Customer Reviews

Stella in Heaven

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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.

Art Buchwald was perhaps the most celebrated humor columnist of his time, but you'd never know it from this wholly forgettable novel about a man who's lost his wife. Or has he?

Roger Folger is a sixty-one year old widower who has daily communications with his departed wife Stella. The point of view alternates between these two characters, and certainly the best part of the book is Stella's quaint descriptions of heaven, which, she gushes, is very much like the Ritz-Carlton in Florida. Given the wealth of possibilities, it seems as though Buchwald should have been able to come up with something a little more inventive, but unfortunately, that's about as funny as this book gets. Convinced that her husband is pining away without her, Stella does everything she can to fix Roger up with another woman: one who meets her stringent criteria of what kind of wife he needs, naturally. The chapters with Roger are almost painful as we watch his fitful attempts to get on with his life. These scenes aren't comic so much as pathetic, and there's no real insight into either his character or his plight.

This middle-aged husband found the story more depressing than funny, and possessing little enough in the way of redeeming social value. Even Buchwald must have recognized the weakness of this book since he subtitled it "Almost a Novel". The characters are lame jokes, the plot is razor-thin, and the point is something like "Love is where you find it" or "Life goes on", and that's about it. This slim volume possesses enough humor for a couple of good newspaper columns, and that's really all.

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.

I thought "Stella in Heaven" was such great find--and I only paid a dollar for it!--that I loaned it out to various friends and they passed it around to friends. What a great take on the view from heaven--maybe.

I'm actually thinking of purchasing it again for a nice re-read.

Stella in Heaven is a very fast read. The idea that a dead woman can communicate with her husband is witty and thought provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed the way novel is presented -- Roger's Story and Stella's story as each side gives his/her accountability of the issue being discussed. I thought the character "Mimi" who is Roger's mother is outstanding. If you are looking for something different, with a twist of articulate humor -- then I recommend the book. If you've been married for a number of years (like I have) and suddenly your mate dies (which I fortunately haven't) you would like to think you could somehow, someway stay in touch -- atleast until the living can move on. The concept of Stella in Heaven is a pretty darn creative.

Buchwald is the master of poignant humor. (Upon his recent death, his video was released: "Hello, this is Art Buchwald and I just died.") This small, easily read book deals with everything-life, death, loss, love, war, bar mitzvahs, gossip, all discussed by wife and husband from her Princess phone in Heaven. The heartbreaking braveness to go on in the face of all of this is simple and touching. I heartily recommend it. Keep tissues by your side when reading.

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.

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.