Praise for What In God's Name -- -
One of the best American comic novels of the past few years ... deeply hilarious -- NPR
Deliciously funny -- Kirkus
Truly hilarious -- Observer
One of the funniest writers in America -- Daily Beast
Praise for Elliot Allagash - 'A winning comic formula ... Peppered with riotous teen angst - and effortlessly readable * Daily Mail *
The most enjoyable classroom comedy since Tom Perotta's Election * FT *
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 *
A James Thurber for our times, in Borges' suit wearing Flann O'Brien's hat -- Ian McMillan * BBC Radio 3 The Verb *
It would be almost a relief to find that The Last Girlfriend on Earth was another of those American humour collections by a writer falling short of their hype as an heir to David Sedaris and James Thurber, just to be reassured that Rich wasn't good at everything. As it happens, it's brilliant: a kind of modern version of Woody Allen's Without Feathers for anyone who's been in love ... Only a couple of times within the next 29 pieces does Rich hit a note that's not either topsy-turvy imaginative, riotously funny or hugely insightful ... Beneath the clear ambition to make people laugh, there's another book lurking here: a guide to the idiocy and sensitivity of men that could be more valuable to the opposite sex than a million "How To Please Him" women's mag articles. 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 laugh-out-loud collection of short stories about that crazy little thing called love. * Vogue Australia *
There are many episodes to enjoy ... The scenarios are satisfyingly wide-ranging ... an irreverent pleasure. -- Frank Brinkley * Literary Review *
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 *
