Clever satire about religion and culture, applying Old Testament to modern day. But I did find it a bit too quippy and shallow to sink deeper into the subject matter.

This book was alright, just not for me. It was too religious, but written fine. The characters were okay and interesting. The storyline just wasn't for me.. But I think other people will enjoy the book.

Deadpan Absurd, With A Mischievous Twinkle and a Touch of Cosmo-Theology

"After all, the first truth of existence is that none of us start out as willing participants."

So, an aphorism is supposed to be a "concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle". Can you have a paragraph-length aphorism? Based on this book, the answer to that question is "Yes". The plot is goofy and based mostly on happenstance and improvisation. But every few pages there is a deadpan absurd paragraph that perfectly captures and expresses a striking thought, observation, or general truth. We can be addressing the meaning of life or why you can't find the raisins even though the raisins are right there in front of you. There are a lot of appearances by God, (that is the main arc of the book), but Satan steals every scene, so what does that tell you?

This was a hoot. It's a little bit silly in places, but often edgy and pointed. The entire book, which follows our hero couple on a ridiculous road trip, is an extended riff on practically everything in contemporary America that deserves to be needled. And even though a lot of the humor is sweet tempered and rueful, if this book were a Halloween treat I'd still feel the need to check it for razor blades.

Our heroes, Eva and Murphy, aren't really the point of the book and aren't especially well developed, except on occasion when it suits the author's purposes. Sometimes they make the jokes, sometimes they are at least in on the jokes, and sometimes they are the butt of the jokes. This is an author's book, in the sense that he is calling all of the shots and making everything happen in order to make his points. That said, though, I began to feel a certain affection for Eva and Murph, which I guess was really affection toward the Millennial condition generally - entitlement, liberal privilege, warts, and all.

For what it's worth, this didn't strike me as the sort of book you'd necessarily want to read straight through. The road trip is a series of episodes, and while Yahweh's instructions to the couple allow for an overall arc to the tale it is mostly a series of episodes that can be enjoyed almost like a collection of interlinked short stories. That also works well because the humor, while often devastatingly funny, is all in the same style. After a while even the most clever and puckish humor can become wearing.

So, I dipped in and out of this, not unlike the way our two heroes dipped in and out of their own lives. And that worked out fine for all of us.

(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I really wanted to enjoy this book, i tried to get past the first couple of chapters and put it down.

Published by Bloomsbury on July 3, 2018

The World Is a Narrow Bridge is surprising, funny, and a delight to read. The story is bizarre, the surrealistic stuff of fantasy, yet it is told in such a matter-of-fact style and follows such charming characters (if you don’t count Yahweh) that it all seems very real. In the 21st century, the book teaches, we take our prophets where we can find them, although most of us only listen to the prophets who tell us what we already believe.

Murphy and Eva live in Miami and have no prospect of finding real jobs. Eva is a secular humanist and ill-suited for visits by Yahweh, who wants her to travel around saying the Lord’s name and persuading others to do the same. Eva declines until, seeing Yahweh behind the wheel of a Lamborghini, she realizes she needs a break. A road novel follows. In fact, the story discusses other road novels, including On the Road and Huckleberry Finn and (rather improbably) Moby-Dick. The path Murphy and Eva follow (dictated by Yahweh) seems aimless and drifting, which Eva regards as a metaphor for the life she shares with Murphy.

The road trip yields a long string of funny moments, including Murphy’s realization that he and Eva have decided to have a baby, although he can’t quite recall making that decision, and knows he will eventually recall, not the moment that the decision was made, but “the moment when he realized that he didn’t notice the moment when they decided to have a baby.” I also enjoyed Eva’s observation of how models walk with “head and face absolutely still, chin lifted, eyes closed, lips pressed together in a rictus of neutral sensuality.” During the road trip, Eve and Murphy explore “the geography of hope” (Wallace Stegnar’s phrase), as opposed to “the geography of realistic expectations.” Those examples give a flavor of the humor and clever prose that pervades The World Is a Narrow Bridge.

Yahweh apparently has no policy goal beyond recognition as the one true God. Satan, on the other hand (who bears a striking resemblance to Salman Rushdie) is all about undermining Yahweh. Murphy and Eva aren’t sure which one is preferable, although the get a bundle of money from Yahweh that they are supposed to use to acquire a trash mountain and convert it into a temple of worship.

The World Is a Narrow Bridge is a novel of digressions. Eva and Murphy visit Eva’s family in North Carolina (no questions are asked in the family home “because everyone knows that if you ask questions, you’re likely to get answers that upset you”), but after that, their trip is a long meander. Their conversations are the same. One topic leads to another and then another. The story is full of factoids about buffalo and Bible verses and movie plots and the decay of small Midwestern towns and precipitation averages in semiarid climates. Murphy and Eva made frequent observations about the sameness of life as they make their road trip — the same Super 8 rooms that might just be a memory of the last Super 8 rooms; the same sports clichés echoed by basketball players before each playoff game — but they also ponder the “huge intractable Why of it all” and other mysteries of life: Is Heaven a place beyond the memory horizon, where new memories are not formed, but each moment is “a sweet memory of itself”? If God exists, how does one live a good life, despite all the evil God creates or tolerates? Is goodness in the service of a divine being (as opposed to goodness for its own sake) a form of moral abdication?

The book makes note of profound questions of free will and accountability — if free will exists, we are responsible for our own awfulness, making it more comforting to blame God for making us in His violent image — but it recognizes that the questions are unanswerable, or at least that no answer is capable of proof, making this whole business of living and thinking a frustrating exercise. Ultimately, trying to understand the big picture, or even most small pictures, is futile, because we lack sufficient verifiable data to permit rational conclusions. And while it is often said that everyone is entitled to their opinion, the book suggests that opinions are based on the responsible consideration of available facts, and that opinions based on prejudice or poor information are not opinions at all. “When in doubt, laugh” is the healthy message I take from The World Is a Narrow Bridge.

***I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity.***

This was a great book. The story was captivating and kept me interested throughout. Can’t wait for more from this author.

I tried but this just wasn't for me. I'm not sure why- it's an interesting idea- but the characters didn't engage. I did not finish. Thanks for the ARC.

Humor in novels can be a very tricky thing. I love a little campiness, but things can too easily go into slapstick. I read the description and was hoping for something along the lines of American Gods by Neil Gaiman, but it didn't quite hit that frequency for me. The premise of this book is campy on its face, but the book itself seems a little too self-aware for me. Ultimately, for me, it just didn't quite hit on all cylinders.

I gave up on this after reading a few pages. It just didn't hold my attention--there was nothing to draw me in.

The World Is a Narrow Bridge is one of those treasured books you want to share with everyone you know.
Smartly written, thoughtful and funny, you can't help but fall for this book!

I thought this was entertaining. I was struck by similarities to Neil Gaiman, Steve Erickson, and Christopher Moore. Not the most original, but going with existential angst, pop-culture and god. As I said entertaining, but I really think it was not as serious as it took itself, or was more serious then it wanted to be. Not as intellectual as it wanted, but maybe more intellectual than intended.... I would recommend.