Books can grab your attention for any number of reasons. Sometimes they have a great picture on the cover. Sometimes they are very well-known. Sometimes the content reels you in and plays at your heartstrings like a fiddler playing his dying song. And sometimes, sometimes the title is just really great. You Suck (A love story) by Christopher Moore is one of those. I mean, who can resist delving just a little bit deeper into a book with such a profound and flattering title as that? Imagine my surprise and complete delight when I realized after reading the first page that the book is entirely about (wait for it)….VAMPIRES.
Anyone who knows me knows of my love of classic vampire lore. If you don’t know that little piece of quirky knowledge about me it is probably because I don’t like you. I guess with a name like You Suck I should have seen it coming but I didn’t and I can’t help that. Like the novel suggests it is a love story, but not in the vein of Romeo and Juliet. After all, Romeo and Juliet killed themselves, whereas our main characters simply decided to become immortal to enjoy killer (pun intended) sex and really really good looks. To be honest I traditionally prefer classic vampire literature (something about ancient mythology really gets me going) but I have to say I really did enjoy this spoof on the undead.
(Sidenote- Who thought of the word spoof? I mean really, say it outloud. SP-OOF. Spoof. Great word. )
Continuing on, Chris Moore is an offbeat writer with a witty sense of humor that shows up in unexpected places. I found myself laughing out loud at completely inappropriate times and who doesn’t like that? Reading his book was a little like getting a secret look into the mind of a very intelligent (but perverted) 16 year old boy. He is able to incorporate both sarcasm and a certain joie de vie in a way that makes you turn the page a little bit faster. Moore’s talent for taking the seemingly absurd and treating it as normal allows supporting characters, like Tommy’s “minion” (I want a minion) to shine and to be honest, makes me giggle like a young school girl.
The book begins with Tommy and Jody, the book’s two main characters. They are, if anything, committed to one another and their new vampire ways though surprisingly cavalier about the fact that they are now doomed to roam the earth as the undead. If I should ever wake up one morning with a fuzzy memory of the night before (thats never happened of course) and find myself immortal with a lust for blood I personally think I would have a slight meltdown/freakout/cryfest. But that’s just me. I am known to be emotional at times. Instead the goth couple take on their new, permanent situation as if they were a bunch of frat boys who have run out of beer and need to creatively come up with an alternative plan to sway unsuspecting freshman girls to their “lair.”
Lest you think that they are a couple without problems (don’t forget they do have that inconvenient habit of needing to drink blood) Tommy and Jody also run into several tribulations over the course of the plot. Apparently not everyone is a member of their vampire fan club. They run into trouble from several different angles and hilarity ensues.
All in all, I would like to formally recommend this book. My love of vamps aside, anyone with a legit personality or (good) sense of humor would like this book. Take it for what it is and your senses will be both surprised and delighted (but not surprisingly delighted).
