This Is Where I Leave You
A Novel
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4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A riotously funny, emotionally raw New York Times bestselling novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind—whether we like it or not.
The death of Judd Foxman’s father marks the first time that the entire Foxman clan has congregated in years. There is, however, one conspicuous absence: Judd's wife, Jen, whose affair with his radio- shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public. Simultaneously mourning the demise of his father and his marriage, Judd joins his dysfunctional family as they reluctantly sit shiva and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. The week quickly spins out of control as longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and old passions are reawakened. Then Jen delivers the clincher: she's pregnant...
“Often sidesplitting, mostly heartbreaking...[Tropper is] a more sincere, insightful version of Nick Hornby, that other master of male psyche.”—USA Today
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING JASON BATEMAN, TINA FEY, JANE FONDA, AND ADAM DRIVER
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
You think you’ve got problems? Just weeks after catching his wife in bed with his loutish shock-jock boss, Judd Foxman is summoned home to bury his father and sit shiva with his inappropriate-acting mother and three prickly siblings. This Is Where I Leave You is a bawdy and hysterically funny portrait of family dysfunction propelled by brassy characters, zippy dialogue, and touchingly raw meditations on love, marriage, aging, and loss. Exposing universal truths about the human capacity for fierce and inexplicable loyalty, author Jonathan Tropper makes you care deeply for characters who are spectacularly flawed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Tropper returns with a snappy and heartfelt family drama/belated coming-of-age story. Judd Foxman's wife, Jen, has left him for his boss, a Howard Stern like radio personality, but it is the death of his father and the week of sitting shivah with his enjoyably dysfunctional family that motivates him. Jen's announcement of her pregnancy doubly tragic because of a previous miscarriage is followed by the dramas of Judd's siblings: his sister, Wendy, is stuck in an emotionless marriage; brother Paul always Judd's defender and his wife struggle with infertility; and the charming youngest, Phillip, attempts a grown-up relationship that only highlights his rakishness. Presided over by their mother, a celebrated parenting expert despite her children's difficulties, the mourning period brings each of the family members to unexpected epiphanies about their own lives and each other. The family's interactions are sharp, raw and often laugh-out-loud funny, and Judd's narration is unflinching, occasionally lewd and very keen. Tropper strikes an excellent balance between the family history and its present-day fallout, proving his ability to create touchingly human characters and a deliciously page-turning story.
Customer Reviews
Cheesecake and Family Dynamics
Reading about each family member, their shared sarcasm and complicated relationships with their partners made me grow fond of them. The narrators sexual urges felt much in some sections, but I understand it offered honest insight into a man’s thoughts after recovering from the blow of discovering his wife’s infidelity. The ending rounded out all of the immediate families relationships and put a nice strawberry on Jenn’s cheesecake.
Terrible future rom-com
Lacks a genuine plot. This is generic cookie cutter stuff they make into movies starring the Wilson brothers.
Decent read
Decent read, complex characters however, we not fully fleshed out. Ending leaves something to be desired.