Stella in Heaven

by Art Buchwald

A widower seeks help from his deceased wife in finding a new bride, but the incorporeal Stella becomes jealous of the women who could potentially replace her. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Grief

182 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2000

About the author

American humorist best known for his long-running column of political satire and commentary that he wrote in The Washington Post, which was syndicated in over 500 newspapers. He wrote more than 30 books. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982. In 1991 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Obituary at The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

Columns at The Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing at times and a bit of a departure from his other books.
Stella has died and one of her first wishes in Heaven is to talk with her husband, Roger, on earth. The book alternates between their viewpoints as she continues to try and guide his life from there.
Humorous moments and a swift read.

[Brenda Kerr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was hilarous, and just made me smile. Stella is granted some wishes when she arrives in heaven. One of her wishes is to be able to use the phone to call her husband. They talk every night on the phone. It has a hated mother-in-law....and heaven is to die for!

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this as an audiobook from the library simply because it was available and I was headed on a road trip. It's read by Elliott Gould ("Reuben" in the Oceans movies). The story was good and kept me listening. Not an action-packed thriller but an amusing story filled with satire and plenty of humor.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed something light & in large print after working on taxes and watching heavy documentaries all week. The book was light, stupid and made me smile. Well, how could it be anything more than stupid when Roger is on the phone with his dead wife Stella who tries to find the "right" girlfriend to be a new wife to Roger? It was short therefore lightweight in all senses of the word. But I did have to smile now and then at the presumption that heaven was hierarchical with Moses protecting his boss, GOD, so that his time is not taken up with petty access to have prayers answered.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little novel might be a satire, but it's also as funny and poignant and frustratingly authentic as any real family life you'll find, in any number of neighbourhoods across the western world. This was a breeze to read.

[Robb Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cute, but often stupid. I've liked Art Buchwald's collections of his syndicated column, so I read this all the way through expecting a good laugh or two, but that never happened. The book was at times amusing, but mostly it was a barely entertaining waste of time.

[Robb Geweniger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, but often stupid. I've liked Art Buchwald's collections of his syndicated column, so I read this all the way through expecting a good laugh or two, but that never happened. The book was at times amusing, but mostly it was a barely entertaining waste of time.

[Ron]

I discovered his books while working a very stressful job. I always kept a few in my desk for lunch time.

His unique view of the world and politics especially, really helped me through stressful days.

[Regina Linton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light read

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun light read.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute read, more of a short story

[Jenna_readit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly started skimming about the half way mark. Odd depiction of heaven for me.

[Stacey Herriott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really fun book and a nice whimsical departure from other “ghost” stories

[Jo-jean Keller · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting idea! I enjoyed it!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and sweet.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book spans about four years and is written as a conversation between Roger and Stella Folger, a couple happily married for 40+ years. The interesting thing about the relationship is that Stella is dead. She regularly calls Roger from her “pink princess phone” from Heaven. Unbeknownst to those of us still here on earth, Heaven is made up of a series of luxury hotels and spas and when you get there you are given three wishes. Stella’s first wish, obviously, is to stay in touch with her widowed husband. While this sounds touching, it also leads to all kinds of complications in Roger’s life. And even in Heaven, news arrives with new arrivals and rumours abound. Because of this Stella enlists her group of friends in Heaven and decides that she needs to make it her personal mission to find Roger a new wife. Written with his typical wry humour this is an unashamed, unabashed commentary on marriage, children, family dysfunction and the enduring power of love.

[Teela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is every man's worst nightmare. His wife dies, sad enough, but then she is still able to communicate with him and tell him what to do from heaven. That's right husbands, right when you thought she was gone for good.

Now that she's gone, Stella wants to find her husband a perfect woman to "replace" her. I use that term lightly as Stella has the demeanor to "know" that she is irreplaceable. She won't let her living husband move on unless she has approved or handpicked a woman on Earth.

The concept of heaven in this book is outrageous. Heaven is supposed to be a place of pure bliss. Nothing bad is supposed to occur because all of the ills from Earth will no longer weigh on us. Stella is greeted with her mother-in-law when she passes, whom she cannot stand. Such a thing would never happen in heaven.

The book drags on. The ending is dissatisfying. Meh.

[Karen Jett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I selected this book because I was looking for some lighter reading. This book filled that role perfectly. It's light, without a great deal of character development. And yet the pithy writing and unique concept kept me eager to keep reading. (As did the short length of this book.)

The concept of the book is that Stella dies and goes to heaven which is like the Ritz Carlton. Once there she is entitled to 3 wishes and she uses her first to be able to communicate with her husband on a regular basis.

The story is about the daily happenings, past & current, in the lives of an average husband & wife over the first year or so after her passing. If you can buy into the premise, it is a delightful read.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this book was another satire/humor work, I gave it a shot after reading Ellen DeGeneres's the funny thing is... I just don’t think that satire and humor works are for me. I will say that I enjoyed the premise of this book: a widower speaking with his dead wife every night as she tries to find a new wife for him. I just didn’t like the empty jokes that I felt were scattered throughout the work. But maybe that’s the humor and satire coming through. I cannot recommend this book, but perhaps someone who likes humor would enjoy it.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was this novel a fictional exercise about what heaven is like (in Buchwald's mind, not very good) or a deeper parable about the nature of loss? Unfortunately I think it tried to be both, and resulted in two sort of half-baked concepts which ended without any real epiphany. As a full piece, I wasn't really impressed, but enjoyed the staccato and to the point sentence structure and style, which earned Stella in Heaven an extra star from me.

[Cathi95 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another shipboard read. I read Art Buchwald's column for years, and expected good things from this book - and was not disappointed. Roger and Stella had been married for many years. A small detail like her death does not stop her from taking care of her husband - usually by telephone calls from Heaven. As time progresses, Roger begins to feel more capable of taking care of himself, and Stella learns to let him go. Sweet, funny and just a little sad.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this almost Novel 3 stars. While it was simplistic in it's contence. It addressed some of my fears about dealth. The most profound question's for me about dieing? Will I be forgotton over time? And will our be someone replace me.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful story, funny but at the same time touches on the real aspects of grief caused by death and contains aspects of our wishes and imaginations about the life after and our loved ones who are gone.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept was interesting--a widower communicates with his deceased wife, who is set on finding another woman for him. Their conversations in the beginning are cute but the story doesn't have much depth. Wouldn't really recommend this one to anyone.

[Antonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the reading challenges of my book club was to read an author with your initials. I happened upon this book in the local library. It was an easy,pleasant read with some humor but not something I would normally pick up. Guess that was the idea, huh?

[Sandy Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this story! Jewish couple, she dies and how they both cope, she from heaven and he on earth while they mourn their loss! Funny and poignant!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Diane!!!

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute; old-fashioned

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book. I laughed so hard listening to it that people around me must have thought I was crazy.

[Julia]

:^)

Read 2011

Reread 2016