Review: This Is Where I Leave You

Reeling from the sudden collapse of his marriage, Judd Foxman spends an illuminating week with his dysfunctional family. It's bad enough that he walks in on his wife Jen making love to another man in their bed, but the betrayal is doubly devastating when Judd realizes her partner is his boss Wade, a macho talk-radio blowhard. With the image of the two of them likely to be seared permanently onto his retinas, Judd crawls off to a sad basement rental, only to be roused a short time later by the news that his cancer-stricken father has finally died. Judd's pop-psychologist mother Hillary calls her four grown children home to sit shiva for a full seven days, but it's doubtful that her atheist husband would have truly appreciated this nod to Jewish tradition. Unhappy as he is, Judd can take some comfort in the fact that the rest of the Foxmans are just as screwed up. His older brother Paul, once a gifted athlete, still blames Judd for the dog attack that brought his baseball career to a halt. Paul's wife Alice is so eager to get pregnant that she makes Judd an indecent proposal any sensible brother-in-law would refuse. Sister Wendy, married to a self-absorbed jerk, still carries a torch for her childhood sweetheart Horry, who suffered permanent brain injury in a college bar fight. And prodigal youngest Phillip shows up in a Ferrari with his much older life coach/girlfriend Tracy in tow. Thrown into the mix is potential new love interest Penny, who tantalized Judd in high school, and the news that Jen is pregnant with his (not Wade's) baby. All this sets up Judd for a major day of reckoning, and the realization that maybe, just maybe, he has contributed to some of the problems in his life. Tropper (How to Talk to a Widower, 2007, etc.) has covered this man-child territory before, but few can rival his poignant depictions of damaged men befuddled by the women they love.

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

Enough with the incessant Nick Hornby and Tom Perrotta comparisons made by members of the media (including this sheepish reviewer, I'm afraid). Jonathan Tropper is his own writer and his books deserve an honor and distinction all their own. His special blend of wry humor, pitchperfect dialogue and onthemark pacing make for a wickedly amusing read that encourages, if not induces, cackling ... Read full review

(finished 10.16.11). awesometown. great divorce/story about a dysfunctional but easy-to-relate to family. i actually liked it because it abandoned the glass-family archetype of dysfunctional families. this family was much more believable, and even their absurdities seem realistic, which makes the story much more meaningful than any other salinger-derivative attempt (i'm looking at you augusten burroughs). it was laugh-out-loud funny. i should add more about this. there are notes somewhere i need to dig up. 

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

Perfect book for my state of mind at the time, which was tired but not brain-dead. I needed to read something fun but not stupid, not too challenging, but with a bit more substance. And this hit the ... Read full review

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

A grating combination of trying too hard to be funny, casual misogyny, and generally unsympathetic characters. Tropper also seems completely obsessed with judging the physiognomy and physiques of all ... Read full review

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

I absolutely loved this book, but I am certain that it will not appeal to every reader. The tone is what makes this book along with the characterizations. It is a deft blend of cynicism mixed with ... Read full review

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

I really loved this book; it brought pleasingly to mind other recent favorites like "Domestic Violets" and "The Financial Lives of the Poets" and even "The Marriage Plot." It did indeed have a made ... Read full review

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

I really understand all of the reviews and agree with everything good and bad written about the book. I actually want to be on the side of the criticisms and although they are right...darn it, I ... Read full review

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

Around the same time Judd loses his father, he walks in on his wife of 10 years having sex with his boss. In their bedroom. Pretty vivid and erotic scene the narrator describes. Soon, Judd learns that ... Read full review

Review: This Is Where I Leave You

this was my first jonathan tropper book..not sure where i've been. but now i know what i've been missing. there were some great great one liners in this book. so many that i found myself bookmarking ... Read full review