This Is Where I Leave You: A Novel Paperback – July 6, 2010

Reading Jonathan Tropper's funny, well-written novels are a bit like watching a popcorn mixer. He throws a bunch of characters into a major crisis and we get to watch the humorous, often heartbreaking, directions that they all pop off into. Here the lead character, Judd Foxman, discovers his father has died and wanted his family to sit shiva. This terrible news comes just weeks after Judd caught his wife sleeping with his boss, a Howard Stern-like radio personality. We then get to spend seven days with the Foxman family, which includes oldest brother Paul, who got mangled by a Rottweiler on a night he sought revenge on a bully who'd beaten up Judd; Paul's wife Alice, an old flame of Judd's who's now distraught because Paul hasn't been able to get her pregnant; older sister Wendy, who's married to a man who seems more interested in his hedge fund business than his wife and three kids; and young brother, Philip, the Lothario of the family, who shows up at the shiva engaged to a woman twenty-years his senior, who is a therapist - just like his mother - the fifth member of the Foxman family, who has a big surprise in store for her four children during this week of mourning. As is the case with all of Tropper's novels, the pacing is fast and furious and the turns of phrases are consistently clever. Prudes should be forewarned- there is a lot of sex in this book. As Tropper mentioned in a reading I saw him give, part of the reason there's so much sex is that Judd is trying to work through the insecurities aroused by walking in on his wife in flagrante delicto. As fun as all the sexy parts are for those of us not offended by a dash of raunchiness, some of Tropper's best writing still comes in the highly charged emotional moments outside the bedroom - when Judd discovers he was partly to blame for his wife's infidelity because of the distant way he treated her after their first child died in vitro and when he learns that his older brother's anger at him for contributing to his loss of a promising baseball career really has more to do with the fact that Judd paid little attention to him through all the surgeries he needed to repair the damage the Rottweiler wrought. I've admired all of Tropper's books. He gets inside the heads of twenty and thirty-something guys incredibly well, and I'm looking forward to the books he will write when he can work with more mature male egos - who aren't fascinated only with the pretty girls or not filled with disgust at the wrinkles and flabby flesh of the over-sixty crowd, who do provide considerable comic fodder in this book as they pay their visits to the mourning family. This has been a great summer - with lots of books from my favorite authors. We can look forward to a new one from Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked: a novel, in September, and Robert Cohen's Amateur Barbarians: A Novel, a masterful and funny examination of male mid-life crisis, came out in July.

2 words that describe the book--Hilarious Dysfunction3 setting where the book took place or characters I met* Setting: Somewhere on the East Coast (the exact location escapes me and I'm too lazy to look it up right now), modern day* Judd Foxman is our narrator. He's not having the best year. He caught his wife Jen in bed with his boss (a radio shock jock), which led to the loss of his job and his home. Now his father has died, and he's been summoned home to sit shiva for seven days--despite the fact that his father was an atheist and no one in his family practices Judaism anymore. The book takes place over the course of the seven days--allowing us to meet the various members of Judd's hilariously dysfunctional family.* The Foxman family is filled with rage, pain, dysfunction, resentment and secrets--so bringing everyone together makes for a rollicking good time (for the reader). We have the inappropriate dressing, TMI-spouting shrink mother; sarcastic older sister Wendy, whose husband is barely there even when he is there; the oldest brother Paul and his wife--both of whom have some past issues with Judd to work out; and the youngest brother Philip--the irresponsible Golden Boy who has taken up with a much older woman.4 things I liked or disliked about the book* This book was laugh-out-loud funny--I'm talking snorting a drink out of your nose type of laughter. Tropper just reels off hilarious lines page after page. I kept thinking "Why have I never read this author before? Why was this type of hilariousness kept from me?" From descriptions of his siblings ("[he was the] Paul McCartney of our family: better-looking than the rest of us, always facing a different direction in pictures, and occasionally rumored to be dead") to describing Judd's marriage as ending "the way these things do: with paramedics and cheesecake," you'll never be far from a funny line. Even advice for paying shiva calls will crack you up:EXCERPT: "There are tricks to paying a shiva call. You don't want to come during off-peak hours, or you risk being the only one there, face-to-face with five surly mourners who, but for your presence, would be off their low chairs, stretching their legs and their compressed spines, taking a bathroom break, or having a snack. Evenings are your safest bet, after seven, when everyone's eaten and the room is full. Weekday afternoons are a dead zone. Sunday is a crapshoot. Do a drive-by and count the parked cars before you stop. If you're lucky, there will already be a conversation going on when you come in, so you won't have to sit there trying to start one of your own. It's hard to talk to the bereft. You never know what's off-limits."* Yet at the same time, the story is filled with very real and complex emotions. Tropper does a brilliant job of walking the tightrope between hilarity and angst--without tipping too far one way or the other. I think this is very difficult to do, yet Tropper seems to pull it off effortlessly. Judd is devastated by his divorce--desperate, needy and confused. You feel his pain throughout the story--especially when his ex-wife hits him with some very disconcerting news. And as the Foxmans work through their long buried issues as a family, I think most readers will be able to relate to the confusing emotions that can arise. The Foxmans felt utterly real and alive to me--albeit way funnier than most families.* I loved how Tropper focused on all the members of the Foxman family to one degree or another. Everyone has their own issues, and it all comes out during the shiva. It felt realistic and messy--just like real life. In addition, the Foxman's family friends and neighbors make appearances and are brought to life as much as the family members. I loved how Tropper created these quick sketches that fleshed out each character's personalities and foibles in just a few lines. I could instantly imagine such minor players as the clueless older neighbor who is trying to make a move on the new widow or the young girls who flock around Philip and cause his girlfriend anxiety.* I enjoyed this book so much I immediately went to Paperback Swap and ordered most of Tropper's earlier books. Based on this book alone, he's earned a place on my "favorite authors" list. Let's hope his other books are filled with as much wit and pathos as this one!5 stars or less for my rating:I'm giving the book 4.5 stars. I just loved this book to pieces! Tropper combined humor with true emotion--an unbeatable combination in my mind. If you're in the mood for laugh-out-loud contemporary fiction also taps into the all too real and messy emotions of life, this book would be the perfect choice. A word of caution though: The book can be a bit raunchy at times, and the language might make some blush. If stuff like that bothers you, this book might not be the best choice for you.