Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art

“Christopher Moore is a very sick man, in the very best sense of that word.”—Carl Hiassen“[Moore’s novels] deftly blend surreal, occult, and even science-fiction doings with laugh-out-loud satire of contemporary culture.”—Washington Post“If there’s a funnier writer out there, step forward.”—PlayboyAbsolutely nothing is sacred to Christopher Moore. The phenomenally popular, New York Times bestselling satirist whom the Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls, “Stephen King with a whoopee cushion and a double-espresso imagination” has already lampooned Shakespeare, San Francisco vampires, marine biologists, Death…even Jesus Christ and Santa Claus! Now, in his latest masterpiece, Sacré Bleu, the immortal Moore takes on the Great French Masters. A magnificent “Comedy d’Art” from the author of Lamb, Fool, and Bite Me, Moore’s Sacré Bleu is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter as he joins the dapper  Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed “suicide” of Vincent van Gogh.

Bookreporter.com

“I can’t emphasize enough how funny BITE ME is.”

BookPage

“[H]ilarious, educational, and original. . . . [I]t is difficult to put the book down, for there are astonishing new developments on every page.”

Valdosta Times (Georgia) on FOOL

“A page-turner…. Your ‘Lear’ can be rusty or completely unread to appreciate this new perspective on the Shakespearean tragedy. That is if you enjoy a whole lot of silly behind the scenes of your tragedies.”

Playboy

“If there’s a funnier writer out there, step forward.”

Booklist on FOOL

“[W]all-to-wall, farcical fornicating and fighting…a jolly good time can be had.”

USA Today

“A laugh-a-page novel that’s raunchy and irreverent.”

Library Journal

“A raunchy slapstick comedy of young vampires in love . . . Moore is in top form, and this reviewer laughed all the way through this page-turner. Enthusiastically recommended.”

People

“A vampire comedy that’s witty, bright and funny.”

Rocky Mountain News

“An instant classic . . . terrific, funny and poignant.

Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter series, on FOOL

“Funny, literate, smart and sexy, all at once!”

San Francisco Chronicle on FOOL

“King Lear” into a potty-mouthed jape, Moore is up to more than thumbing his nose at a masterpiece. His version of Shakespeare’s Fool, who accompanies Lear on his slide from paternal arrogance to spiritual desolation in the original text, simultaneously honors and imaginatively enriches the character.”

Christian Science Monitor on FOOL

“It’s hard to resist so gleeful a tale of murder, witchcraft, treason, maiming, and spanking. . . . Moore’s deft ear for dialogue keeps the pages turning . . . Fool is a wickedly good time.”

Kirkus Reviews on FOOL

“Less may be more, but it isn’t Moore. Wretched excess doth have power to charm, and there are great reeking oodles of it strewn throughout these irreverent pages.”

Washington Post Book World

“Moore has produced eight books that deftly blend surreal, occult and even science-fiction doings with laugh-out-loud satire of contemporary culture. Powered by engines of the abnormal and unlikely, his tales feature eccentric lowlifes who find their desperate existences hilariously remade by intrusions from other spheres.”

USA Today on FOOL

“Moore is a very clever boy when it comes to words. There are good chuckles to be had in this tale. …Whether you need to read the original King Lear before you read Moore’s Fool is debatable. Seems a fool’s errand to us. Just enjoy.”

Publishers Weekly on FOOL

“Moore turns things on their head with an edgy 21st-century perspective that makes the story line as sharp, surly and slick as a game of Grand Theft Auto… It’s a manic, masterly mix-winning, wild and something today’s groundlings will applaud.”

Dallas Morning News on FOOL

“Often funny, sometimes hilarious, always inventive, this is a book for all, especially uptight English teachers, bardolaters and ministerial students of the kind who come to our doorstep on Saturday mornings.”

Booklist on SACRE BLEU

“Mingling comedy and mystery, Moore crafts an intricate story that teases the reader with numerous twists and bawdy humor.…[T]his is an imaginative and amusing look at the Impressionist era, and Moore’s prose is fresh and engaging.”

Publishers Weekly on SACRE BLEU

“Art history is playfully--and perilously--rewrtitten in this ambitious novel....fans of Moore’s mix of wit and slapstick will be pleased.”

Kirkus Reviews on SACRE BLEU

“Moore’s humor is, as ever, sweetly juvenile, but his arty comedy also captures the courage and rebellion of the Impressionists with an exultant joie de vivre.”

Library Journal (starred review) on SACRE BLEU

“[A]surprisingly complex novel full of love, death, art, and mystery....Don’t let Moore’s quirky characters and bawdy language fool you. His writing has depth, and his peculiar take on the impressionists will reel you in....this is a worthy read. ”

The Oregonian (Portland) on SACRE BLEU

“[A] marvelous, tongue-in-cheek, mythical explanation of the artistic urge... brought vividly to life.”

USA Today on SACRE BLEU

“Can Moore find the funny in gloomy Van Gogh? If anybody can-can, count on Moore.”

Entertainment Weekly on SACRE BLEU

“Sacré Bleu is a consistently compelling blend of love story, mystery, and ‘what if?’ art history lesson.”

Houston Chronicle on SACRE BLEU

“Captivating . . . Those familiar with Moore’s work will love this rich story, which is full of gleefully anachronistic behavior and language--often pun-based--coming from artists we ordinarily revere.”

Washington Post Book World on Sacre Bleu

“[A] delightfully ribald romp.”

Dallas News on Sacre Bleu

“The true joy in Sacré Bleu stems from Moore’s writing....His writing contains the rare combination of poetry and humor; where one moment you find yourself rereading a passage for its sublime imagery, and the next, you are grinning over a well-placed wisecrack....an excellent novel.”

Philadelphia Inquirer on SACRE BLEU

“[A]nother exceedingly bizarre, often raucous, and consistently delightful journey into the sweetly demented mind of novelist Christopher Moore.”

St. Paul Pioneer Press on SACRE BLEU

“Sacre Bleu is big fun.”

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on SACRE BLEU

“Christopher Moore’s new novel blends diligently researched art history smoothly with his fevered, fiendish imagination.”

From the Back Cover

In July 1890, Vincent van Gogh went into a cornfield and shot himself. Or did he?Vincent’s friends, baker-turned-painter Lucien Lessard and bon vivant Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, have their doubts. Now they’re determined to answer the questions surrounding van Gogh’s untimely death—like who was the crooked little “color man” Vincent claimed was stalking him across France . . . and why had the painter recently become deathly afraid of a certain shade of blue? Ooh la la, quelle surprise, and zut alors, what follows is a surreal odyssey and brothel-crawl deep into the art world of late-nineteenth-century Paris, as the one, the only, Christopher Moore cooks up a delectable confection of intrigue, passion, and art history . . . with cancan girls, baguettes, and fine French cognac thrown in for good measure.

About the Author

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.

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