The Last Girlfriend on Earth: And Other Love Stories - Softcover

Rich, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031621938X ISBN 13: 9780316219389

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2014

Synopsis

"One of the funniest books you'll read this year."--Publishers Weekly

Love can be messy, painful, and even tragic. When seen through the eyes of Simon Rich it can also be hilarious.

In thirty short, sharp, ingenious stories, Rich conjures up some unforgettable romances: An unused prophylactic describes life inside a teenage boy's wallet; God juggles the demands of his needy girlfriend with the looming deadline for earth's creation; and a lovestruck Sherlock Holmes ignores all the clues that his girlfriend's been cheating on him.

As enchanting, sweet, and absurd as love itself, these stories are Simon Rich's Valentine to readers, an irresistible collection of delights. All that's missing is the heart-shaped box.

About this title

About the Author

Simon Rich is the author of What in God's Name, Ant Farm, Free-Range Chickens, and Elliot Allagash. His work, including some of these stories, has appeared in The New Yorker ("It's always fairly obvious when a 'Shouts and Murmurs' piece in The New Yorker is the product of Simon Rich. Telltale signs include the elegant skewering of adult human behavior, as glimpsed through the eyes of children, animals, spectral beings, or inanimate objects-and the fact that the reader is hunched over laughing." - Joe Berkowitz, Fast Company). He has written film scripts for Lorne Michaels and Judd Apatow, and until recently he was a staff writer at Saturday Night Live; he currently writes for Pixar. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Review

Simon Rich is outrageously, lavishly gifted -- Caitlin Moran A James Thurber for our times, in Borges' suit wearing Flann O'Brien's hat -- Ian McMillan * BBC Radio 3 The Verb * Brilliant: a kind of modern version of Woody Allen's Without Feathers for anyone who's been in love ... topsy-turvy imaginative, riotously funny, hugely insightful ... Rich has a wisdom about male-female interaction that most have to wait far, far longer than 28 years to gain. -- Tom Cox * Observer * A collection of sweet stories full of whimsical, gently moving tales of love and loss, thwarted come-ons and doomed crushes... Put it in your pocket and take it out whenever you need a five minute break from the tedium of everyday. -- Lynn Enright * The Gloss * Most original and highly amusing. Rich manages to turn the banal into the absurd... hilarious and touching... and impossible to put down. A perfect cheer-up for the romantically challenged! -- Rachel Glover * Image * The Last Girlfriend On Earthis silly, surreal, sometimes sad and always laugh-out-loud funny. This collection will have you giggling/crying/squirming in recognition, and wondering what exactly Simon Rich has eaten to dream all this stuff up ... This collection pulls off the tough trick of being both heart-warming and hilarious -it's a must-read if you've ever so much as had a crush on someone * Heat * Pithy, occasionally bonkers... expect any weeping to be of the laughter-induced variety -- David Clack * Time Out * Truly hilarious -- Observer * Eva Wiseman * There are many episodes to enjoy ... The scenarios are satisfyingly wide-ranging ... an irreverent pleasure. -- Frank Brinkley * Literary Review * A laugh-out-loud collection of short stories about that crazy little thing called love. * Vogue Australia * If you buy only one quirky, surreal collection of comedy short stories about relationships this year, make it Simon Rich's The Last Girlfriend on Earth ... an endlessly inventive, laugh-out-loud book ... It's fairly spooky that Rich, though still in his 20s, has such telling and very humorous insights into the shortcomings and sensitivities of the male psyche ... this is a one-night stand you will definitely want to tell your friends about. * Jewish Chronicle * The Last Girlfriend on Earth had me giggling out loud -- Emma Sells * ELLE * A quirky and amusing collection -- Julian Fleming * Sunday Business Post * The Last Girlfriend on Earth shows off Rich's special talent for finding emotional truth in surreal premises -- Hugh Montgomery * Independent on Sunday * The Last Girlfriend on Earth and Other Love Stories by Simon Rich is my holiday reading recommendation. Read it on the plane with caution - you will laugh so loud people will think you're having some sort of episode. -- Lauren Laverne * ELLE * Rich is arguably the wittiest American humourist of his generation. -- Ryan Gilbey * Guardian *

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 031621938X
• ISBN 13: 9780316219389
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240