Customer Reviews

The Gospel According to Sydney Welles: A Novel

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The Gospel According to Sidney Welles
Sidney Welles is assigned the Catholic Church image overhaul campaign and sets out to give the church a face lift of sorts...what ensues is a hilarious stumble through questions of faith, love and self discovery.


Susi Rajah's solo debut has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that contemporary literature or Chic Lit can be thought provoking and outrageously funny without requiring the reader to check their common sense and intellect at the door.

Sydney Welles was one of those career women that seemed to have everything figured out and running smoothly. However, that which works so well on paper does not always translate into reality quite so seamlessly. Dumped by her boyfriend for a shapelier blond, she throws herself into work. Assigned, by her alcoholic boss, to the all important Catholic Church image overhaul campaign, it's up to Sidney to find a way to put the church back into the good graces of the people. She begins sending emails to god, simple questions, comments and personal observations and rants. In one particularly poignant communication she tells `god' she prefers he not respond, because these days folks that claim to speak with him aren't exactly Solomon or David.

Part saint, part sinner, wholly engrossing, this book will have you laughing, while nodding your head in agreement. The no-nonsensical dialogue style brings the reader right into the heart and soul of theological, religious debates, as well as, the hypocrisy within our society through this hilarious, entertaining read. The blurbs on the dust cover are appealing appetizers, that give the reader an indication of the delicious entree just waiting to be devoured. Brilliantly conceived, uniquely written and conveyed with depth and conviction, Rajah's quick wit and subtle criticisms, combined with no holds barred emails to the Big Guy himself, demonstrate her uniquely evocative way of crafting an intelligent feast that is truly satisfying!

This is one of those novels you will want to pass around to friends and family! I recommend this novel to all fiction readers, ladies and gentlemen alike! If you enjoy a fun read that seems to melt the hours from the clock and never insults your intelligence, The Gospel According To Sidney Wells delivers!

Happy Reading!

Note:
This would be a wonderfully fun romantic comedy movie - provided the right folks were cast to play the roles! I would love to see it on the big screen!

I bought this book because of this magazine review. Now I've read it, I can recommend it myself, but I can't do a better job of telling you about it than the magazine did, so:

Times are hard, and you probably don't believe in much of anything anymore -- not ghosts, Santa Claus or even organized religion. If that's the case, you'll certainly identify with the title character in Susi Rajah's hysterically subversive novel, "The Gospel According to Sydney Welles" (Bloomsbury). This sinfully funny satire of religious mores will restore your faith in the healing power of chick lit as the adorable and devoutly agnostic Sydney writes cheeky e-mails to God while juggling the stress of her advertising job and love life. To make matters worse, she's expected to create an image-boosting ad campaign for the Catholic Church with the help of an extremely hot priest. After skimming the Bible, she sends the following message to God: "The threat of eternal damnation is compelling, but just think how many more copies you'd sell if it were actually readable." It'll be a miracle if she survives with her soul intact. But aren't you dying to find out? BloomsburyUSA.com - ZINK (Summer 2007) [...]

I recently received `The gospel according to Sydney Wells' as a gift and I could not put it down. Don't be fooled by the title, this book has a full share of love, lust and humor.....look out Bridget Jones Diary here's the thinking girls memoir. The main character, Sydney Wells is an impressive young woman with a quick wit and an outlook on life to be envied.
The story is woven with humorous references to religious polarities which are so relevant to the world we are struggling with today. Susi Rajah ruthlessly exposes the facts about religion via email directly to God amidst a contemporary love story with an unexpected twist. The email address's to God are particularly amusing e.g. God c/o presidentotheunitedstates@whitehouse.gov and God c/o theforce@lucasfilm.com.....I found myself laughing aloud throughout the book. A must read, I'm sending copies to all my girlfriends.

The Gospel is a clever and courageous tale about a modern girl not scared of the big questions. A must read for any male seeking to understand why women find charm and a self-destructive urge irresistible. A must read for any female; period. Rajah has a wicked wit that would surely make Oscar Wilde proud and somewhat jealous that he never took on God and had the opportunity to mock Brad Pitt. Apply this soul soap liberally!

I'd love to catch up for a drink. I love your style. Love your ideas on God, the universe, advertising and all the men that God gave us...let me know when you're free, I think you're great.

Pass It On....Your friends will thank you! The Gospel according to Sydney Welles is a book definitely worth passing on (even your male friends will like it....I did!) When I first started reading the book on vacation, I thought i was in big trouble...that the main character was going to rip into every man that every lived and only talk over drinks with girlfriends about men and sex. Well, I guess there was plenty of that...but it's so much more. The author is witty, funny and thinks outside the box. "Where did she come up with that idea and then to actually put it on paper?!", I asked myself throughout the book. Every page made me laugh! I felt immediately comfortable with the main character, Sydney, and thought that Jake was a real modern man....but Brad Pitt (the dog) and Cupid (the annoying boy) were my surprise favorites. Read the book and you will see what i mean.

Susi Raja's novel was a pleasure to read.
I loved the way the author made Sydney Welles (the main character) deliver subtle critics about our society.
Sydney expresses interesting opinion not only about men and human relationships but as well religion and big corporation. The intelligent combination delivered in a sweet and irresistible story made me wonder so much how the author thinks about all those smart things.
Hard not too make you laugh!

This book is funny. Very funny. I laughed out loud a lot and books rarely do that for me. It's full of sharp lines and intelligence. Its prose is vivid and rich and I was genuinely disappointed when it finished. I wanted to spend more time with all of the characters and I've since gone back and re read my favorite bits. I searched online to see if it had been published elsewhere and found that the UK edition, titled Heaven®, for some reason, is 100 pages longer. I would love to see what was left out for us in the US. I loved the story and all the characters. Sydney, Harry Rex (he is a rabbit), Jake, Larry, Cupid (he is a small boy), Brad Pitt (he is a dog), Anna and the twins, Noah and a Priest who I had in my head as George Clooney. Oh and God. American God that is. What great characters. I recommend this book to anyone with a brain, wants to be entertained and laugh. The Gospel is instantly a favorite.

Smart, sassy, fun. I've used those three words to describe what I'm looking for in a summer read to bookstore clerks and librarians all over town to no avail--until now. The Gospel According to Sydney Welles is what chick lit should be; insanely funny, easy to read without insulting my intelligence, with a heroine who does more than shop and alternately panic about her mother and her boyfriend, and wrapped up in a sigh of satisfaction at the end. My only regret is that I've finished it already. Where will I find more of these for July and August?

"The Gospel According to Sydney Welles" makes a refreshing change from all the no-brainer chick-lit we gals are usually toting on vacation because there isn't anything else out there to READ if you don't want to spend your entire week on the beach struggling through some pretentious novel which, even if you haven't had one cocktail too many, makes no sense whatsoever. (I think Sydney says "whether the glass is half empty or half full, it's still only half a drink" says it all...) The author has managed to combine the pre-requisite star-crossed 21st century romance with a deep, damning and very, VERY funny expose on organized religion (I hope, for her sake, that she's not planning on taking a break anywhere near Vatican City - or the Bible Belt - any time soon!). Unlike a lot of modern-day "literary" heroines, Sydney Welles is blessed with wit and wisdom as well as heart and soul. I, for one, am a total convert.