Reviews of Life Seemed Good, But.... A Collection of Short Quirky Stories

I’ve never read anything quite like LIFE SEEMED GOOD, BUT…, and I mean that in a good way. Certain comparisons almost come to mind: Mark Twain on mushrooms? Garrison Keillor with food poisoning? Maybe, but those examples don’t really capture the special, twisted magic of Richard Bell’s universe or his unique way of seeing things.

His world is a strange one, filled as it is with belligerent kangaroos, idiotic trolls, extrasensory potatoes, angry Cajuns, preoccupied Lithuanians, cribbage-playing dragons and various unhealthy obsessions with the mystical properties of tin foil. It’s a loopy place, for sure. And yet somehow, through stories that are by turns hilarious, wry, bittersweet and sometimes all three at the same time, this fractured fairy-tale world turns out to be our own.

I don’t know how he does it. Maybe he’s a genius, but why insult the man? All I know is that when I finished Life Seemed Good, But… I had an urge to scrawl something on the bathroom walls of the world: For a good time, call Richard Bell. Or at least buy his book.

Richard Sanders, DEAD LINE

M.A.Gorsuch , Life Seemed Good ,ive found this e-book too be funny, imaginative,quirky ,it made me chuckle ...I found it in the vein of Monty Python,...Bell's humor is intelligent, and caring , with a dry sense of humor , thanks Mr. Bell i cant wait for the next !!!

Article first published as Book Review: Life Seemed Good, But... by Richard Bell on Blogcritics.

A group of short stories, somewhat in the style of an anthology, Life Seemed Good But … by Richard Bell is a funny and compelling compilation of stories sure to get you laughing. Reading the first few stories, I was not sure what I thought but as I continued on my journey, I began to see the ties that seemed to connect this set of stories and make it into hilarious continuing work of comedy.

Each of the stories is unique and of itself and yet if you pay close attention you can seem they are not random but very precise in the lineup. I found myself laughing out loud so many times at the different types of word usage and famous sayings that are changed up to fit the story and yet you still get the gist of the original. The comedy is sometimes sophomoric, absolutely slapstick, and while the author states his influences as being Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cosby, and Jonathan Winters, I saw a bit of the humor that would have fit brilliantly in episodes of the Three Stooges.

Throughout the stories, the Mystee Forest figures predominantly, and then our protagonist, whom I identify with the author, seems to find tinfoil some form of safety device. Often wearing a hat made of the material, he has some very ingenious and comedic interchanges with different and oftentimes inventive outcomes. Another quite important part of the story would be the clowns in a jeep that continue to show up periodically, but with their own little piece of the puzzle which usually includes running over or into something. And then there are the potatoes. Whats up with that?

While many of the characters seem to be written with children in mind, the story is not; often they deal with drugs and other formats not particularly suitable for children. Although from the laughter I myself experienced, maybe there is a reason to have characters a child would be attracted to, they certainly held my attention.

If you enjoy humor and better yet, outright laughter, this is an extremely fun and engaging work. Richard Bell’s sense of humor is intact and it seems he is also quite comfortable poking fun at himself as well. This would be a great book for guests, and in fact would be a particular treat for the Dr.’s office while waiting for an appointment, it takes your mind off the mundane and transports you into a sort of cartoon world, a “Calgon take me away” sort of place, where you can be anything you want to be.

This book was received free as a Smashwords edition from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the information.