Foop

Sad because it was over and now I have to wait who knows how long before a new Chris Genoa book comes out. Hey Chris! Get off your crazy butt and publish more books! My friends and I are going to start a Chris Genoa fan club. At meetings we're going to put on animal costume suits and drink Jack Daniels just like Chris does. We're also toying around with the idea of getting a pet monkey for the group so we can train it to hog-tie people like in Foop. I guess I should say something that helps people decide whether or not they should buy Foop. How about this: this book is for all of the freaks and weirdos out there who feel like no one is writing books for them. This guy is.

the only thing that makes me mad is that this guy hasn't written more books. when i like an author i want to dive into his work and read a bunch of his stuff, but so far there's only foop. it's hard to describe a first time author's book without comparing him to other writers: "he's like so and so, only crazier." that's hard to do with a writer like chris genoa because he has a unique voice. while you can see some of his influences coming through in spots, overall you're left with the feeling that you've read something very original. it's funny, dark, surreal, absurd, silly, and introspective. it has the energy and bursting creativity of a young writer, and a cinematic style that had me envisioning what foop would look like as a film. in the right hands it would make an awesome movie. the last reviewer hit the nail on the head when he mentioned terry gilliam. the illustrations in the book are also great even though there are only a few scattered about. great cover too. it's one of those books that's just obscure enough to make you look really cool if you have it on your bookshelf.

Chris Genoa is nuts. But that's fine by me because that's how I like my humor served up--by a clever writer who's tettering on the edge of utter lunacy. I haven't read a book this funny in a long, long time. If you want a taste of what I'm talking about check out the interview Genoa did with Koko the gorilla that devolved into total madness. Just google "Koko Genoa" and you'll see what I mean. Read this book if you like crazy as hell type humor dished out by a guy who can write like a stud.

This book reminded me a lot of Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It has that same surreal, dreamlike quality, but without the trunkload of drugs and booze. The characters in Foop! aren't high, they're just plain old crazy. Foop and Fear & Loathing are also extremely funny and each had me laughing a lot, mainly because the first-person narration is great in both. But they're also sad stories at the same time since the characters in both never find the dreams they're searching for. So if you like reading about characters who go on weird, wild journeys, you'll probably really like Foop!

I'm not going to get into the science fiction aspects of this story, the mystery element, the Samuel Beckett style absurdity, the great illustrations, or anything like that. Those things are all good things about this book, but the one thing that REALLY stands out is Chris Genoa's humor. In Foop! we may be seeing the birth of a new comedic master. I'm not saying he's there yet, but boy oh boy is the potential there. The book is dripping with potential, because if this is what he does with his first novel, at such a young age, then the sky's the limit for the future. Because you can't develop a sense of humor. You can't learn how to be funny. You either are, or you aren't. Chris Genoa most certainly is. Does he have some things he needs to work on? You bet. But to me, any book that can make me laugh aloud on a regular basis is a gift from the gods. Foop! is a great start to what I hope is a very long, productive and hilarious career for Genoa.