisecracking waif; Petey, a black mamba; and many more.

San Francisco. Summer, 1947. A dame walks into a saloon ...

It's not every afternoon that an enigmatic, comely blonde named Stilton (like the cheese) walks into the scruffy gin joint where Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin tends bar. It's love at first sight, but before Sammy can make his move, an Air Force general named Remy arrives with some urgent business. 'Cause when you need something done, Sammy is the guy to go to; he's got the connections on the street.

Meanwhile, a suspicious flying object has been spotted up the Pacific coast in Washington State near Mount Rainer, followed by a mysterious plane crash in a distant patch of desert in New Mexico that goes by the name Roswell. But the real weirdness is happening on the streets of the City by the Bay.

When one of Sammy's schemes goes south and the Cheese mysteriously vanishes, Sammy is forced to contend with his own dark secrets - and more than a few strange goings on - if he wants to find his girl.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. [A] pedal-to-the-metal, exquisitely written comic romp through a neon-lit San Francisco that may never have actually existed, but that, in Moore's supremely talented hands, sure feels like it could have." - Booklist

"Starred Review. Raymond Chandler meets the SyFy channel in Moore's latest humorous adventure. Fans of noir film and fiction will find a lot to enjoy in this loving genre tribute, and those already familiar with Moore's books will simply be in love. " - Library Journal

"Moore spoofs hard-boiled detective fiction in this irreverent send-up set in 1947 San Francisco. ... [A]n amusing spin on the noir subgenre." - Publishers Weekly

"A frantically comic tale of guys and dolls that shoots and just misses." - Kirkus

"Christopher Moore gives us dizzy dames and shadowy gangsters in Noir. Sammy, Moore's comic revision of Sam Spade, will take you on a silly-thrilly ride through late-1940s San Francisco, and you'll be laughing all the way." - Washington Post

"The master of satire is back ... Noir is a fun parody of detective fiction that has everything Christopher Moore fans have come to love and expect from his work: humor, fantasy, absurdity, and a cast of outrageous characters you won't soon forget." - Bustle

This information about Noir was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Dennis De Rose

COP A SQUAT AND READ NOIR!
Such a pleasure to read a LARGE PRINT copy of NOIR by CHRIS MOORE. I have read many books by him. Good fiction writers use real places, real people and real events in their stories and Chris has mastered the technique. Let's hop on the WABAC machine and take a trip back in time to San Francisco 1947: the joints were jumpin, the broads were doin the Jigaboo. Some cops were on the take, some guys on the lamb. G Men were huntin Commies and UFO's were invading our great country. The Wops lived in one section; the Micks in another; all the Chinks were in Chinatown. The city's population exploded after WW2. You could eat a full meal for 2 bits (25 cents).

Sammy "Two-Toes", a 4F washout, works in a gin joint run by a real prick, Sal. Sam meets a dame who he frequently refers to as Toots or the Cheese. And the story takes off from there: G men (referred to as tax men who don't know their left hand from their right), a deady black momba, a moonman (but no one knows where he's really from), a crooked cop by the name of Pookie, the Bohemian Society ( a powerful bunch you don't wanna cross). Other colorful characters make the story a laugh out loud romp: Milo (a cab driver who hates to drive), Lone Jones (a gentle Black giant), General Remy (a bumbling Army mucky muck). And mustn't forget the Chinese compliment: Moo Shoes, Lois Fong and Uncle Mao.

Together, these characters, the time frame and the settings make for a fantastic fun fast read. CHRIS MOORE never disappoints. The story and the words used to tell it are of that time to keep it authentic. There is a warning on the first page, CM is not trying to offend any of his readers. A story taking place in 1947 uses 1947 lingo. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

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Author Information

Christopher Moore Author Biography

Photo: Flash Alexander

Christopher Moore is the author of fifteen novels, including the international bestsellers, Lamb, A Dirty Job, You Suck and Secondhand Souls (2015).

Chris was born in Toledo, Ohio and grew up in Mansfield, Ohio. His father was a highway patrolman and his mother sold major appliances at a department store. He attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. He moved to California when he was 19 years old and lived on the Central Coast until 2003, when he moved to Hawaii.

Before publishing his first novel, Practical Demonkeeping in 1992, he worked as a roofer, a grocery clerk, a hotel night auditor, and insurance broker, a waiter, a photographer, and a rock and roll DJ. Chris has drawn on all of these work experiences to create the characters in his ...

... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Christopher Moore's Website

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