Man Seeking Woman (originally published as The Last Girlfriend on Earth)

This might possibly be one of the funniest story collections I've ever read. I can't count the number of times I laughed out loud while reading, something that doesn't happen that often for me. The 30 stories in Simon Rich's uniquely creative, sometimes zany, sometimes heartfelt collection are all about relationships--finding them, trying to maintain them, and losing or ending them. And not every relationship is traditional--one story recounts Zeus' frustrations with an alcoholic, hiphop-loving Cupid, while another (one of the funniest in the collection) is narrated by a condom as he makes his journey from the drugstore into someone's wallet. Don't be dismayed by the fact that there are 30 stories--most are quite short; in fact, some only last a page or two. Some of my favorite stories in the collection are: Unprotected, the already-mentioned story narrated by the condom; Occupy Jen's Street, in which an Occupy Wall Street protest is somehow transformed into one trying to get a girl to date one of the protestors; Scared Straight, in which a group of teenagers trying to pursue long-term relationships are dissuaded by those stuck in the reality of those commitments; The Last Girlfriend on Earth, narrated by a man who has the last girlfriend on Earth; Invisible Man, in which a CIA agent using invisibility drugs to hunt down a terrorist gets distracted by spying on his ex-girlfriend; and Present, the story of a scientist who can never quite do right by his girlfriend. I found myself constantly marveling at some of the ideas Rich came up with, and the characters in his stories don't always seem to follow typical behaviors--a man's friends try to set him up with a female troll, characters have no problem dating Mother Teresa or Adolf Hitler. Some stories aren't quite stories--there are a few personal ads, a report about the excavation of a bar by archaeologists, even Jeopardy! questions/answers. As I mentioned earlier, some of the stories are quite short. And while Rich generally has a perfect grasp on how long his stories should run, a few ended so abruptly I can't help but wonder whether part of those stories got lost in the translation from print to e-book. But beyond that, Rich's voice is so creative, fresh, and fun, this was a tremendously fast read for me and an investment I'm glad I made. The funny thing is, I would never have heard of this collection if it weren't for a recommendation from Amazon. And now that I've read it, if Rich's other books are this funny, I'm going to have to read them all.

This is an enjoyable book of brief, creative vignettes. There is no great insight, poignancy, or eloquence in these stories but this book is delightful and lighthearted. It's nice to find love stories that don't take themselves too seriously.

Simon Rich is a national treasure. My advice is to read every one of his books, not necessarily starting with this one, but this book is a good place to start.

I bought this book and read it in one sitting. My only complaint is that the book is so short, because the stories within are so wonderful, witty, and entertaining. The collected short stories range from topics of sex aliens to a scared straight program that takes teens to the suburbs to see where their ways will lead if they stay in their relationships. All in all this book is without a doubt one of my favorite books I've read in years. The television show is good, but this book is great. After this book, I bought several other Simon Rich books and can say that the three short story collections I've read of his are all great.

On stage, standing at the podium in the Stockholm Concert Hall, Simon Rich was elated. When he first received news that he had received the Nobel Prize in Physics he was a little confused, but he figured if Bob Dylan could get the Nobel Prize in Literature, why not? Simon took his prepared speech out of his tuxedo pocket, unfolded it and and began, “It is such an honor and so humbling to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics.” Just then the emcee standing behind and to the right of him stepped forward and shoved Simon aside. Leaning into the microphone the emcee said, “I am sorry, you misunderstanding. You not receive medal in physics, you receive prize OF PHYSIC. You writing so like constipation this days. Always exaggeration so big it absurdness of hilarious. Always people talk bad English like never have no ESL night class. Always same thing. So we want give you prize this giant economic bottle of laxative. You mind need to set free and release out.” The audience bursts into uproarious laughter as Simon takes the bottle in hand, a bit stupefied. If you, the reader of this review wish to find yourself doubled over with laughter equal to or better than this audience, this book is for you! The next thing he knew, Simon was walking down Sveavagen Street in a daze and wondering when they started the Razzy versions of Nobel Prizes. As he neared Lille Vartan Strait he heard the most gorgeous singing he had ever heard, and they were singing his name! “We love you Simon, oh yes we dooooo….” Coming closer to the water’s edge he could see three beautiful topless women on the shore of Helgeansholmen Island. He was thrilled. Of course he knew that they were Gowanus Sirens and that he was doomed. But it had to be better than what happened when, on exiting the awards hall, in a fit of pique, he chugged the entire bottle of laxative and tossed away the empty bottle with a flick of his wrist. Besides, wading into the deep water was just the thing to rinse out, as best as could be expected, his now soiled pants. If you, the reader of this review, would like to be as thrilled and delighted as if etherial, topless sirens were singing seductively right to you, this is the book for you! Highly recommended!

This light summer read interspersed with dark humor is from Simon Rich (a.k.a son of NY Times author Frank Rich, Harvard graduate, currently the youngest SNL writer in history and staff writer for Pixar). The short story "Unprotected" made me laugh out loud and "The Present" was surprisingly touching and reminded me of the main character in Graeme Simsion's "The Rosie Project". Yes, many of the stories seemed to sprout from ideas that range from interesting to just okay. Yes, many of these stories seem to be a tad underdeveloped or were not really even stories and or were far from fulfilling their maximum entertainment value and featured a host of one-dimensional characters. But given the length of the stories and the time you need to invest, they were funny and entertaining enough. And given the author's background at Saturday Night Live maybe this was to be expected, as is some of the more juvenile subject matter and humor? Overall a quick and enjoyable read.

For starters, there's the one whose narrator, believing himself to be a balloon, leaves the factory to move to a drugstore where he comes into the possession of a young boy who carries him in his wallet for a good many years until at last a girl enters the picture and his/its "moment" comes...or does it? And then there's the one that looks into how the game of love would work if its players were subject to being traded, like the pros. And one about God's girlfriend and the role she played in what He did on "the seventh day." And one about the therapist who referred clients to a $40,000-per-visit "girlfriend repair shop." And then there's a story about the Mommy who slept with Santa Claus. And one about what happens when The Invisible Man encounters his girlfriend's new boyfriend. And a story about the guy who started the Occupy movement, who decides to employ that strategy to get the woman he idolizes to go out with him. And the one that delves into that scariest of all days, the day when one's girlfriend demands to know where the relationship is going. Plus 22 more weirdly wild and crazy imaginings from the mind of a twenty-something former Saturday Night Live staff writer, New Yorker contributor and son of former New York Times columnist Frank Rich. If you're looking for witty and wacky short-short stories that raise eyebrows and induce sly smiles of recognition, this collection could be just the thing.

Great book full of short stories. They are very thoughtful and poke fun at various things in every day life. The stories are independent from each other and have various subjects and characters. I have had many laughs reading this book and I plan to read it again!

It’s pure genius

J'ai ri, même beaucoup. Je recommande vivement cette lecture. Un livre générationnel. L'anglais n'est pas trop difficile à comprendre. Bonne lecture !

Lustige Geschichten, die einen zum Nachdenken bringen. Fast alle sind gut und diejenigen, die weniger gut sind, sind kurz. Empfehlenswert.

This book was fantastic, though i prefer the original name last girlfriend on earth. Eureka is one of the best short stories I've read in a long time.

I had begun to read Simon Rich's short stories after reading a very disappointing "humorous" novel. I'm so glad I purchase this book. It made me laugh from beginning to end. The first story is probably the best. As it is a collection of short stories, this book grabbed my attention for hours, and when you finish one story, you WILL want to begin another.