The Books of San Francisco
This weekend I found a gem of a book called “A Dirty Job” by Christopher Moore. Chris wrote one of my all-time favorite books, “Lamb. The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal” which is quite possibly the best book I’ve read in at least 5 years. Well his new book is a lot like the Showtime series “Dead Like Me” (which Showtime should be shut down lock stock and barrel for cancelling) but done in that insanely snarky Chris Moore style. The book is set in San Francisco and does an incredible job of lampooning all of our distinct neighborhoods and personality disorders. The author splits his time between here and Hawaii, which would have come in handy during our recent monsoon season, but also gives him a voice that rings true on all aspects of the city. A fantastic read on all fronts and a great perspective on our little town. And yes, it gets serious SF cred for making me laugh hysterically out loud to the hordes of homless guys while riding on Muni.
this sounds awesome (with praise from Gregory Maguire nonetheless)! I love this excerpt from the description:
” (…) Just as Charlie — exhausted from the birth — turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel’s hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . .
People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It’s a dirty job. But hey, somebody’s gotta do it.”