Third and Heaven

by Ben Patrick Johnson

Book Overview

Each Sunday, Third and Heaven, a little diner in West Hollywood, plays host to a group of four friends who meet up to recover from Saturday night and prepare for Monday morning. Here they counsel,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1555838715
• ISBN13: 9781555838713
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Alyson Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Don't Judge a Book by the First Ten Pages !!!!!!!!

Do you hear that choking sound? It's me eating my words. At the end of 2005 I placed THIRD & HEAVEN on my worst books of the year list. I hadn't liked Johnson's first book, IN AND OUT IN HOLLYWOOD, at all, so admittedly I approached THIRD AND HEAVEN with a great deal of skepticism. When I first started to read it I was annoyed by Johnson's present tense narrative style, never a favorite of mine, so rather than push forward, I allowed my unpleasant memories of his first book, to color my decision. In other words, I quit the book less than ten pages in, and I said as much placing my yearly list on different web sites. For some unexplainable reason, I decided to give the book another try. Much to my surprise, I discovered a passionate, realistic, if sometimes tragic, story about life, and how to deal with all it throws at you. The novel takes a look at the lives of Claire, Ritchie, Joshua, and Freddie, yes, the same Freddie from Johnson's first book, four good friends who meet every Saturday at the same charming but trendy dinner for breakfast. Freddie is now a writer working primarily for internet publications, and still looking for Mr. Right. Claire is an Osteopath with a successful practice and a messed-up love life. Ritchie is an actor, working as a physical trainer, trying to break into show business, and going about it all wrong, and Joshua is a struggling publicist with one demanding client and a strong inclination towards black depressions. Through the ups, and more frequent downs, of each of their lives there remains one constant. They have each other to lean on, and subsequently do. THIRD & HEAVEN has a strong message. Life is exciting and fun but mostly it sucks, this is how it sucks, and here's what you can do about it. You can put all your faith in the power of love, not God, not nature, not fate, just good old fashioned love, be it for a special someone, or those friends you'd jump into the abyss with. Give your trust over to love and regardless of what happens you'll make it through. To quote the book, "One can only love, laugh at the absurdity of living, and love some more." Upon finishing THIRD & HEAVEN, I knew I must write this review, because I had so misjudged its content. This novel is not among the worst of 2005 it is among the very best. This is not, as I had erroneously assumed, a poorly written piece of self indulgence, but is instead a beautifully metered examination of how we as human beings cope with this confusing state called life. It is most definitely deserving of five (*****) stars.

A great airport read

This was a great book to read while flying through the air. Almost brought me to tears a couple times.

Third and Heaven: A Review

The author does a great job of getting you interested in the lives of the characters fairly early in the book. It symbolizes the need for friends in one's life & reinforces that we are not alone in the world. I found particularly interesting were the Freddie/Julian & Joshua/Ritchie storylines. I think that the reader will easily identify similar characteristics in their own circle of friends and in the 4 main characters. Definitely a good read. It has a good pace to it!

Friends help each other survive in "La La Land"

"Third & Heaven" is the nickname given to Nobles, a Weho-trendy diner actually located in Los Angeles, which is a popular rendevous spot for many locals. Among them are a quartet of thirty-something friends, three gay men and one straight woman, from diverse backgrounds, spending their weeks seeking professional and personal fulfillment, but actually looking for love. There's Freddy, a former entertainment show host (likely also the central character in author Johnson's earlier work, "In And Out In Hollywood", though this isn't made clear) now trying to make a living as an author, and has a compulsive crush on a Broadway actor-singer. Claire is a twice-divorced rather sardonic osteopathic physician with a daughter in college, a dog named "Dog", estranged from her own mother, and with a seeming knack of atracting lunatics as potential suitors. Joshua, a nice Jewish boy from Salt Lake City, moved to Los Angeles after losing a lover to AIDS in San Francisco, and managing to eek out a living as a publicist to a handful of former sitcom stars and relative nobodys. Last but not least, Richie is a Sicilian hunk from the south side of Chicago, who came to L.A. to be an actor, and is working as a personal trainer. The story covers how each met and grew to became a part of their mutual support system, and establishes how each person's strengths are used to help the group and each other. For example, Freddy is kind of the peacemaker when something goes wrong, Claire cooks great dinners and has a gift for putting everyone's (except her own) life in perspective, Joshua is the business brain, and Richie is their conscience that keeps them from binging on junk food. Besides their standing brunch date on Saturdays, they might meet, together or in twos and threes, several times during the week, and also keep in touch by phone. They share their successes and failures, keep each other focused on their goals, give each other relationship advice, spend the holidays together, and try to keep each other sane in the madness that is Los Angeles. Colorful supporting characters, including a tweaked-out boytoy, a stalker who forwards Claire love letters he sent himself from her, Joshua's inscrutable Asian male receptionist, a closeted actor having an affair with Joshua, and assorted show-biz movers, shakers and low-lifes. I greatly enjoyed the patter and interaction between the characters, who each faced a personal demon and came out ahead with the others' help and support.

This book made me cry (laughing)

I live in L.A. and know firsthand how insane the entertainment business is. That Johnson captures some of its players with style and empathy -- and makes them funny in a kind, loving way -- says a lot for his writing ability. There are some haters out there who will slam Johnson because he does so many things so well. But I am here to say that writing is definitely a big strength of his. I do not know him personally but I will eagerly await his next novel. Especially enjoyed the section in Third and Heaven where Ritchie auditions for American Idol.