Just Desserts: A Novellelah

by Carl Reiner

Book Overview

Successful romance novelist Nat Noland has just had his cage severely rattled. After receiving an email directly from God, Nat just can?t seem to get any work done on his new novel. In JUST DESSERTS,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597776270
• ISBN13: 9781597776271
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Phoenix Audio
• Length: 138 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

this reader grinned widely throughout this book

Just Desserts, by Carl Reiner (136 pgs., 2009). Professional comedy writer, standup comedian, comic actor & author Carl Reiner calls this short work of fiction, a novellelah. That is a takeoff on the old Yiddish expression of affection. It harkens back to when my Grandma Hinda called my Mom, Mickelah or called me Robertelah. In this case, Reiner, was attempting to coin a new word for something shorter than a novella; which usually comes in at 100+ pages. He was aiming for 60+ pages, but ended up with 136 pages. Thus, his subtitle, "A Novellelah," is incorrect on its face. Oh well . . . it just blends in with the rest of this satirical sendup of the internet, egoism, G-d, religion, immortality, being famous, plagiarism and split personalities. Is G-d talking to Nat Noland? This is Reiner's name for himself in this book. However, he also uses Carl Reiner as a character reference later on in the book. Is G-d talking to Noland by way of the internet? Who is R.K.? Why does Noland's publisher accuse him of plagiarism when he tells him about his new book? How has his publisher already received nearly identical pages from a person calling himself R.K.? How does the title of the book get changed from Blurbs to Just Desserts? When Noland wishes that people who behave in ways that are mean, cruel or just wrong would receive their "just desserts" from G-d, is G-d listening? Noland wishes that people who are mean to others lose their ability to walk, for a time. Soon after, Noland's friend is in a rush to meet him for a lunch date and he grabs a cab which an elderly couple were trying to enter. Soon, this friend starts hopping. He loses his ability to walk. He can only make small hops, so that it takes him at least twenty minutes to travel a mere fifteen feet. Noland tells him to repent. His friend repents. Eventually, he can walk again. Government leaders have growing noses when they tell lies at a United Nations Conference. When they admit they were lying, their noses eventually shrink back to their normal size. Did one of these incidents really occur while the other one didn't? Did they both occur? Did none of them? All the reader does is grin widely all the way through this novellelah right to the end.