Customer Reviews

Blue Heaven

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A good friend introduced me to the madcap world of Gilbert Selwyn and Phillip Cavanaugh seven years ago. Since then, I have given away more copies of "My Blue Heaven" and "Putting on The Ritz" than I can count. The first time I read "My Blue Heaven" I actually woke up my next door neighbors (in an apartment building) with my laughing.

The plot is wonderfully convoluted, and just when you think you might have things figured out, Keenan throws another hilarious curveball your way.

Mr. Keenan's characters are incredibly vivid -- they manage to be loathsome yet endearing at the same time. Every line is well crafted, and the one-liners fly by with such frequency you will find yourself having to stop and catch your breath.

I re-read "My Blue Heaven" at least once a year. I have to admit it, I am powerless over this book.

A word of advice: Buy several copies. Your friends and family will undoubtedly ask why you are laughing so hard, and it is easier to give them a copy than to stop reading long enough to explain.

In Joe Keenan's first book, "Blue Heaven", he introduces us to characters void of scruples, totally motivated by their own greed, and wholly, unabashedly hilarious.

No, it's not a group of politicians, but gay Gilbert and irascible Moira, two societal climbing spendthrifts who decided to hitch up for the great gifts in a sham marriage. What ensues, through several unexpected plot twists and deceiving and conniving, is a fictional farce that works so well, you actually laugh out loud.

The writing is witty and brilliant, fast-paced and timeless. Most admirable is how Keenan takes these rotten people and truly makes them horrible, back-stabbing folk, yet in a way, you do actually like them.

If you are looking for a light-hearted romp, read "Blue Heaven", as I have been telling all of my friends since diving into this treasure.

Joe Keenan has an incredible talent, not just for keen comic timing and rapier-sharp dialogue, but also for constructing a hysterically labyrinthine story in such a way so that the reader can actually keep track of it! Lies, manipulation, extortion, greed--this book's got it all!

All the characters manage to be lovable somehow, even though they have few (if any) redeeming qualities. I couldn't stop turning pages because I was dying to see how these people would deal with each seemingly-insurmountable obstacle that gets thrown their way. It reads like an episode of "Frasier" on acid--which makes sense when you realize Keenan went on to become supervising producer of that television show.

I would LOVE to see a movie based on "Blue Heaven", but I'd much rather have Keenan crank out another crackpot adventure with Gilbert and Phillip! "Blue Heaven" and "Putting On The Ritz" are great--but I want more, damnit! :)

Essentially,this is a tale of two Idiots and a Vixen.Plus the glamour of the filthy rich,plus the grisly menace of the underworld.But I see marvellous comic art,still unparalleled,in the charachter of the Duchess :this is pure Absurd,but a gay (in both meanings)absurd,and that is really rare.I think Joe Keenan is the greatest author of gay comic novel.See how he makes fun of the itchyness and bitchyness of certain gay people,in a manner still perfectly politically correct!But the sexual orientation of Philip and Gilbert is of very little consequence.The fun thing is...they're Murphy's Law in action!

I picked up this book because the back cover said it was reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse and I'm a big fan of Wooster and Jeeves. I didn't find much to compare to Wodehouse, but as a quick read with lots of twists and turns, this book was outstanding. I love a book that keeps you guessing.

Judith Porter

author of Coco Twain Tells the Truth (ISBN: 1-4137-696204).

When we were seven and eight, my brother and I used to be Lucy and Ethel as the outer space moo-moos who landed on top of the Empire State Building and this book turns the same trick: people I know who read it, cite scene after scene, quoting Philip, Moira and Gilbert with glee. Every time I read this, I remember my excitement when as a kid I watched a new episode of I LOVE LUCY and laughed my heart out.

This is THE funniest and most entertaining story I know. The proof is in the fact that I have read it at least three times and it's powerful humour has never flagged. I have given this book to scores of people and every single person has raved about it afterwards. As a social commentary on New York, on contemporary lifestyles, gay and otherwise, it is unbeatable. From the opening line to the last page, this books delivers pure hilarity.

It is pointless to discuss the plot or reveal the jokes. All I can say is that it's the most successful piece of laugh therapy I know.

Has it ever seemed terribly unfair to you that only married people get lavished with wedding presents? Aren't gay couples and steady companions deserving of gifts, too? And don't you wish you could do something about it?

Well, someone did, in Joe Keenan's zippy New York comic novel "Blue Heaven." Boy meets girl, boy and girl get engaged, boy and girl set date . . . only long enough to rake in a truckload of wedding presents and then call the whole thing off. Why, what could possibly go wrong?

There ensues an avalanche of hilarity. I won't try to dig up enough adjectives to describe Keenan's way with a quip or his snappy comic timing and deft plotting. Just make this one of the funniest if not THE funniest novel I've ever read.

I wish I could give this book more stars, as "I Love It" seems such an inadequate phrase to describe my reaction to this story and its characters. Philip is the perfect foil to Gilbert, and we all know we would get sucked into Gilbert's vortex just as Philip does, knowing it cannot possibly end well. And then somehow, improbably, it does! Keenan is a hilarious, sharp writer, and some of the quieter moments in this story are actually some of the most funny. I am particularly glad to find such smart, funny writing for matter-of-fact gay characters. Philip and Gilbert are two of the gayest characters in modern fiction, but that's never the "point" of the story, and Keenan isn't pandering to a straight audience by resorting to broad, boring Gay Stereotypes, like some popular TV shows do (ahem). Because Keenan treats his gay characters like "normal" people (what a concept!), I will forever be one of his most devoted fans.

OK...so it's not Proust. But I defy you to find a more entertaining, funny book! It is a guaranteed laugh-outloud gay romp. In fact, some of the lines are so memorable that I pick up the book and re-read them (which I, of course, have highlighted) when I need a pick-me-up. I just wish that Joe Keenan would dump TV's "Frasier" and give us another book as terrific as "Blue Heaven" and, to a slighly lesser extent, "Putting on the Ritz."

Joe Keenan is a master of farce, the most difficult and demanding comic form. This novel, and it's two sequels, are the farce form honed to perfection. Laced with wit and malice, the real question is which is funnier, the dialogue or the descriptive similes? Yes, it's far-fetched and over-the-top. Of course it is. It's farce. It HAS to be. It will make you laugh on every page. If it doesn't; stick a fork in yourself. You're done.