What In God's Name
Published on 16. August 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
176 pages
978-1-84668-848-5 (ISBN)
Description
God is CEO of Heaven Inc. From the Sunsets Department and Geyser Regulation to the Department of Miracles, Heaven Inc has the earth covered. Unless of course someone is away from their desk. But these days, God is kind of disillusioned. He knows he should be keeping an eye on the genocide happening on Earth, but he finds himself drawn instead to watching the Church channels on satellite TV. His first priority is the team of angels he's asked to get Lynyrd Skynyrd back together.
Meanwhile, Eliza has been promoted from the Prayers Department to Miracles, and Craig, a workaholic angel devoted to averting accidents, has to show her around. Having totally turned the Prayers Department around, and instituted a system for dealing with the millions of pleas that came in every day, Eliza is shocked by the casual attitude of many of the angels in her new department. And she's even more shocked when she discovers that, despite her elaborate prayer-answering system, God has never looked at, let alone answered, a single one. Eliza is furious, storms into God's office, and suggests that if he doesn't care about the Earth, why bother?
'You're right,' he says, 'I'll destroy Earth in 30 days and open an Asian-American fusion restaurant instead.'
So Craig and Eliza, who really care about humans, must come up with a plan to save Earth. And maybe even get a promotion, too.
Meanwhile, Eliza has been promoted from the Prayers Department to Miracles, and Craig, a workaholic angel devoted to averting accidents, has to show her around. Having totally turned the Prayers Department around, and instituted a system for dealing with the millions of pleas that came in every day, Eliza is shocked by the casual attitude of many of the angels in her new department. And she's even more shocked when she discovers that, despite her elaborate prayer-answering system, God has never looked at, let alone answered, a single one. Eliza is furious, storms into God's office, and suggests that if he doesn't care about the Earth, why bother?
'You're right,' he says, 'I'll destroy Earth in 30 days and open an Asian-American fusion restaurant instead.'
So Craig and Eliza, who really care about humans, must come up with a plan to save Earth. And maybe even get a promotion, too.
Reviews / Votes
Praise for WIGN:Divinely funny * Vanity Fair * Deliciously funny * Kirkus * one of the funniest writers in America . . . Rich evokes enough of the hellish qualities of Earth (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Walmart, a screenplay for Finnegans Wake) and of the little things that we'll miss (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Walmart, a screenplay for Finnegans Wake) that it feels like a little love letter to the world. Thanks, life. Good of you to let me drop by. * Daily Beast * Truly hilarious -- Eva Wiseman * Observer * A light, amusing and readable book with a very modern take on the afterlife. * We Love This Book * hilarious and touching . . . rest assured that you're in good hands here...obviously Rich is crazy good at hysterical sharp dialogue. But the bonus here is that his head is matched by his heart. Rich lends the potentially gimmicky story real emotional heft and avoids condescending to his characters (or readers). At its best, WHAT IN GOD'S NAME reads like a screenplay for a film that might sit comfortably beside Woody Allen's early absurd works in a Netflix queue . . . a clever, endearing novel. * Entertainment Weekly * Elliot Allagash, drew comparisons to Evelyn Waugh and P. G. Wodehouse. His new novel, What in God's Name, evokes another titan of English comedy: Douglas Adams. . . Funny and occasionally touching, What in God's Name is satire that avoids sanctimony . . . Rich knows how to balance the smart with the funny. When What in God's Name bares its teeth, it's because it's laughing. -- Patrick Cassels * New York Times * This depiction of the Almighty as an affable-but-oblivious overgrown frat boy probably isn't what you'd expect, especially if you happen to belong to a religion in which God does not use profanity and refer to "Free Bird" as his "jam." But that's the beauty of WHAT IN GOD'S NAME . . . it's as unpredictable as it is funny, and it's one of the best American comic novels of the past few years . . . Not too many authors could pull off a plot this gleefully absurd, but Rich mostly keeps a straight face throughout - like any great comedian, he's committed to the joke, and he doesn't break. His vision of heaven is both original and hilarious . . . the most amazing thing about WHAT IN GOD'S NAME is its unrelenting sweetness . . . The young author has an obvious affection for the underdog, and a soft spot for those who work hard at what they do. It's that sensibility that makes WHAT IN GOD'S NAME a near-perfect work of humor writing - strikingly original, edgy but compassionate, and most importantly, deeply hilarious. -- Michael Schaub * NPR.org * A romcom with Armageddon hanging in the balance, it's written with a lightness of touch that makes it a breezy read -- Alastair Mabbott * Glasgow Herald * Sweetly funny and moving -- Kate Tuttle * Boston Sunday Globe * Rich's play on office politics and his understanding of the comic potential of human relationships is accurate enough, producing an appealing mixture of subtle and laugh-out-loud funny. * Independent on Sunday * The super-funny Simon Rich . . . a literary romcom . . . Properly laugh-out-loud funny and sweetly charming. You'll be rooting for the angels to save the world. * Heat * Rich has a gently clever comic style . . . ideal material for a feel-good rom-com movie . . . God getting the best laughs, and the dialogue crackles along. It is the nearest I have read in a while to the spirit of the best screenplays of the late, great Nora Ephron, and there are few better compliments than that -- David Herman * Jewish Chronicle * Totally hilarious satire * Cooler * Funny and inventive -- David Evans * FT *
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 215 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
220 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84668-848-5 (9781846688485)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
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What In God's Name
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Person
Simon Rich is a twenty-eight year old graduate of Harvard University, where he was president of The Harvard Lampoon. He was the youngest writer ever hired by Saturday Night Live, which he worked on for four seasons. He is now writing a film for Pixar. He also contributes to the New Yorker. He lives in California.