Suicide Girls in the Afterlife

by Gina Ranalli

What if you killed yourself and discovered that the "Afterlife" might actually suck? Pogue Eldridge is a woman who does just that, and she starts to realize that this Afterlife stuff isn't at all what she expected. First, she's required to stay on a specific floor at the Sterling Hotel until renovations in Hell and Heaven are completed. That's the rules. Second, she can't go up to the nice floors where all the rich people are. More rules. And third, the food isn't that great, and there's nothing to do. Death imitating life? Pogue thinks so, and along with 15-year-old Katina, who died of a drug overdose (another form of suicide), they decide to go exploring, and bring along some of the others they've met. But because of the rules, they can only go down in the hotel elevator. And once they're in Hell, they can't leave unless "Lucy" decides they can. Join Pogue and her companions on a seriously twisted, often funny, and macabre trip through the Afterlife, where a Goth Lucifer suffers from depression, Jesus plays video games and smokes way too much pot, and Hell truly is a crappy place to be.

"Ranalli is one of those rare authors who can seamlessly combine horror with the hilariously bizarre, all with a sly little smile and wink. With Ranalli's unique turns of phrase and descriptions,  Suicide Girls in the Afterlife  pokes fun at life, death, and the absurdity of being human. A strange, entertaining, and thought-provoking read."  --Andi Marquette, author of several novels including Friends in High Places and the award-winning Land of Entrapment

Genres: Bizarro Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Humor, Fiction, Gothic, Dark Fantasy

120 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2006

About the author

Gina Ranalli is the author of several novels, including Mothman Emerged, Rumors of My Death, Praise the Dead, House of Fallen Trees, Suicide Girls in the Afterlife, Chemical Gardens, Wall of Kiss, and Mother Puncher. Her collection, 13 Thorns (with Gus Fink) won the Wonderland Book Award for Best Story Collection of 2007. Her short stories have appeared in numerous publications including Bits of the Dead, The Beast Within, Horror Library Volume 3, and Dead Science, among others.

Gina lives in Washington state where she is working on her next novel. You can communicate with her online at www.ginaranalli.com and on twitter at http://twitter.com/GinaRanalli

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was extremely disappointed with this book. I have only read Ranalli's Wall of Kiss before this, which was original and super creepy, unlike this book, which was annoying and full of stereotypes. The idea was nothing I hadn't heard before and I really could have cared less what happened to any of the characters. There were a few ideas that gained my attention, such as how and why rooms were assigned and I did enjoy some of the exploration of the lower levels, which is the only reason I am not rating one star, and I still plan on reading more by the author, but more so based on Wall of Kiss. Ranalli's writing is brave but in a market where bizarro fiction is all about originality, this book was lacking on numerous levels. The ending was ok, I guess satisfying in a way, but by the time I made it to the end, I didn't care. I only finished because it was so short.

[Michael Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimsical. Reminded me a little of the earlier books in the Incarnations of Immortality series, sort of that 'mythological meets modern-day' juxtaposition. I did find it sort-of odd that the afterlife here was based on a Christian-style form of judgement on a good / evil scale, but hell didn't seem that torturous and heaven didn't seem that idyllic. Both just seemed like the philosophical extension of 'the rich get richer', with the tedium and repetition of day-to-day life filling in for overt suffering. It was a fair story, though without really well fleshed-out characters, but a pretty clever twist ending added up to something enjoyable, if not terribly memorable. Call it 3.5 / 5 stars.

[Emory · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one knows what waits for us in the hereafter. I can only hope it's something like the Sterling Hotel in Gina Ranalli's “Suicide Girls in the Afterlife”.

In this novella we are introduced to Pogue, a young girl who may or may not want to end her life. Regardless, her death is labeled a suicide and she is forced to await final judgment in a modest hotel room while heaven and hell undergo renovation and expansion. Not content to sit she decides to go exploring, grabbing her new friend and fellow suicide Katina. What follows is a Divine Comedy, if Dante had a modern sense of humor.

Overall this short piece is fast paced and runs the emotional gamut. At times hilarious, others disturbing, Ranalli packs a serious punch with her prose. Her inventive take on religious icons also bears mentioning, the way she gently sculpts Christ and the Devil in the Greek mold of fallible divinity while adding a contemporary flair to them.

It is unfortunate that this edition is no longer in print, but can be found in the “Bizarro Starter Kit (Orange)” and digitally for Kindle. Gina Ranalli has crafted a fun, fast, and witty vision of life after death.

