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The Gospel According to Sydney Welles: A Novel
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Product Description
Complicating things are her best friend Anna’s on-again, off-again wedding; the disturbingly handsome priest serving as the church’s liaison; and Jake, the new guy, who looks good in real life but comes equipped with all the real-life complications. Susi Rajah’s wickedly funny debut novel introduces an unforgettable new voice in fiction and gives us a ribald, self-deprecating young woman who eventually discovers that love requires even more faith than religion.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #526854 in Books
- Published on: 2007-06-26
- Released on: 2007-06-26
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 325 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Quick wit, clever banter and engaging characters grace the fiction debut of Rajah (How to Spot a Bastard by His Star Sign). Sydney Welles, who covers for her alcoholic boss at an L.A. ad agency, gets dumped by her actor boyfriend for someone bustier and blonder, and buries herself in work. That entails landing the big new account to improve the Catholic church's image while trying not to get too distracted by sexy priest Father Bernadi. Friend Anna is determined to hook Sydney up; Sydney's bickering correspondence with columnist Charles Turner escalates; and, as she works the Catholic church campaign, Sydney e-mails God. There's a predictable twist and some padding, but there are charm and cleverness to spare, particularly in Sydney's funny and moving ideas for promoting the church. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Miracle of miracles! A twenty-first-century heroine who doesn’t exist solely to worship men (well, not the mortal kind, anyway). Rajah’s satirical take on religious mores and manners in modern-day L.A. is laugh-out-loud funny...and very quietly subversive. The Gospel According to Sydney Welles is full of substance and soul and the frank, forthright, and ferociously intelligent Sydney.”—Adele Lang, author of the bestselling Confessions of a Sociopathic Social Climber
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Rajah Redefines The Genre
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!
Perfect for the big screen!
What a fabulous witty concept! Susi Rajah has applied intellect, humour and relevance to her thoroughly researched theme, to deliver an addictive novel that you just want to share with your girlfriends immediately!
A perfect birthday present - I have already ordered 5 for my best friends! This has all of the natural ingredients for a successful movie, I would love to see this on the big screen!
A Refreshing Change
"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.
