OCTOBER 2012 - AudioFile
Simon Rich’s matter-of-fact tone is perfect for narrating his novel. He delivers the prose in an often dry and almost disinterested tone, which builds upon the humor imbued in his story. This style works smoothly with the ludicrous moments of a world on the brink of disaster. When God decides Earth is no longer worth investing in and wants to create a fusion restaurant, two angel underlings, Craig and Eliza, do everything in their power to prove it’s worth saving. Betting against God is never a good idea, but these angels are determined to prove that miracles can happen, with or without God’s blessing. Beyond the protagonists, Rich’s character voices come across as slightly caricatured, but his delivery often works for comedic effect. L.E. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
New Yorker humorist Rich sets up his second novel (after Elliot Allagash) like one of his “Shouts & Murmurs” pieces. The conceit this time: God truly created man in his own feckless image: “With that whole mankind thing?” the CEO of Heaven Inc. admits, “I bit off way more than I could chew,” and decides to destroy the Earth and finally realize his lifelong dream of opening an Asian-American restaurant. Only Craig and Eliza, two angels working in the Department of Miracles, seem to care, so God tells them if they can answer just one prayer in a month, he’ll keep the Earth open for business. Unfortunately, the challenge is to unite Sam Katz and Laura Potts, two pining, painfully shy 23-year-olds living blocks apart in Manhattan, acquaintances whose chance encounters, so far, have been “worse than when Lincoln gets shot.” Prohibited from doing anything the humans could perceive as supernatural, the angels’ meddling is restricted to dream-work, iPhone hacking, traffic signal tampering, weather manipulation and, in overweight Sam’s case, a botulism attack. But at month’s end, the two—like Craig and Eliza in their own budding romance—must make their own moves. Humanity depends upon it. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (Aug.)
Library Journal
Founder and CEO of Heaven, Inc., a bored God is about to ditch Earth when two starry-eyed angels from the Department of Miracles intervene. If they can convince Earth's two most socially maladjusted souls to fall in love, then the planet will be saved. Former president of the Harvard Lampoon, a four-time Emmy nominee for his writing on Saturday Night Live, Rich has credentials in the Department of Laughs.
OCTOBER 2012 - AudioFile
Simon Rich’s matter-of-fact tone is perfect for narrating his novel. He delivers the prose in an often dry and almost disinterested tone, which builds upon the humor imbued in his story. This style works smoothly with the ludicrous moments of a world on the brink of disaster. When God decides Earth is no longer worth investing in and wants to create a fusion restaurant, two angel underlings, Craig and Eliza, do everything in their power to prove it’s worth saving. Betting against God is never a good idea, but these angels are determined to prove that miracles can happen, with or without God’s blessing. Beyond the protagonists, Rich’s character voices come across as slightly caricatured, but his delivery often works for comedic effect. L.E. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
