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Ali-Kazam , Root-Toot-Toot , and A Statue To Boot
“ Razzmatazz : A Novel ” by Christopher Moore c . 2022 , Wm . Morrow $ 28.99 400 pages
Your good luck charm is never far away .
A pair of socks , a coin , guitar pick , rub it with your thumb , hold it in your pocket , wear it all day , and you know what happens : life is smoother , problems melt away , and just things get easier . How it happens is hard to say , but that really doesn ’ t matter . You just know it brings you luck , and as in the new novel , “ Razzmatazz ” by Christopher Moore , you ’ d do anything to keep it close . For far too long , Sammy “ Two-Toes ” Tiffin was down-on-his-luck . Because of a foot injury , he couldn ’ t fight in the War so he was stateside , bartending at Sal ’ s , hanging around drag king joints and lady-lover clubs , and living in a San Francisco brownstone in a closet-sized room with a single bed . There was just enough space in the place for Sammy and his girl , Tilly — whom everybody called The Cheese except to her face — to give one another the old razzmatazz now and then .
So when Eddie Moo Shoes said his Uncle Ho had a job with big money involved , Sammy really couldn ’ t say no .
Many years before , Ho had come to America from China as a “ paper son ” of descendants of ancient Chinese fighters ; branded on his forearm , his destiny was to be a member of a fierce tong . Alas , Ho was a gentle , peaceful soul , so he was instead sent to care for the girls in the tong ’ s brothel . Eventually , Ho and one of the brothel ’ s slave girls escaped , but not before stealing a magic statue . Now another tong wanted the statue .
And so Sammy ’ s job was to retrieve the statue and save Moo Shoes ’ uncle ’ s life , but there was another , pressing job to do first . Someone was killing San Francisco ’ s cross-dressing lesbians , one by one , and many of Sammy ’ s friends and associates were terrified .
He had to find the killer . And he wouldn ’ t even have to do it alone .
Photo : Charlee Moore
If you are not familiar with author Christopher Moore ’ s works , pick up a copy of “ Razzmatazz ,” read the first few pages , and you ’ ll totally get it : there are very few parts of this book that are tame in any way . You can trust your eyes on that .
“ Razzmatazz ” is a soup of every noir movie set in Chinatown that you ’ ve ever seen , every 1940s cross-dressing cliche you ’ ve read or heard , mixed together with a couple of dragons and an alien thrown in for fun . And , curiously , that ’ s exactly what coalesces : a big , clever , sprawl-across-the-floor novel that ’ s fun . Moore , in fact , says in his afterword that there are bits and pieces of real history written into this story , but it ’ s otherwise a “ silly and absurd ” novel that ’ s purely intended to entertain . You can trust your eyes on that , too .
Be warned , though , that this book isn ’ t for everybody . It ’ s irreverent , wild , and profane on any regular page but it ’ s also LOL , if you aren ’ t easily offended . If that sounds like a dream to you , then try “ Razzmatazz .” It ’ ll work like a charm .
Terri Schlichenmeyer of The Bookworm Sez is a self-syndicated book review columnist . Schlichenmeyer ’ s reviews include adult and children ’ s books of every genre . You may contact her at bookwormsez @ yahoo . com
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