Blue Heaven

What makes it funny?

At a gallery opening, Philip gets trapped into praising a pretentious sculptor. In an interview, Keenan recalls giving the artist an appetite for compliments so intense that Philip compares him to a vampire watching a hemophiliac shave. It's an early example of the extravagant similes Philip supplies while other people make his life difficult.

The comedy at work

The wedding scam gives Gilbert reasons to lie and Philip reasons to regret helping him. As the deception becomes harder to manage, Philip keeps narrating in one-liners and comic comparisons. Keenan has said he began Blue Heaven after wanting to write fiction in the vein of P. G. Wodehouse.

Try this if…

An elaborate con and a narrator who can turn an awkward social encounter into a grotesque simile are the main attractions. Readers who enjoy theatrical New York social circles and increasingly reckless plans may find a useful lead here.

Good to know

Philip, Gilbert and Claire return in Putting on the Ritz and My Lucky Star. The period's caricatures may be a sticking point: Publishers Weekly criticized the gay and arts-world stereotypes, found the characters thin and disliked the narration's determined lightness.