*Note: after posting this to Amazon, Ms. Ranalli informed me that SGitA is still very much in print.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a young girl named Pogue who kills herself and is sent to stay in a temporary hotel while heaven and hell are undergoing renovations. Each floor of this hotel represents different levels of the afterlife based on the circumstances of the individual's life and their death. Through Pogue's exploration, she encounters several vastly different characters, which include a depressed goth Lucifer and a pot-smoking hippie Jesus.

The afterlife isn't much different than the real world. Almost every death is considered a suicide. If you smoke and die of lung cancer, that's suicide. Get drunk and drive into a tree, that, too, is suicide. Doesn't matter how long it takes. That's an interesting way to think about life and something that few people could argue with.

This book offers an interesting look at the afterlife and give a new look at some already well-know characters. It definitely ranks among the tamer of the bizarro books. Good for more average readers.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pogue tries to kill herself then ends up at a Sterling Hotel where dead people go because Heaven and Hell are renovating. While exploring the hotel, Pogue was able to meet different characters like Jesus which they call Jay and Lucifer which they call Lucy.

This is such a fun and easy read. I hope people get to know bizarro fiction more.

[Christy Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow then funny then cliche; but constantly fun.

[Clare Lune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really strange and creepy.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only read it because of book club. The only positive thing I could see is that it was short.

[Marzi Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judging by the title, I had been expecting some sort of extremist radical fiction examining the damnation of a particularly promiscuous group of models. Such ended up not being the case with Gina Ranalli's "Suicide Girls in the Afterlife," however, and I was instead presented with a tongue-in-cheek tale of one condemned gal's quest to extinguish her boredom in the realm beyond death. The characters are traditionally bizarro and interesting enough, as they include a naive former junkie with maturity issues, a pale pussycat who becomes tired of Purgatory's dullness, an ex-Rockette whose glory days have long passed, and a certain celebrated hippie who loves to play Mario Kart. As the protagonist's journey into the afterlife is followed from destination to destination, the mood/style of the plot shifts uncomfortably from grim and mystical to silly and satirical then back again, but as saturated and downright stupid as some moments may be, this brief novella does manage to achieve one of bizarro fiction's primary goals: to entertain. For that reason, it is worth reading overall.

[Anita Dalton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be a sweet and charming read, but it was not what I expected and I find myself mostly lukewarm towards it. The premise – that basically every act of self-neglect, from overeating to failure to procure proper health insurance is suicide, that Heaven and Hell are under construction, and that there are levels of worthiness in Heaven – is not that bizarre. I suspect every college freshman has had a similar conversation. The idea of Satan as a goth and Jesus as a hippie are also… trite. God, I hate using that word, but there’s nothing new in the concepts and, in fact, they are common enough tropes that to see them in a bizarro book is jarring. Read the entire review here.t

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This feels like it was written by a 13 year old girl trying to fit in with the goths but not quite succeeding. I read this right after readin CM3's Punk Land (which is a quite good and interesting story of the afterlife where nothing is cliche or overused), so it is possible that I had too high of expectations going in, but this is flush with stereotypes and one dimensional characters, hoping that just having characters (plural) makes the story multidimensional. Some of these are insulting (the angry black lady) and some are just unoriginal tropes that have hung around forever now (stoner Jesus). The storyline feels so much like "I'm 14 and this is deep".

[Tommy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book, this is, though a short one, but I found it enjoyable, and must recommend it. Gina Ranalli's writing is imaginative, and her imagination's voice is the paintbrush by which she haphazardly flings paint at the wall, the mirror, and even at us readers now and again, so bring along a poncho or an umbrella with this one and prepare yourself to follow a suicide girl's journey through her unexpected afterlife.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short review to come as this was a short quick read. Not too bad, but would have loved more depth regarding both the characters and setting. Jesus was a real hoot though.

[Sem.Estantee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gatilhos que podem esperar neste livro: morte, suicídio, drogas e gore com bebés

Achei aborrecido. A ideia de as pessoas que morreram terem de ficar em um hotel e esperar que o céu e o inferno acabem de ser remodelados era interessante e eu nunca tinha lido nada assim, mas de resto não houve nada que me prendesse.
As personagens eram aborrecidas e quase não tinham uma personalidade.
Pensei que se iam focar mais na parte da distribuição dos quartos e o porque de uns ficarem mais acima que outros mas não aconteceu.
A caracterização de Jesus e de Lúcifer foi um pouco engraçada pelo menos.

