Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Believing the human race to be highly cynical and full of greed, God decides to return to Earth to mess with mankind’s collective head. Assuming the name Jeremy, He opens a new age store where all who enter become calm and blissful, aided by the special bell over the door. To execute his master plan of giving the people what they deserve, Jeremy goes on public access television to spread His sadistically-divine word of “Meism” – teaching people to do good deeds solely to feel good about themselves; using his bell to solidify His suggestions in the minds of viewers.

Oliver Wendell Perkins is a mental health outreach counselor for Optima Resources. Oliver’s job is to take the patients for their psych appointments, meds and provide basic companionship. Oliver’s charges are an interesting crew: Abbey, a sexual deviant who claims to have multiple personalities. Greg, a schizo who doesn’t think he is actually sick, but is instead putting on a real-life academy-award-winning performance and Arnold/Doc who believes he is being controlled by the OOklah; aliens who have an endless hunger for Big Macs.

On an outing with Abbey, Oliver wanders into Jeremy’s new age store and is instantly bewitched by the charismatic Jeremy. Jeremy sees the straight-and-narrow Oliver as the perfect apostle – or “zealot in training” to spread His word. When a controversial letter appears in the local newspaper questioning the need for medicating the mentally ill with Oliver’s name below it, he swears he didn’t write it. However, when Oliver suddenly begins thinking and acting in a whole new way, it puts him in danger of losing his job and on the path to becoming a religious puppet. The author has an interesting way of discussing a topic, such as the social necessity of medicating the mentally unstable, by presenting viewpoints that elicited thought without attempting to sway. The use of symbolism was also interesting, such as the Pavlovic effect of the bell and the OOklah mirroring the American lifestyle. On an endless quest for the “ultimate orgasm or the destruct button,” the OOklah continue to span the universe searching for the answer to their cravings and always needing more. Although serious topics are broached, they are presented with the perfect amount of humor.

WGWD is one of those books that has so many themes going on (a vengeful God, consumerism, mental illness, medication and aliens) it’s any wonder the story makes sense; however, the author did a great job of tying them all together using a velvet hammer disguised as a satirical storyline.
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Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: Pantsateria (May 15, 2009)
ISBN-13: 978-0578018898