Shakespeare for Squirrels: A Novel

Written by Christopher Moore

Narrated by Euan Morton

Shakespeare meets Dashiell Hammett in this wildly entertaining murder mystery from New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore—an uproarious, hardboiled take on the Bard’s most performed play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring Pocket, the hero of Fool and The Serpent of Venice, along with his sidekick, Drool, and pet monkey, Jeff.

Set adrift by his pirate crew, Pocket of Dog Snogging—last seen in The Serpent of Venice—washes up on the sun-bleached shores of Greece, where he hopes to dazzle the Duke with his comedic brilliance and become his trusted fool.

But the island is in turmoil. Egeus, the Duke’s minister, is furious that his daughter Hermia is determined to marry Demetrius, instead of Lysander, the man he has chosen for her. The Duke decrees that if, by the time of the wedding, Hermia still refuses to marry Lysander, she shall be executed . . . or consigned to a nunnery. Pocket, being Pocket, cannot help but point out that this decree is complete bollocks, and that the Duke is an egregious weasel for having even suggested it. Irritated by the fool’s impudence, the Duke orders his death. With the Duke’s guards in pursuit, Pocket makes a daring escape.

He soon stumbles into the wooded realm of the fairy king Oberon, who, as luck would have it, IS short a fool. His jester Robin Goodfellow—the mischievous sprite better known as Puck—was found dead. Murdered. Oberon makes Pocket an offer he can’t refuse: he will make Pocket his fool and have his death sentence lifted if Pocket finds out who killed Robin Goodfellow. But as anyone who is even vaguely aware of the Bard’s most performed play ever will know, nearly every character has a motive for wanting the mischievous sprite dead.

With too many suspects and too little time, Pocket must work his own kind of magic to find the truth, save his neck, and ensure that all ends well.

A rollicking tale of love, magic, madness, and murder, Shakespeare for Squirrels is a Midsummer Night’s noir—a wicked and brilliantly funny good time conjured by the singular imagination of Christopher Moore.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062934154

Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is the author of eighteen previous novels, including Razzmatazz, Shakespeare for Squirrels, Noir, Secondhand Souls, Sacré Bleu, Fool, and Lamb. He lives in San Francisco, California.

[birdo82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A rare second sequel that feels even fresher than the prior, Pocket’s continuing adventures through the Bard’s world is a fond pageant you must see.

[Srijeeta Mukherjee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great narrator. Funny story. Superb opening music in the audio book.

[Deborah Marie Martin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Squirrelly Man I really dug it!!! Listened to multiple times!!!

[JohnBrown · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A gem of a story I loved it great fun!

[Becki Basley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Shakespeare for squirrels by Christopher Moore
So our old friend is back! We were introduced to him in Fool, then followed his story in the the Serpent of Venice and nowhere lands in Christopher’s version of A midsummer nights dream. Who am I talking about? The devious yet oddly loveable fool Pocket of Dog Snogging .

Since I avoided Shakespeare like a plague in school it’s no surprise I found it hard to follow along with the story yet I also said the curses in the book a lot and used there thy and thou at every opportunity. I didn’t hate the book but I didn’t love it either. My advice if you want to read this book is to read the two other books pocket starred in to get an more through understanding of Pocket.

[bibleblaster · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A bit frustrating trying to keep up with all the characters, but that frustration comes straight from The Bard himself, so Moore was simply being true to his source. Yes, it has that raunchy type of humor that Moore seems to delight in, but the humor that comes from downright silliness and the repetition of silliness (and his apparent love for squirrels), well, that's one of the reasons I keep reading his books. Onto Noir and the Van Gogh book...

[gingirl70 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The sheer amount of obscenity in this book is just lazy writing.  Normally, I enjoy Christopher Moore, but this one was just awful. 

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A hilarious rendition of A Midsummer's Night Dream as brought to you by Pocket of Dog Snogging, the Fool and his cohort of Jeff the Monkey, Drool, the fool's apprentice and Cobweb, the fairy. Drool is being held hostage by the Duke and so in exchange for Drool, Pocket must quest to discover who killed Robin Goodfellow, the Puck.

[treebeard_404 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The best of the series, so far.

[jbaty_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I always enjoy reading a Christopher Moore book and this was not an exception.

[jckphnx · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A rare second sequel that feels even fresher than the prior, Pocket’s continuing adventures through the Bard’s world is a fond pageant you must see.

[andsoitgoes_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I am a huge Christopher Moore fan but I cannot get into the Fool series. I enjoy Shakespeare but I really don't like Moore's take on the plays. Hopefully he'll abandon this series and I can read him again.

