And this book does it, whether it provokes deep thoughts about delicate subjects or not. There’s a branch of comedy that specializes in making you do both, intensely. But even as I say this, I put full value on the power of comedy to make you squirm and laugh at the same time. Buddhists might be as uncomfortable with it as anybody, for that matter. There is also some cause for an Occult Content Advisory, at least to the extent that some families may appreciate being forewarned of the book’s quirky take on Buddhism, especially as it relates to the afterlife. Be prepared for vulgar language, unrestrained sexuality, and ishy-gooey gore and violence. Or it could have something to do with a tribe of reanimated, squirrel-sized Frankenstein monsters, a pair of bubble-belching hell-hounds, and a little girl who can kill at fifty paces by pointing her finger and saying, “Kitty!”Īs book-pusher to the Harry Potter fandom, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that this book flies under an Adult Content Advisory.

That could explain why everything is starting to go wrong, and why a prophecy in The Great Big Book of Death hints at a decisive battle between light and darkness taking place in San Francisco. That could explain why a cackling trio of sewer harpies is after him-actually a sort of triune Celtic goddess of war known as the Morrigan. He might actually be the Death after all, the big D, the Luminatus. As time goes by, he realizes that something even more spooky is going on. It’s a dirty job, but because being invisible is one of the required skills, it’s perfectly suited to a Beta Male.Ĭharlie may be more than just one of many death merchants operating in the bay area. It’s sort of like reincarnation, only with a middleman. They collect the objects containing the souls of the dead and dying and re-sell them to someone who is ready to carry a soul through the next leg of its karmic journey.

Suddenly Charlie is a widower, a single father, and because he could see Death coming for his wife, he’s Death as well. But then death swoops down in the form of a seven-foot-tall record store owner whose name, like his wardrobe, is Minty Green. He runs a second-hand shop (inherited from his father), shares a four-story apartment building (ditto) with his lesbian sister, and can’t believe his luck when a beautiful Jewish girl marries him and has his daughter.

In the weird version of San Francisco featured in the same author’s “Love Story” trilogy of vampire novels- Bloodsucking Fiends, You Suck, and Bite Me-lives a textbook specimen of the creature known as the Beta Male.

A dirty job christopher moore movie