A Bright Moon For Fools by Jasper Gibson

A Bright Moon For Fools by Jasper Gibson
Buy A Bright Moon For Fools by Jasper Gibson at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: General Fiction
Reviewer: Steve Shayler
Summary: A funny and exciting tale of a drunken philosopher in Venezuela trying to escape both his past and a deluded hitman . A Bright Moon For Fools is packed with humour, action and heart.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 368	Date: May 2013
Publisher: Inside The Dog Press
ISBN: 978-0957468108
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Jasper Gibson’s debut novel, A Bright Moon For Fools, tells the story of Harry Christmas and his drunken escapades in Caracas and the small villages of Venezuela. Harry Christmas is nowhere near as jolly as his name suggests, in fact Harry is drunken conman. He has pushed his luck too far and is forced to fly to Venezuela to evade William Slade, the irate son of a woman Harry fleeced out of £27,000. Harry’s life is defined by booze and where to get the next drink; he is having a major breakdown. Slade is no better off and is also having his own mental crisis: unfortunately for Harry, Slade’s breakdown is of a much more psychotic nature.

A Bright Moon For Fools is a very character driven book and Harry Christmas is without doubt the star of this book. Part ageing Withnail (from Withnail and I) and part Hunter S Thompson, Harry is a very eccentric alcoholic and a very funny protagonist. He is obnoxious, outrageous and incredibly unpleasant. He has the audacity to say the most hateful and politically incorrect things to anybody who is unlucky enough to wander into his orbit. He also has a strange charm and you can’t help but love him despite all his obvious character flaws and even relate to him in disturbing ways. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his complete lack of social grace and his love of offending people. His quick, acerbic wit and his ridiculous delusions about his own appearance and prowess make him a very lovable fool. Harry is a character that I’m sure Jasper Gibson must have loved writing; it allows him to shout out at the irritations of the modern world through a charming and eloquent oaf. He is certainly a character I loved reading.

Through all his antisocial behaviour and humorous run-ins with the general public it is clear that there is more to Harry and that something has driven him to this breakdown. The story is primarily set in Venezuela with only memories of life back in England and hints to what has driven Harry to leave. He did not choose to escape to Venezuela on a complete whim and it becomes apparent that he sees what he is doing as a pilgrimage for the one person in life he loved more than he loves himself. There are moments of really touching memories from Harry and we are left curious through most of the book as to what has happened and how he can possibly come to terms with it, this adds to making him an even more appealing character and the book a much more interesting read.

Harry and his pursuer Slade are both suffering mental breakdowns and are both incredibly deluded, but the two characters are worlds apart. Slade is a re-enactment and role-play enthusiast who seems to think that he is a professional assassin with the fighting skills of Bruce Lee. This is shown to be fantasy multiple times in yet more funny moments but only furthers Slade’s descent into madness. He is a menacing and unknown quantity that despite all of his foolishness is clearly extremely dangerous. He is a very disturbing character who by the end has become completely detestable. I found myself getting comfortable reading about Harry and his thoughts and actions smiling to myself and then the story follows Slade and it becomes dark and unpleasant in no time at all. The regular changing between following Harry and Slade is a welcome one though and the book has great deal of tension because of it.

A Bright Moon For Fools can be a disgusting and unpleasant read at times and hilarious at others, and by the end the book is really quite touching. The book seems to begin as though it is an excuse for Jasper Gibson to have an amusing and sometimes vicious rant about modern society and write for laughs but it becomes much more. I enjoyed the book from the start but it did seem that it would lack emotion and would be a bit of a comedy caper, but Harry is a more complicated character than just a drunken fool and the story takes us through his breakdown and what follows opening up into a very fulfilling book.

This is an incredibly entertaining read that grabs you first with great humour and doesn’t let go as you become involved in a much deeper story. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves interesting and exciting characters as Harry Christmas is a character I won’t ever forget.

I would like to thank the publishers for a really fun read.

For those that enjoy any of the drunken lunacy and acerbic wit in A Bright Moon For Fools I would suggest reading Ancient Gonzo Wisdom: Interviews with Hunter S Thompson by Anita Thompson (Editor).

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