The World of Simon Rich

Description

The world is a bewildering place and we're ill-equipped to deal with it. From the horrors of childhood to the vagaries of old age, from confused people to humiliated animals, we're all just trying - and often failing - to keep it together. How carefully should you answer when asked what you'd take to a desert island? What do you do if your parents are reading your diary? How useful is a Swiss Army Knife? And what's A Brief History of Time really about? Armed with a sharp eye for the absurd and an overwhelming sense of doom, Simon Rich explores the ridiculousness of our everyday lives, from the most minute of anxieties to one of life's biggest questions: Does God really have a plan for us? Yes, it turns out. Now if only He could remember what it was ... 'Simon Rich is very much laugh-out-loud funny. He can conjure authentic, from- the-abdomen laughter on almost every page. He stacks surrealism on top of slick satire on top of pure childish silliness in such a brilliant and condensed way, there are sometimes three laugh-out-loud moments within the same paragraph... He is exactly the right kind of writer for the internet: funny, high-concept, accessible, short, sharable, a James Thurber for the Twitter age' - Matt Haig

Simon Rich is a graduate of Harvard University, where he was president of The Harvard Lampoon. Shortly after graduation he became a writer for Saturday Night Live. He worked on Inside Out for Pixar and is currently writing and producing the hit comedy Man Seeking Woman. He lives in New York City. Simon Rich's new BBC Radio 4 series is coming in June.

Simon Rich is outrageously, lavishly gifted -- Caitlin Moran How fabulously funny -- Lauren Laverne Hilarious. Open this book anywhere, begin reading, and you will laugh -- Jon Stewart The wittiest American humourist of his generation * Guardian * This year's giggliest read * Observer magazine * A remarkably funny writer, likely to make you laugh harder than any other ... there's no funnier writer working today * Shortlist * Rich has a wonderful way of making a familiar situation strange and then presenting it in deceptively simple language, within a perfectly lucid, concise structure ... Genius ... He is a Thurber, even a Wodehouse, for today. Who could ask for more? You can give his books to people and just watch them laugh. Only after you've snorted through them yourself, though -- David Sexton * Evening Standard * Simon Rich is very much laugh-out-loud funny. He can conjure authentic, from-the-abdomen laughter on almost every page. He stacks surrealism on top of slick satire on top of pure childish silliness in such a brilliant and condensed way, there are sometimes three laugh-out-loud moments within the same paragraph ... He is exactly the right kind of writer for the internet: funny, high-concept, accessible, short, sharable, a James Thurber for the Twitter age -- Matt Haig * Guardian * Brilliant ... Slightly nerdy and very sharp -- William Leith * Evening Standard *