Stella in Heaven: Almost a Novel

Rating:
Summary: Heavenly Relationships and Complications!
Review: Art Buchwald is one of my favorite humorists, and I was pleased to see the results of his "almost novel" in this book. I thought that this book captured his wry sense very well. Husband and wife relations can be just as funny as U.S.-Russian ones, after all! Having written political satire as newspaper columns, he has turned his hand here to writing what resemble satirical columns that are designed to read like daily diary entries. That format is probably why this was called an "almost novel" rather than a novel. I found that the format worked well for me. On the other hand, people who want a smooth, seamless novel will find this style jarring.

Here's the plot. Roger Folger, 61, is a widower. His wife, Stella, died two years earlier at 59 from smoking a pack a day, after 38 years of marriage. They have two children, Timmy who is 40 and Sarah who is 38. Roger lives with his mother, Mimi, and daughter. Roger misses Stella, because she always made all of the decisions. On the other hand, he has an ace in the hole. Stella has found a way to telephone him, and they chat every night. From Heaven, she tells him about her life there, and tries to run his life on earth. Her key priority is fixing him up with a new wife. But he doesn't want one. He loves Stella very much, and doesn't want to be with anyone else. Pretty soon, though, he starts enjoying his new found freedom to do things Stella wouldn't approve of, like helping more people and investing with his friend. Unfortunately, every so often someone dies and goes to Heaven, and they tell Stella what he has been up to. Then, Roger's life gets complicated. The story continues in the best tradition of the George Burns and Gracie Allen type of husband-and-wife monologue and dialogue humor.

The book is written in a series of short sequences that relate what is going on from either Stella's perspective in Heaven or Roger's on earth. These are each about the length of an individual newspaper column. I savored each one as a stand-alone, and found myself laughing frequently. Much of each one is a monologue, but occasional snatches of dialogue are included as well.

Here are a few of the story elements and complications that make for humor: Roger is a herpes researcher, occasionally people go to Heaven who didn't like each other on earth, Mimi and Sarah are dedicated protestors, and Sarah becomes a mother. Mr. Buchwald weaves all of this into one continuous fabric of satire with one fun twist after another. I cannot tell you any more without spoiling it for you, but a lot more happens in this story.

To me, the most interesting part of the book is the material about Heaven. I have not really thought that much about some of the circumstances in Heaven, and Buchwald's speculations were interesting to me. Stella regularly consults Moses to get advice. She also attends concerts with the original composers and takes cooking lessons with the great deceased chefs. On the other hand, there's no television because it's too violent to be allowed in Heaven. Stella says that her part of Heaven is like the Ritz Carlton in Florida (there's more than one, and she doesn't say which). Some people have to make do at the Four Seasons in Heaven.

Mr. Buchwald does manage to sneak in some political humor, mostly aimed at the Viet Nam era and misuses of authority. But you'd be disappointed if he didn't. These sections reminded me of Robert Heller's satires about the government.

I strongly recommend that you read this book, because it will both uplift your thinking as you contemplate Heaven and it will also help you see the humor in everyday conflicts. Have a great lot of laughs!

After you are done with the book, I encourage you to develop your own ideas about what the after-life may hold according to your own beliefs. If you don't have many beliefs in that area, I encourage you to seek out your religious or spiritual advisor and to do some reading on the subject. But don't limit yourself to Dante. His vision of Heaven is far less interesting than Mr. Buchwald's is.

Rating:
Summary: Heavenly Relationships and Complications!
Review: Art Buchwald is one of my favorite humorists, and I was pleased to see the results of his "almost novel" in this book. I thought that this book captured his wry sense very well. Husband and wife relations can be just as funny as U.S.-Russian ones, after all! Having written political satire as newspaper columns, he has turned his hand here to writing what resemble satirical columns that are designed to read like daily diary entries. That format is probably why this was called an "almost novel" rather than a novel. I found that the format worked well for me. On the other hand, people who want a smooth, seamless novel will find this style jarring.

