Coyote Blue: A Novel

I have now read four books by Christopher Moore (with more on my list), and so far this is the most well-rounded. It is at turns hilarious, thought-provoking, sad, and romantic. While not as laugh-out-loud funny as LUST LIZARD OF MELANCHOLY COVE, it is a more satisfying read.It tells the story of native American Sam Hunts Alone, who, as a teenager of the Crow tribe commits a crime (accidentally) that causes him to flee the nation and the only world he has ever known. Years later, he is reinvented as Sam Hunter, a hugely successful insurance salesman who feels a great emptiness in his life. He has pushed his native American roots totally into the background and is really just going through the motions of living...not feeling an identity of his own. Suddenly, into his life comes the trickster, Coyote, who proceeds to totally unravel Sam's life in the most shameless (and hilarious) manner possible. But in the same day, Sam meets Calliope, a sort of hippie woman (although about 15 years too late to really be a hippie) with a young baby. He falls head-over-heels with her.One crazy adventure after another leads Sam, Calliope and Coyote (with an ever changing cast of characters tagging along) across country, ultimately back to the home of the Crow tribe.Moore takes an interesting view of Native American culture. He has obviously done his homework, and gets many interesting details of their religion, their culture and their mythology right...with an obvious respect showing. But at the same time, he steeps these beliefs in irony and humor. In Moore's world, everything is sacred, but it's all good to make fun of too. And he makes lots of fun. Whether he's poking at Indian life or folk-tales, Southern California life, Las Vegas, love or death, Moore is always sharp, on-target but never mean-spirited. It is this lack of meanness that allows us to feel a connection to these characters...to actually care what happens to them.While Moore's book is very funny, it doesn't let its readers off the hook emotionally. Not everything is sweetness and light. Not everything turns out as we might like. It's also pretty good at exploring the consequences of one man trying to push an entire culture he's been steeped in away. The book says a lot about the plight of the Native American in our modern society. It's not heavy-handed, but the observations are clear and pointed nonetheless.I enjoyed myself immensely reading this book. I laughed out-loud several times, chuckled many others and smiled through most of it. If you don't mind the idea of a slightly off-kilter (OK, more than slightly) you should enjoy this book. It would be a good introduction to Christopher Moore. I highly recommend it!

Mr Moore continues to amaze me with his storytelling.... He seems to jump genres so easily, and seamlessly. To this date I have never been let down by any of his books....Now on to the nxt one :)

This book is funny, irreverent and has lots of twists. I have read many Christopher Moore novels and this one is very good. It has a Native American protagonist and although the author is writing a humorous book he does it with a great deal of respect for the Native American culture. I did not realize that the First Nations had a trickster god similar to Anansi from the Caribbean /Africa and so this was an interesting element in the story that I did not expecting. The novel shows some of the challenges being experienced by Native Americans while still moving the story along in a funny way. This is a fun novel that will have you laughing out loud, or giggling at the very least, give it a try its worth your time.

I may be too picky. I've been accused of elitist snobbery in the past. But, in this instance, it relates to Christopher Moore and his excellent ramblings, including Coyote Blue.My reference above about reading the punchline first refers to the fact that I stumbled across Moore and his manic take on life (and unlife) when a friend gave me Moore's novel, Lamb. From the absurdly expressive cartoon illustration on the front cover to the epilogue, I was literally consumed by the tritest and most hackneyed of reviewer's compliments, kudos like: "side splitting," "couldn't put it down," "laugh-out-loud," etc. You get the picture.Since then, I've read several of his novels and regretably none have attained the raucously ridiculous and frenetic peaks he attained in Lamb. Close at times but no cigar.On the good side however, Coyote Blue comes the closest of those I've read. I highly recommend it to anyone who wallows cheerfully in their addiction to the brand of verbal insanity spewed by the likes of Tim Dorsey, Carl Hiassen and Dave Barry. You know who you are. So take heart, Moore definitely belongs in the same padded cell that they inhabit, and this among his best.But, a word of caution - Read Lamb last - it is virtually excel-proof.

Intelligent, irreverent and a whole lot of fun! This is my first book written by Christopher Moore but I highly doubt it will be my last. I lover the blending of history, Native American mythology and practice with love, violence and plain human stupidity (including wants and crazy urges). There's a lot I want to say but I do't want to fill my review with spoilers so instead I will include a few quotes from the book that I thought were fantastic:"Love: the sickest of Irony's sick jokes. The place where logic and order go to die.""If you're going to learn, you need to forget what you know.""Anger is the spirits telling you that you are alive.""Who did she think she was? You can't just go around blurting out the truth like a prophet with Tourette's Syndrome.""Why understand when you can believe?"

My first Christopher Moore read was "Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff, Christs' Childhood Pal". I was undergoing chemotherapy at the time and the book was so precious (valuable, not cute) to me that I saved it for reading on treatment days. I would be in the exam room, waiting for my doctor, laughing out loud all by myself. I'm sure they all thought I was crazy. Since then I have read every C. Moore book I could find. His writing is just so much fun to read. I think he would be a great dinner guest. I can hear the conversation in my head!

I really wanted to like this book. I used to live in Montana so that was an attraction too but although there is plenty of coyote mischief and misdirection in this book it is blindingly short of actual spirit. I'm sure that's very relevant and even true of many of the people who have been outlawed and unbelievably hurt but my own experience of Native Americans in the State is of people with a wider - and higher - view. Disappointing.

Excellent book, as with all Christopher Moore's books you have to accept the "weirdness". I have all the books he's written (lamb being a true masterpiece) and I'm up to Dirty Job - you should really read them in the sequence they were written as you see guest appearances from characters from the previous books in most of them.The man is a comic genius and as above, once you suspended your normal belief mechanism and go with it, you find it's a brilliant story and one of the funniest things I've read.

Another great fun filled adventure from Christopher Moore. Lots of mad cap quirkiness throughout.It had me smiling through out

I was laughing until tears ran down my face by the end, yet some serious issues are addressed in this novel. A finely crafted piece of writing in a style similar to Tom Robbins.

This chap is nothing like pratchett but the sense of ridiculous hits the spot and the books are well written - buy one woul dbe my advice and read it for yourself - I intend to read them all...