Portland Press Herald (Maine) 03-13-2006 Favorites Edition: FINAL Section: IHerald Column: Favorites From deep in the woods of Washington County, Paul Laney uses a dial-up, Internet connection to talk fishing, buy gear and find out how it's blowing on West Grand Lake....

He saunters toward the exit of the casino, passing shifty-eyed young guys in Panama hats shooting craps and some older, white-suited men escorting their tanned and sequined trophy wives to the blackjack tables. At the bar, Nore orders a tall frozen drink and heads out...

God's Favourite … is another of Simon's attempts to be taken seriously on the way to the bank…. [Simon's problem is that he is clever] but here as elsewhere, very little of the humour flows from the characters; the efforts at profundity are shallow and unrewarding. Jokes all too often fall back on quick references to brand names (Lemon Pledge furniture polish, Perdue chicken, Bic Banana pens), TV shows ('Hollywood Squares') and the like. It is a cheap, easy a...