[Ditte · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the biggest ‘wtf did I just read’ books I’ve read in a long time. I’m not likely to forget about this one for a long time.
Honestly, I can’t tell if I live or hate it, but I think I love it. Every single character in this is a shit head but like, in a good way... I dunno, it’s less than 80 pages, so you won’t loose anything by reading it.

I will say, it’s very much of its time and has its fair share of stereotypes, and I would look into trigger warning if that’s something you need

[Karen Valenzuela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heaven and Hell are currently going through renovations, every certain amount of years they need to expand due to high demand (specially Hell). So when Pogue electrocutes herself, she ends up in an afterlife Hotel while she waits for Hell to reopen.

This was very weird, very short, kind of interesting an very easy to read. I was disgusted by some parts and amused by others.

It was a very unique read.

[Megan Hex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, fun, weird read. Goofy story but a good ending!

[Arman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This deserves more than one star! This was a pretty interesting and unique story! I really enjoyed it! 👍⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Hanin Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Very entertaining

[Crystal Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it. The story leaves its mark on you, I read it in October but can still remember details of the story. Jesus and Lucifer were really interesting.

[Berenice A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Existential, weird, and fucked up (in a good sense). Not sure what to make out of the book as a whole. What I'm sure of is it'a gonna get stuck with me for quite a while.

[Yusuf Halden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but I wanted just a bit more weight behind the weirdness.

[Tejal · Rating 4 out of 5]

i need more!!!

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Gina Ranalli story, but it won't be the last. Suicide Girls in the Afterlife is a fascinating and fast paced look at the tragic afterlife of Pogue, a young woman who supposedly commits suicide under fairly bizarre circumstances and arrives in the afterlife during "renovations."

Put up in a hotel, Pogue teams up with another suicidal arrival named Katina, and soon they are trying to stage a revolution in the afterlife to protest the random and arbitrary rules. Most of this behavior seems to be heading somewhere completely different, and once the reader realizes what's really happening at the end, the beginning takes on a whole new meaning.

A brilliant story with interesting characters and a unique interpretation of the afterlife, I give Suicide Girls in the Afterlife 4 stars and recommend it to all fans of bizarro fiction.

[Siegfried · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it was my first bizarro book. Or so i used to think, cos if this is bizarro, i read a lot of this.
It's nice and really interesting. My only problem is that it's too damn short. I kinda feel it a lit bit of rushed, but a great amount of interesting ideas.
Some are cliche, like Lucy being a depressing goth, but all in all, great ideas.
I really liked the hotel. It's very entertaining.
Some ideas are a lot like Damned, but i really like it better on this book.
My only complain is that it's too short.
Maybe a little more time thinking and adding more bulk on it would make it even better.

[James Crawford · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got the book because it seemed, according to the description, that it would be quite interesting. Unfortunately, the book was extremely disappointing. I didn't care for any of the women characters at all. Lucy (Lucifer) could have been sort of funny but wasn't and a pot-smoking Jesus just didn't work. The story proposed a discrimination between the rich and the non-rich (the rich got the better rooms in the hotel) and had the broadest definition of suicide I've seen anywhere (if you die from smoking, for example, you are considered a suicide.)

The 'musical pies' thing didn't work and neither did the Virgin Mary sun/moon arrangement. Even the concept of Heaven and Hell undergoing renovations doesn't really work, either. It's not funny, it's not entertaining and it makes little sense.

[Jorge Villarruel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una novela corta amena y con unas cuantas ideas interesantes, como el que los ricos blancos son dueños no sólo del mundo sino también del cielo, o que dios y el diablo son unos imbéciles absolutos.

Pero a pesar de ello, la autora parece preferir detenerse más en los elementos irrelevantes, en vez de explorar aquéllos más interesantes para el arte y la literatura.

No recomendable, salvo para amantes del género Bizarro Fiction.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the idea was grand! I thought most of the imagery was fantastic. I thought it could have been a wee bit more. The premise was very neat but the hotel could have been more disturbing in parts and the ending seemed somewhat unresolved. Gina is great and very helpful and I can't wait to read more of her stuff.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is an intriguing and darkly humorous look at the afterlife. An aspect that I really enjoyed was that where the characters were supposed to eventually end up after their deaths had little to do with how they lived and everything to do with how they died. Wonderfully written with great characters. This is a compelling piece of Bizarro fiction.