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olanthea's review
3.0
Schultz is truly a poet. She has a beautiful command of language and creates unique paintings of description. That being said, I was absorbed in her words, not always her world, and I as a reader love reading for the worlds author's build. I followed Small, G.'s journey, I could see Heaven as he wandered through it, but I didn't reach my "do not disturb my reading on pain of death" mode. The one moment where I couldn't put the novel down was Gordon's writing and the chapter that followed. I did love the uniqueness of the story, the questions about life, afterlife and the meaning within both that were provoked in me, and the quirkiness of the supporting characters. I feel that this is the journey of a poet, and unfortunately I am not a poet.
canadianbookworm's review
4.0
I loved the first paragraph of this book: "Moments after his death, an event he had failed to notice, Gordon Small sought new employment". That just grabbed my attention and the rest of the book did not disappoint.
Gordon gets a job as proofreader at Heaven Book Company, proofreading a variety of romance novels. Heaven is the largest publisher of romance novels in the world, and has every type of genre possible. Free copies of the published works are available for the employee's to take and read.
But Gordon starts to realize that he might actually be dead, and stuck in a kind of limbo at Heaven Book Company. He starts to question other staff, and decides to embark on a project to make contact with his ex-wife, Chloe Gold, whom he has never stopped loving.
What effect will his actions have on Heaven? Will he be able to make contact with Chloe? And what will happen if he does?
The writing is wonderful, the premise unique and inspiring, and the book a winner.
Gordon gets a job as proofreader at Heaven Book Company, proofreading a variety of romance novels. Heaven is the largest publisher of romance novels in the world, and has every type of genre possible. Free copies of the published works are available for the employee's to take and read.
But Gordon starts to realize that he might actually be dead, and stuck in a kind of limbo at Heaven Book Company. He starts to question other staff, and decides to embark on a project to make contact with his ex-wife, Chloe Gold, whom he has never stopped loving.
What effect will his actions have on Heaven? Will he be able to make contact with Chloe? And what will happen if he does?
The writing is wonderful, the premise unique and inspiring, and the book a winner.
the_original_shelf_monkey's review
5.0
Gordon Small is dead. We think. He's not sure, as he's too busy prepping for a mysterious job interview with the Heaven Book Company. Gordon is quickly hired to proofread cheap and plentiful romance novels; terrible books written in prose so purple the "ardour of the reading material left a taste in his mouth like old coffee." The specifics of his position are vague, but then, so is the entire enterprise; no one seems to actually go home at night (resulting in a very creepy scene in a parking garage), Gordon can't remember the last time he went to the washroom, and pizza deliverymen are always nearby yet cannot seem to find the entranceway into the building.
Schultz (whose novel [b:Joyland|1134600|Joyland|Emily Schultz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181266825s/1134600.jpg|1121833] is a real treat, seek it out) definitely enjoys traipsing about her central conceit, portraying the afterlife as not much different than life on this plane, full of office drones, unrequited sexual urges, and monotony. It wouldn't be fair to reveal every surprise the Canadian author lays for Gordon, but his dismay at his new digs quickly leads to a smartly realized scheme whereby his otherwise clueless fellow employees of Heaven "would realize that they deserved lives beyond what occurred at their desks."
Read the rest of the review here.
Schultz (whose novel [b:Joyland|1134600|Joyland|Emily Schultz|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181266825s/1134600.jpg|1121833] is a real treat, seek it out) definitely enjoys traipsing about her central conceit, portraying the afterlife as not much different than life on this plane, full of office drones, unrequited sexual urges, and monotony. It wouldn't be fair to reveal every surprise the Canadian author lays for Gordon, but his dismay at his new digs quickly leads to a smartly realized scheme whereby his otherwise clueless fellow employees of Heaven "would realize that they deserved lives beyond what occurred at their desks."
Read the rest of the review here.
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