A Bright Moon For Fools by Jasper Gibson

Ah, what would be a review penned by yours truly without some sort of grovelling apology at the outset? A better review no doubt, but that aside I can't help but continue the tiresome tradition with an apology. Sorry to my regular robotic readers (hi bots!) but I have been very neglectful of the blog of late, having been tied up with my pursuit of a broader spectrum of dilettantism; I've been taking part in a number of MOOCs offered by various HEIs on the FutureLearn platform. Worth checking out if you ask me.

(Subtle enough plug, you think?)

Anyway, the break afforded by a foray into further education has proved something of a test for Jasper Gibson and his fiction. In truth, it took me a little while to remember what exactly the novel was about, who was in it, and how I felt about the whole thing. Instant alarm bells. Of course, having had a break, I'd had a good crack at filling my head with a whole bunch of other things worth remembering, so maybe it all just got squeezed out. Did that mean A Bright Moon for Fools wasn't worth remembering?

Dipsomaniacal - an apt description of
most Christmas's round mine...
Many books are unduly forgotten, but none are unduly remembered. I think I saw that on a piece of marketing guff in a former life, and it may very well be a famous quotation - answers on a postcard - but it might be the case here. To attempt a plot synopsis, I've had to consult the Kindle. Harry Christmas, the improbably monikered protagonist and a most engaging cad, is a drunk, struggling with the death of his wife / lover (I can't remember which), sick of the... filth?... that is modern society (or his term for it a least), and on the run because in a fit of dipsomaniacal misanthropy he'd legged it with the life savings of some lonely old dear. Now in... Venezuela?... he finds himself pursued by the son of said old dear who, having been frustrated in his attempt to find government sanctioned opportunities for inflicting pain, and haunted by a cat called The General, wants to put pieces of sharp metal into Harry. Justice by fucking great big scary knife. Needless to say, the reason the British Army didn't want him was that he's completely unstable, and he gets into quite a bit of trouble himself. Harry washes up in a... Venezuelan?... town where serendipity smiles upon him for a short time in the form of... some woman he met in a bar somewhere else at some point, and whose disgust mellows into pity by his plight. Now we're all set up for the big ending!

As emotionally stunted as I might be, I can usually remember how I felt at any given point, with a small margin for error, but I'm still struggling to determine what effect if any this novel had on me. I do believe I enjoyed the reading, which can't be bad, and I did really want to like it. Yet this is damning with faint praise and I can only conclude it lacks something substantive. Parallels might be drawn between this and Gibson's online enterprise, The Poke. Whilst it might be very entertaining, full of jokes and humorous set-pieces, it's ultimately forgettable.


Comments

  1. Replies
    1. You are very kind with your vague praise. I notice that you offer training in python-handling, Capitalized Coffee Synonyms and also in metalloids with a Pauling scale rating of 2.55 in electronegativity. How exciting! Is it only restricted to Chennai or do you travel to the Vale?

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  2. Replies
    1. And I believe anyone waiting for this vital information may well be beyond help. But thanks for the spam.

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  3. Replies
    1. I'm not so sure that pre-literate children and the dementia-tormented elderly would enjoy it so much, but again, your spam is gratefully* received.

      *Where gratefully is a synonym of the phrase "with great exasperation and biliousness"

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks for the exclamation marks!!! Hopefully my apparent fame in the Indian sub-continent training-provider-industry will result in many many clicks on the ads on my page and make me independently wealthy and thus able to quit my day job and begin a campaign against random spam-merchants, resulting in internet fame, further fortune and a general clamor among the electorate for my ordination as the new President of the States of the Republic of Earth and a position of ultimate power. Not likely but we live in hope.

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  5. Very informative, your writing style is totally different from other, keep continuing.



    Python Training | Digital Marketing Training | Java Training

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah, too kind. Just when I was sorely needing some smoke, you came along and blew it just where it was required. Good luck with training your python - I hear they make great mousers.

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  6. Imagine I've posted something witty, erudite and cutting in reply. It's early and I'm tired.

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  7. Thanks, but also sorry - I tend to steer clear of Tamil Nadu, despite its lovely Dravidian-style temple.

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  8. My advice? Cut out the early morning nips of akani and have a cup of coffee instead. You'll be clearer of thought and lower of blood pressure.

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  9. I have thank of listening you Reading..

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  10. And I was thinking you're only 7 hours by car from Kit in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. You guys should get together for some akani.

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  11. Well, with age they say it becomes more difficult but I have a prescription from my doctor so touch wood (pun intended) all is well.

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  12. Hi Kit, back again, eh? Never stop never stopping.

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  13. Oh, I'll certainly do that, thanks. Very meaningful.

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  14. No problem, and if I'm ever in Madurai and need a taxi I'll look you up.

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  15. Thanks for posting links to worm composting facilities in Tamil Nadu.

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  16. It IS very nice, isn't it? Much nicer, I suspect, than corporate gifts from Singapore.

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  17. Thanks for your vermicular comment. Tell me, do you do much business in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area?

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  18. Replies
    1. I was nearly tempted to click on your links to see just of what angular training might consist, but I'm happy to report I didn't.

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  19. I'm a bit busy at the minute but I'll try my best.

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  20. Thanks for all your helminthoid products! I trust they are vermiferous.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well apa kabar to you too, or maybe ni hao? Xiè xiè anyway for your kind contribution to my comment count.

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  22. Replies
    1. Thanks for re-posting - so sorry that my automated response failed totally to get across my profound disinterest in your cyber training courses. Thus, here I am attempting to do so manually. Do let me know if it worked.

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  23. This is ReplyBot262 responding to your comment on {INSERT POST TITLE} with a {DELETE OPTION happy/unhappy} reply to {DELETE OPTION thank you/tell you to fuck off} and {DELETE OPTION keep on keeping on/die}.
    {INSERT SIGN-OFF}

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  24. Haven't we had this conversation before?

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  25. Appreciation for your disingenuous spam is likewise reciprocated.

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  26. Man, Chennai must have some of the best-trained snakes in all of India!

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  27. Man, Tamil Nadu must have the best-trainered snakes in all of India!

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  28. It was a fantastic article to read...very interesting..You have supplied a good article....thanks for sharing.

    digital marketing training in hyderabad
    digital marketing course in ameerpet

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    Replies
    1. My fame in Hyderabad must be great indeed. But my modesty is greater still - thank you for taking the time to spam me.

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  29. May I basically say what an alleviation to find somebody that really understands what they are discussing on the web. You really realize how to expose an issue and make it significant. Much more individuals should take a gander at this and comprehend this side of the story. It's astounding you're not more mainstream given that you certainly have the blessing. best interiors

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    Replies
    1. What do you mean I'm not mainstream?! And how I wish there was an interrobang on my phone keyboard....

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  30. That certainly is a lot of domains both to maintain and to type out each time you spam someone. Kudos to you.

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  31. Thanks for all your spamming efforts dating back many many years, but unfortunately, I am now going to stop permitting them. Apologies if, by doing this, the Tamil Nadu and Telangana python training industries collapse completely.

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