Heaven Can Wait

by Leonore Fleischer

He wasn't ready for the ultimate touchdown in the sky! It was a beautiful day. His knee was better. Joe was almost ready for the big game. As he cycled home from the Malibu hills, a modest camper left the beach followed by an old Ford van filled with tanned, teenage surfers. Joy-riding, buzzed on wine, the van played at passing. They were still jockeying for first as they entered the tunnel. Pedaling easily, Joe entered from the opposite end. Suddenly there was the screech of rubber, the scrape of metal, the shattering of glass. When the van skidded out, Joe's bike lay mangled, riderless on the battered hood. Was it over, or had it just begun? Joe' still got a lot to do and... Heaven Can Wait!

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Media Tie In

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Leonore Fleischer has written more than fifty novelizations of films. She and her five cats live in Upstate New York.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had read this book back in 1978 after first seeing the Warren Beatty film – and truly loving the movie. I felt like re-reading it again now. Well, the book does not hold up…but the movie still holds up and is one of the most enjoyable romantic comedies (from the 70’s or any decade). The book is like a lot of books that actually was written after the fact of the film being released and popular. It was taken from the original screenplay by Elaine May, Warren Beatty, and Buck Henry. Though the book was actually then written by someone named Leonore Fleischer – and it is pretty bland. This was a common practice that once a film was popular it would try to capitalize on its fan base by then releasing a paperback version. Anyways, the story is actually taken from two old films, primarily “Here comes Mr. Jordan”, which has the lead character being a boxer. Then the title comes from another after-life film, but really does not have anything to do with this current story just using the title. This current story version has the lead as a football player rather than a boxer. I would recommend either of the old films (mainly the 1943 version over the 1941 Mr. Jordan film). I would however recommend the Warren Beatty 1978 version over both the other two films… the ’78 is a very good film! This is one of those rare situations where the film is much better than the book (rather than the usual visa-versa).

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this when I was in college. Maybe it was because of the soundtrack that enticed me to read the novel after seeing the movie. In the 80’s, there were many movies that deal with souls going back to earth for some unfinished business but this one was nice because of the lead actor (I think it was Dustin Hoffman who was at the height of his popularity that time) who died while cycling inside the tunnel not knowing that there was an incoming train. I enjoyed reading the novel because it was short and not too mushy. I even remember the movie poster with Hoffman wearing white jogging pants matching with his oversized wings. I read later that during the shoot he was insecure with his bulge and asked the make-up artist to re-touch the movie poster but that was another story.

[Lori Nemitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read between January & June 1983.

Original notes on book from 1983: Good story. Movie is almost better.

[EleonoraZlibri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carino, mi avevano detto che era divertente ma alla fine di divertente c'è poco è niente.
Comunque molto bello, l'ho letto in pochissimo tempo.

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

The film is still one of my all-time favorites. The author did a good job of novelizing :)

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A terrible novelization of one of my favourite movies.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun Read!