Simon Rich

Fatherhood has been a gift to Simon Rich. I've read 3 of his story collections and this one was above and beyond the best. It was laugh-out-loud (and read-out-loud, to whoever happens to be within out-loud distance) funny. I cried with mirth multiple times and read it in one sitting (with a break in the penultimate story at like 1:30 a.m. to read the Babe Ruth wikipedia page) when I should have absolutely put my phone down and gone to sleep.

"I know the first day of school can be scarier for kids. Trust me when I say: It's scarier for backpacks."

The teal backpack in question speaks to its carrier ("Sometimes you stuff me in a strange new locker") as it's dragged out of the closet and into the school year. Yet some of the backpack's feelings - of not fitting in or having a place to belong - are mirrored by its carrier, and it's only when they collide with another pair and become friends that things start to look up... "Because show more you don't have to carry everything alone."

See also: School's First Day of School; Puppy Bus show less

I'm a fan of the show Man Seeking Woman, so when I learned that showrunner Simon Rich based its concept on one of his books I checked it out. If you've seen the show, many of the book's absurd dating/romantic premises will be instantly familiar (the sex aliens, dating Hitler, exorcising the ex's possessions out of the apartment, etc), but the majority will be new to you. Even if not, each chapter is short, focused, and usually funny or at least grin-worthy. The pacing is fast enough to where show more even if you don't like the premise of one story, it'll be over in three pages and you're on to something else. I liked the range of the stories, and you could definitely mine the setups here for a show for a while without having to go back to the well.

One notable aspect of the book, especially when compared to the show, is that cumulatively these pieces make the author himself seem like a real loser. On the show, the main character is a hapless dimwit, but a lovable hapless dimwit; here, Rich occasionally gives off telltale "hasn't been on a date in a while" vibes, particularly after the third or fourth story in a row about how girls are lying, jealous, untrustworthy, irrational (etc) whores. It's one thing to use sexual frustration as an artistic muse (and, arguably, a vast percentage of art throughout history has been created solely to impress chicks), it's another thing to watch some dude whine in print about how he can't get laid, even using a few dozen fictional characters as mouthpieces. In fairness to Rich, the challenge of presenting an unpleasant aspect of yourself without actually embodying that aspect is difficult for anyone, but I can see the average woman reacting to these stories a bit differently than the average man.

But of course as a guy I can definitely relate to a lot of what's in here. Anyone who's been in a relationship will be empathize with a great deal of the worries and insecurities that Rich presents in his stories; only a liar would find the whole thing totally foreign. The lighthearted, jokey tone makes each story of dating woe go down easy, but the emotions he dissects will strike more than a few chords. Some of these are genuinely great writing, such as the poignant O'Henry-ish "The Present", and "Trade", which has a clever sports metaphor at its core, ends the whole thing on a surprisingly upbeat note. While it's not great literature on the level of, say, Alasdair Gray's Lanark, it's a funny look at the more pathetic side of the male ego. show less

4.5/5

I love comedies that are set in the afterlife. I love comedies that depict the afterlife as a mundane, bureaucratic system that doesn't much care about humanity at all. It's one of the main reasons I adore The Good Place and it's a major reason why I enjoyed What In God's Name? as much as I did. In this novel, God is depicted as a deity who... just doesn't care anymore. It's implied that he only created humans out of sheer boredom - as he only needed the Earth in order to mine some show more valuable mineral from its atmosphere - and he's just gotten rather tired of running things and wants to trade running the Earth in for being the manager of an Asian Fusion restaurant. It's one of those premises that's delightfully kooky and only made kookier by the way the Earth can be saved. God makes a deal with Craig, an angel in the Miracles department, that if Craig can convince two specific humans to fall in love before the date the Earth is scheduled to be destroyed, God will call the whole thing off. From there, it's a mad dash as Craig and Eliza, a colleague in the Miracles department - race against the clock to get these two humans to kiss. Naturally, the humans don't make life easy for the Angels as both of them are highly anti-social and all around unappealing creatures. But, who said saving the Earth would be easy?

Most of the novel follows Craig as he, firstly, introduces Eliza to the Miracles department and shows her the ropes - allowing the audience a delightfully tantalizing glimpse into just how Heaven, Inc. runs - and then as he and Eliza work to save the Earth by making two humans fall in love. Craig and Eliza are brilliant characters; they work off of each other so well, each acting as a perfect foil to the other. Both of them are still idealistic about their work - a stark contrast to the attitude of indifference portrayed by most Angels, and God himself - and they both take immense pleasure in improving the lives of humans with their miracles, however small they might be. You completely buy the notion that Craig and Eliza would work this hard to save humanity because it's made clear early on how much they love humanity and how much they love helping humanity. The two of them are the closest thing to our general picture of angels that this novel provides.

This novel is full of irreverent humor, mostly found in various facts about life in Heaven, Inc. I don't want to spoil any of the jokes, but they're very good and Rich is able to build an entire world with Heaven Inc. that makes sense from a logical standpoint while also being completely and utterly bonkers in its detail. The actual narrative is a bit simple - two angels must make two humans fall in love - but the joy of the book comes from just how they have to accomplish that. From causing a train-workers strike, to giving people food poisoning, to breaking iPhones, these angels have to do everything in their power to get these two dumb humans together and it's so much fun. Add to that the ridiculous events happening all around them at Heaven Inc. and you've got a book that's delightfully funny and incredibly difficult to put down. I can easily see why this show would appeal to a TV network as a limited comedic series. The plot isn't the interesting thing, it's everything that surrounds it that's delightful.

All in all, What In God's Name? is a delightful read. It's a quick and easy one - I was able to finish it in one sitting - but it's superbly enjoyable, nonetheless. The characters are well-written and well-developed, the plot - while simplistic - is enjoyable and does leave you wanting to know what happens next, and - best of all - the worldbuilding is exceptional, filled with so much detail and so much humor. I really enjoyed this book, perhaps even more than I thought I would - and I expected to thoroughly enjoy it as it's something squarely up my wheelhouse. I'm excited to see how TBS adapts the story and I really hope the series is good and does well because I feel like there are more stories that could be told in this world and with these characters and I'd love to see those stories. show less