GOD GRANTS HIS FIRST DIVORCE

A set of brief dispatches lampooning some of life’s foibles.

The 21 short sketches in Davis’ idiosyncratic assemblage present a comedy of errors, often arising from simple, everyday occurrences. The scenarios portray the confusion and misdirection that occur when bickering spouses pack the car for a family camping trip or 21 steps to teeth whitening that involve bleach and airplane glue, among other situations. Readers who field endless emails and messages at a home office will appreciate the devilish candor of “Working From Home”—a piece in which juggling work and family obligations tends to resemble a frenzied circus. The hilarious title story is also the book’s lengthiest; it showcases a whimsical, playful conversation between a rather oblivious, if omnipresent, tea-slurping God and an obedient angel named Bates who, in pages of banter, works hard to make his boss look good. The book’s ability to laugh at life’s woes is its best quality; a section on “The Ten Most Common Medical Complaints of the Middle-Aged Woman,” for instance, offers a chuckle about the aging process. Davis effortlessly sends up the serious business of demonic possession in “Exorcisms ‘R’ Us” and a convoluted itinerary for a “Six-Day Guided Tour of Rome” with a wink and a smirk. One of the pieces here wouldn’t be surprising as a startup idea: a timeshare program that rents out house cats of varying personalities and temperaments by the week or the month. Overall, the material is of consistently high quality, ranging from silly and fanciful to laugh-out-loud hilarious, and may appeal to readers young and old. Ireland’s cute, black-and-white line drawings sprinkled throughout depict scenes from the stories and embellish this breezy work.

Delightfully quirky vignettes that offer lighthearted approaches to everyday problems.