How to Succeed in Heaven Without Really Dying [Paperback]

"How to Succeed in Heaven Without Really Dying" may not be a great literary masterwork. The writing style is amicable, even eloquent at times, but it lacks refinement and occasionally -- as does the story -- lapses into clumbsiness. McDaniel isn't in same league as Charles Adams, whose influence is easily apparent in the story, but perhaps such comparisons aren't fair. But what his novel lacks in refinement it more than makes up with charm.

McDaniel does succeed in creating some wonderful characters and clever situations, laced with a hilarious and occasionally sick and twisted sense of humor. The book's first act showcases blistering comic shenanigans, but with a lead character who is both pitiful and more than a bit annoying, the first few chapters are a challenge to flip through, even if the book is relatively brief.

The setup is this: Micah is a New York businessman, whose miserable life has made him more than a bit cynical. After a failed suicide attempt, Coltan, a supernatural "agent for the afterlife", comes 'round to collect Micah's soul. The problem: Micah isn't dead yet, and so begins a tug-of-war between the natural world and what lies beyond.

Act I has funny moments, but its sole purpose seems to be describing the severity of Micah's miserable existance. Yet once Coltan enters, things pick up considerably. Coltan ranks as one of the most sadistic and entertaining characters in recent comic fantasy, bumbling and moronic at times, charming and sinister at others. Think of him as a cross between Gollum and your typical fast-talking Wall Street broker from hell.

Micah's attempts to correct his ways are surprisingly refreshing (particularly because he fails in spite of his best intentions), and the introduction of Micah's guardian angel, Christine, brings in a romantic subplot that is both humorous and touching.

But the shortcomings of the book's first half are more than redeemed in the second. Realizing not just that his life is worth living, but that he has been, in fact, his own worst problem all along, Micah's change of heart makes him much more endearing, both to the other characters and to the reader.

The supernatural elements to the story are sporatic -- Coltan pops up every now and then, enlivening things up with morbid glee. Filling in the holes are some truly wonderful subplots: Micah's relationship with the insensitive, bullying uncle who raised him (whom he later learns is dying), and a nurturing friendship with a young deaf boy. These fragmented storylines, added to a fostering romance between Micah and Christine (in the novel's weakest scene, our hero has sex with his guardian angel -- bet Frank Capra never saw THAT one coming), would normally give such a novel an episodic, uneven tone.

But, daring to use a biblical pun, the last act is a revelation. McDaniel does the unthinkable here: he takes the scattered, fragmented parts to the story and throws them all together in a truly rousing climax that is greater than the sum of its parts. It's funny, exciting, poignant, even SCARY, with some big surprizes and nice twists that even this normally jaded reviewer didn't see coming. (Readers will take particular delight with the novel's epilogue... A CLASSIC.)

Hardly a classic, but fun and giddy just the same, "How to Succeed in Heaven" is a notable work, certainly worthy of the short time one takes to read it. If "Bruce Almighty" can be a movie blockbuster, than this heavenly novel deserves an audience, too.

However, the novel is by no means perfect - there are moments that are off-putting, or contrived, or both - and at some points the story and characters both seem a little weak. Sometimes McDaniel tries too hard for his jokes, as in the case of the corporate monolith Micah works for, improbably named Macchiavellian Foods. Sometimes McDaniel doesn't try hard enough, as in the case of Micah's failed suicide, which wants to be uproariously funny but comes off as barely chuckle-producing, and even a little pathetic. Somehow, I don't think that was the reaction the author wanted.

There is also the much thornier question of theology - this is a story set at Christmastime, dealing with guardian angels, with a Jewish protagonist who winds up (SPOILER ALERT) falling in love with, and sleeping with, his guardian angel. Devout Christians and Jews alike may find this offensive - I didn't per se, but I did find myself wondering how germane the love story was to the larger tale being told. It adds little, and is actually something of a distraction from the overall arc of the plot. It feels tacked-on, as if McDaniel felt it necessary to add the love story in order to provide a little spice to the proceedings. It's daring, to be sure, but it raises theological issues with the reader that McDaniel may not have intended, and which as a result go unaddressed. However, this is a comedy, not a dissertation, so perhaps it isn't entirely fair to expect McDaniel to wrap everything up quite so neatly.

The novel is at its best in its second half, as Micah goes about the business of redeeming his wasted life - McDaniel has a much surer sense of what he's doing here, and provides the reader with several scenes that make you smile and tug at your heart. He isn't afraid of sentiment, or of the occasional big gesture of the type Frank Capra used to make in his movies (an interesting notion I'll return to in a moment), and it is in these scenes that How To Succeed In Heaven finds itself. The story builds nicely to its climax, and for a good while you're unsure if the light at the end of the tunnel is the sun or a train. The ending is a little predictable - the cover of the book itself is something of a giveaway - but how McDaniel arrives at that ending is clever enough to fool you.

Overall, How To Succeed In Heaven Without Really Trying is a good first novel, an entertaining story that's well-told for the most part, and which reads like a good though not exceptional Hollywood movie. (In fact, I suspect this may be a converted screenplay, as it does a lot of its work through visual imagery.) I mentioned Capra in the last paragraph, and the story contains several Capraesque elements, especially its gentle sense of humor, and its firmly-held contention that one man can indeed make a difference in the lives of those around him. The novel has its flaws - including a subplot about a child-porn bust that has little to do with the main story - but most first novels have flaws, and if the story is good enough I'm inclined to overlook them. That's the case here. I found McDaniel's novel to be an ideal diversion at this stressful time of year, and I hope that you will too.