Almighty Me

by Robert Bausch

"Almighty Me" is the story of an ordinary man-an automobile salesman-who is given Almighty God's great powers for "one full year, no strings attached." This "offer" throws his life into a tailspin as he tries to manipulate the perfect life with his wife, his family, and with his colleagues at work. It is only when he discovers the "limitations" of God's power, plus his own "micro" image of the world's problems, does all hell break loose. "A wonderful novel. Intelligent, fanciful, world weary but joyous, and very, very funny."-Fay Weldon

Genres: Fiction

276 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

About the author

Robert Bausch was a college professor and novelist in Virginia.

Reviews

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I adored this book which I read several years before the movie Bruce Almighty came out. My first thought after seeing the movie was that despite its wonderful cast the movie is not nearly as interesting as the book, though I suppose the flick provides more laugh out loud moments. Far too many details that I found quite interesting in the book about the powers and limitations of temporarily being God were barely touched upon in the movie. But upon further research it seems that the movie is not an adaptation of this book after all, which in my opinion makes it a pretty blatant rip-off. If the author of Almighty Me did not make any money off of the movie Bruce Almighty and its sequel, he should definitely sue. As for the book, it is based on a fascinating concept and the smooth execution of its clever plot results in a memorable read.

[Old Man JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining and, somewhat, humorous story of a man who has been granted the powers of God for a year. He is a fairly flawed human, as all of us are, who finds he must restrain himself at times from his impulses because of the ultimate consequences that his actions may have. His wife is unhappy in her marriage to him but he feels he must restrain from interfering with her actions because he wants her to return his love without his interference a, sort of, metaphor for free will. It's an interesting premise that reveals some of the nonsense that religion uses as logic for explaining the way that the world is.

[Dee Reader :-) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book! I read it a million years ago. The wit in it was sentational! A different twist on spirituality and one's relationship with their Creator.

The movie Bruce Almighty is loosley based on the story line.

[Damian Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Bausch created a comedic and heartfelt story that is impossible to put down, years after this book the movie Bruce Almighty came out and the movie failed to really capture the spirit and imagination of the book

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hardest, deepest laughs of my reading career.

[Paul Ursuliak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up Almighty Me for a simple reason: I’ve always loved the idea behind Bruce Almighty, and since that movie was inspired by this novel’s premise—a regular man suddenly given God’s powers—I knew I had to read it. I expected comedy and chaos, but what I didn’t expect was how thoughtful and emotionally sharp the book would be. By the end, I found myself agreeing with what I think is the book’s real message: a human being can make up his mind to love a person better.
Bausch’s humor is fantastic. One line that had me laughing out loud was:
“She fumbled in her purse for something… As soon as a woman sits anywhere, she reaches inside her purse—as if she’s turning on a little recording device, or checking to see if her gun is loaded.”
Moments like that made me finish the book in just two days. And honestly, after reading the heaven chapter, I couldn’t help thinking: it would be hilarious if there turned out to be a Dodge dealership up there too—eternal salvation with lifetime warranty service.
Beyond the humor, the book hit me on a personal level. The main character’s struggle to keep his marriage from falling apart felt painfully familiar, and I could relate to the confusion, the hope, and the desperate attempts to fix things. The philosophical reflections on suffering and love were surprisingly grounded and sincere.
One passage that really stuck with me was the narrator’s realization that there isn’t just one kind of “good.” He wants to be a good deity, a good car salesman, a good husband, and a good father—but those roles don’t always fit together. Sometimes being a good father makes you a worse husband. Sometimes being a dedicated student makes you a distant partner. The book shows how messy and conflicting our definitions of “good” can be, and how easy it is for people—especially families—to get pulled apart by competing responsibilities.
It’s not a famous book, but I genuinely think any man who has gone through, or is going through, a divorce would find something meaningful here. The writing is excellent—no surprise, since Bausch was an English professor—and the character development from mild-mannered “nice guy” to almighty being is both funny and strangely moving.
The only part that puzzled me was the description of heaven. I might need to reread it to fully understand what Bausch was aiming for. But even that confusion felt like part of the charm.
In the end, I’m really glad I discovered this book. Maybe that was divine intervention after all.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Bausch have a reading of this novel in the Spring of 1990 at George Mason University. I could not stop laughing as he made this story come alive aloud for his audience.

When the book was available for purchase, I read it right away. The entire story was greatly satisfying—just enough belly laughs, a great plot, and a well-told story.

Bruce Almighty seemed like the same story but Almighty Me is free of the movie gags. The challenges of being God for a year are, in contrast, subtle and thought provoking—and quite amusing.

[The Book Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started slow, during the middle the plot picked up and I became interested, the end was very, very enlightening. Made me really think about things. Was well worth the wait. :)

[Denise Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almighty Me is a wonderful book about a down-on-his luck used car salesman who is angry at God because of all the things that go wrong in his life. God comes down and says he's going on vacation and the used-car-salesman (named Chet) gets to take his place for 1 year. XD It's hilarious.

He tries to keep his wife from leaving him (it doesn't work). However, he does learn how to use God's powers for the greater good and he learns that sometimes there are some things not even God's power can fix/change.

I highly recommend it.

[sologdin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Turns out that dude can in fact make a rock that he can't lift.

[Nicholas George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a good "What if?" premise. This one has a doozy: What if an ordinary man--and everyday working stiff--were given the power of God for one year? How would that change his life? Or the world? The man in this instance is Charlie Wiggins, a car salesman in the Midwest. His chief concern is keeping the love of his wife Dorothy. She's grown bored with their marriage and is gradually drifting away. Can he use his new power to change her mind? Bausch is a talented writer, but he diverts from his story so often to pontificate his own views on love, the differences between men and women, and the general state of humanity that this seems less a novel than an extended personal essay. His writing is witty if not actually hilarious. Not that his views are uninteresting: toward the end of the story Wiggins is treated to a tour of heaven (well, actually the vestibule of heaven--don't ask) that is enigmatic and oddly fascinating. But it's basically all more of Bausch's philosophizing (Wiggins is obviously his stand-in). In short: an okay diversion, but not as good as it could be.