[brangwinn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It looks like I am late to the play with this book. There have been two previously funny books with a retake on Shakespeare. This one is a “remake” of A Midsummer’s Night Dream and it has been made into a murder mystery. On the second page you get the jist of the seriousness of the story when a monkey reaches for its rear to make a bum-baby and throw it at someone who has been making fun of him. Yep, It is a parody. And when this wild group of pirates end up on the shores of Greece there’s lots more mayhem in this very clever story.

[hhornblower_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An OK book. The Pocket storyline has never been my favorite of Christopher Moore's books and this book really didn't do much to change my mind. It's an ok read, but rather pointless. Much like Noir (but to a lesser extent), this book really seems like a contractual obligation book. The publisher wanted it, so he did it. In fact, the most interesting part of the book for me was the Afterward, where he went on to explain his reasoning for this book and Noir. This book probably would have been much better if this were set in 40's San Francisco as he originally wanted (and Noir didn't exist).
If you're looking for a Chris Moore book, read Lamb. My favorite book by him and probably one of my favorite books in general.

[dandailey-212203 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A typical Christopher Moore book. It is raunchy, funny, and well worth the read!

[toobusyreading · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Christopher Moore always makes me laugh. However, he is not everyone's cup of tea, especially if you are offended by “bad” language and lots of innuendos. Not to mention outright explicit snogging and shagging.

This is a take on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is pretty entertaining in its own right. Pocket of Dog Snogging (“not an elf”), a jester who finds Greece to be not at all what he expected, has adventures and gets involved with fairies and squirrels and the murdered Puck. There is lots of swearing this this comedy, but it is so inventive, as was Shakespeare's swearing, that I couldn't help but laugh.

The narrator of this audio edition, Euan Morton, was perfect for this tale. If you need something very entertaining and don't mind bawdy, not obscene but definitely bawdy, I think you'll enjoy this spoof.

[gwendydd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Like all Christopher Moore books, this is fun silly fluff. It's a bawdy parody of a Midsummer Night's Dream. It's entertaining and witty.

I didn't realize it was part of the Fool series, and I haven't read the others, but it works just fine on its own.

[jnmegan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Shakespeare for Squirrels is Christopher Moore’s latest madcap adventure for his infamous character, Pocket, previously employed in Fool and Serpent of Venice. As in these other novels, Moore inserts his egotistical and raucous character into the beloved works of the Bard, thereby creating irreverent versions of the plays as seen through Pocket’s “outsider” viewpoint. For the uninitiated, Moore’s hijacking of the plot can at first be unsettling, but those who have experienced his skill with satire will recognize his true respect and knowledge of the source material. This iteration takes on one of Shakespeare’s most accessible works, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which already has a fair share of fantasy and bawdy humor. Moore amps up the action by adding an infiltrating Pocket to the cast list—hijacking the well-known events with his trademark twisted and witty commentary. Pocket, a roving Fool, arrives on the scene after being shipwrecked along with his apprentice and a monkey (picked up in from the earlier novels). After being resuscitated by fairies, Pocket is drawn into an intricate drama that involves, among other things: a group of inept amateur actors, pompous mythical beings, unnatural love triangles, dizzying court intrigue, silly revenge plots and faulty magic. Moore’s also weaves in a mystery for good measure. Pocket needs to navigate within the already frantic events to discover who killed Puck (a central mischief maker from the original play) and in order to set his imprisoned apprentice free. Moore, in typical form, tosses in some absurd details and complications, the addition of squirrels being only one such example. Shakespeare for Squirrels has moments that may confuse some readers, with character names that closely resemble each other and an assumption of knowledge that not all may possess. Those who persevere will be rewarded by receiving clarification in a concluding monologue from Rumor, a recurring addition who serves as a “summation/omniscient” character. Truly hilarious at times and cringeworthy at others, Moore demonstrates once again his deserved reputation as an accomplished satirist. Re-reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream and/or the first two books in the Pocket series is highly recommended before starting this new release. While most readers will find much to enjoy in Moore’s latest cheeky dip into our sacred literary canon, longtime fans and those well-versed in the original Shakespeare will derive the greatest pleasure.

Thanks to the author, William Morrow and Edelweiss for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[zoes_human · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once again the intrepid Pocket of Dog Snogging is immersed in "heinous fuckery most foul" as he becomes entangled in the machinations of King Theseus, Hippolyta, Oberon, and Titania. With his apprentice jailed and his hat-shagging monkey missing, Pocket finds himself depending on a band of amateur thespians, a frolicking fairy, and a most unreliable narrator to solve the mystery of an unexpected death in just three days.

This ribald tribute to A Midsummer Night's Dream is some of Moore's best work. Loaded with insults to make the Bard proud, it is laugh-out-loud hilarious and a rousing adventure to boot. In the words of Cobweb "That were smashing!"