Here's the plot. Roger Folger, 61, is a widower. His wife, Stella, died two years earlier at 59 from smoking a pack a day, after 38 years of marriage. They have two children, Timmy who is 40 and Sarah who is 38. Roger lives with his mother, Mimi, and daughter. Roger misses Stella, because she always made all of the decisions. On the other hand, he has an ace in the hole. Stella has found a way to telephone him, and they chat every night. From Heaven, she tells him about her life there, and tries to run his life on earth. Her key priority is fixing him up with a new wife. But he doesn't want one. He loves Stella very much, and doesn't want to be with anyone else. Pretty soon, though, he starts enjoying his new found freedom to do things Stella wouldn't approve of, like helping more people and investing with his friend. Unfortunately, every so often someone dies and goes to Heaven, and they tell Stella what he has been up to. Then, Roger's life gets complicated. The story continues in the best tradition of the George Burns and Gracie Allen type of husband-and-wife monologue and dialogue humor.

The book is written in a series of short sequences that relate what is going on from either Stella's perspective in Heaven or Roger's on earth. These are each about the length of an individual newspaper column. I savored each one as a stand-alone, and found myself laughing frequently. Much of each one is a monologue, but occasional snatches of dialogue are included as well.

Here are a few of the story elements and complications that make for humor: Roger is a herpes researcher, occasionally people go to Heaven who didn't like each other on earth, Mimi and Sarah are dedicated protestors, and Sarah becomes a mother. Mr. Buchwald weaves all of this into one continuous fabric of satire with one fun twist after another. I cannot tell you any more without spoiling it for you, but a lot more happens in this story.

To me, the most interesting part of the book is the material about Heaven. I have not really thought that much about some of the circumstances in Heaven, and Buchwald's speculations were interesting to me. Stella regularly consults Moses to get advice. She also attends concerts with the original composers and takes cooking lessons with the great deceased chefs. On the other hand, there's no television because it's too violent to be allowed in Heaven. Stella says that her part of Heaven is like the Ritz Carlton in Florida (there's more than one, and she doesn't say which). Some people have to make do at the Four Seasons in Heaven.

Mr. Buchwald does manage to sneak in some political humor, mostly aimed at the Viet Nam era and misuses of authority. But you'd be disappointed if he didn't. These sections reminded me of Robert Heller's satires about the government.

I strongly recommend that you read this book, because it will both uplift your thinking as you contemplate Heaven and it will also help you see the humor in everyday conflicts. Have a great lot of laughs!

After you are done with the book, I encourage you to develop your own ideas about what the after-life may hold according to your own beliefs. If you don't have many beliefs in that area, I encourage you to seek out your religious or spiritual advisor and to do some reading on the subject. But don't limit yourself to Dante. His vision of Heaven is far less interesting than Mr. Buchwald's is.

Rating:
Summary: Heavenly Relationships and Complications!
Review: Art Buchwald is one of my favorite humorists, and I was pleased to see the results of his "almost novel" in this book. I thought that this book captured his wry sense very well. Husband and wife relations can be just as funny as U.S.-Russian ones, after all! Having written political satire as newspaper columns, he has turned his hand here to writing what resemble satirical columns that are designed to read like daily diary entries. That format is probably why this was called an "almost novel" rather than a novel. I found that the format worked well for me. On the other hand, people who want a smooth, seamless novel will find this style jarring.

Here's the plot. Roger Folger, 61, is a widower. His wife, Stella, died two years earlier at 59 from smoking a pack a day, after 38 years of marriage. They have two children, Timmy who is 40 and Sarah who is 38. Roger lives with his mother, Mimi, and daughter. Roger misses Stella, because she always made all of the decisions. On the other hand, he has an ace in the hole. Stella has found a way to telephone him, and they chat every night. From Heaven, she tells him about her life there, and tries to run his life on earth. Her key priority is fixing him up with a new wife. But he doesn't want one. He loves Stella very much, and doesn't want to be with anyone else. Pretty soon, though, he starts enjoying his new found freedom to do things Stella wouldn't approve of, like helping more people and investing with his friend. Unfortunately, every so often someone dies and goes to Heaven, and they tell Stella what he has been up to. Then, Roger's life gets complicated. The story continues in the best tradition of the George Burns and Gracie Allen type of husband-and-wife monologue and dialogue humor.

The book is written in a series of short sequences that relate what is going on from either Stella's perspective in Heaven or Roger's on earth. These are each about the length of an individual newspaper column. I savored each one as a stand-alone, and found myself laughing frequently. Much of each one is a monologue, but occasional snatches of dialogue are included as well.

Here are a few of the story elements and complications that make for humor: Roger is a herpes researcher, occasionally people go to Heaven who didn't like each other on earth, Mimi and Sarah are dedicated protestors, and Sarah becomes a mother. Mr. Buchwald weaves all of this into one continuous fabric of satire with one fun twist after another. I cannot tell you any more without spoiling it for you, but a lot more happens in this story.

To me, the most interesting part of the book is the material about Heaven. I have not really thought that much about some of the circumstances in Heaven, and Buchwald's speculations were interesting to me. Stella regularly consults Moses to get advice. She also attends concerts with the original composers and takes cooking lessons with the great deceased chefs. On the other hand, there's no television because it's too violent to be allowed in Heaven. Stella says that her part of Heaven is like the Ritz Carlton in Florida (there's more than one, and she doesn't say which). Some people have to make do at the Four Seasons in Heaven.

Mr. Buchwald does manage to sneak in some political humor, mostly aimed at the Viet Nam era and misuses of authority. But you'd be disappointed if he didn't. These sections reminded me of Robert Heller's satires about the government.

I strongly recommend that you read this book, because it will both uplift your thinking as you contemplate Heaven and it will also help you see the humor in everyday conflicts. Have a great lot of laughs!

After you are done with the book, I encourage you to develop your own ideas about what the after-life may hold according to your own beliefs. If you don't have many beliefs in that area, I encourage you to seek out your religious or spiritual advisor and to do some reading on the subject. But don't limit yourself to Dante. His vision of Heaven is far less interesting than Mr. Buchwald's is.

Rating:
Summary: A different persective
Review: I think it takes a person with a more open sense of humor - or just a different sense of humor than my own, to enjoy this book. I just didn't find Buchwald's characters very funny; the more I read, the more dissatisfied I felt. I think it's a matter of Buchwald's style just not being my type, that's all. For example, I just didn't think Stella's descriptions of Heaven were funny. Portraying God as an absentee boss who gives orders from a distance and has no qualms about shipping someone from heaven to hell and Moses as a slave and everyone else in heaven as gossiping busybodies just wasn't funny to me. I guess the descriptions seemed cold and empty, even when describing what Stella liked about Heaven - maybe there was supposed to be humor in the pitifully meager joys of Heaven, but I just didn't get it. Stella's gripes about people bringing her food when she was sick, and her obsessive need to know every detail about her funeral wasn't funny or even interesting (Roger finally mentions that people tell funny stories about Stella, but doesn't give any examples), either - everything seemed to revolve around being a critic of someone who could possibly care. It wasn't even funny when Roger blew the money he'd received from Stella's life insurance policy, or how he had to sneak around to see his best friend when Stella was alive and now when she's dead, too. I thought it was sad. But again - it's just a matter of liking the author's style, which I didn't. If you like Buchwald's style, I'm sure you'll enjoy the book.

Rating:
Summary: A Palate Cleanser
Review: If you are looking for a few laughs and maybe even a couple of life's little lessons, Stella in Heaven is your ticket to the otherside. Even after Stella ascends to Heaven she dominates her Husban's life via a special phone granted as one of her three wishes awarded upon her arrival at the Pearly Gates. She assumes that he will be unable to manage his affairs without her, and organizes a celestial body to find him a new wife. She tries, she fails, and she tries again. Little does Stella know, that he will surprise her, and find his own wife when Stella least expects it. This little book is funny, refreshing, and very down to earth so to speak...I loved it, finished it in an afternoon, and look forward to reading other books by Buchwald.

Rating:
Summary: So-so
Review: It's a very quick read, but I didn't get into it like I should have. I did feel something for the characters obviously because I was sad at the end. Maybe it's for a different demographic, but it's not for me.

Rating:
Summary: So-so
Review: It's a very quick read, but I didn't get into it like I should have. I did feel something for the characters obviously because I was sad at the end. Maybe it's for a different demographic, but it's not for me.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This is the story of Stella, who is trying to fix her husband up with a new wife. Problem is Stella is dead - and her husband isn't interesting in remarrying. Stella requested the opportunity to speak to her husband anytime she wants, so they communicate via a special phone.

I really enjoyed this book. Much different than many of the books I've read lately - no crime, no sex, just a lot of laughs.

A quick read and one I recommend to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This is the story of Stella, who is trying to fix her husband up with a new wife. Problem is Stella is dead - and her husband isn't interesting in remarrying. Stella requested the opportunity to speak to her husband anytime she wants, so they communicate via a special phone.

I really enjoyed this book. Much different than many of the books I've read lately - no crime, no sex, just a lot of laughs.

A quick read and one I recommend to everyone!