This Is Just Exactly Like You
A Novel
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3.6 • 5 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
"Richly imagined, beautifully written, and completely absorbing. I found myself spellbound, turning pages well past my bedtime. What a fine, fine book." -Tim O'Brien
After Jack Lang impulsively buys the house directly across the street from his own, his wife, Beth, has finally had enough. She leaves him- and their six-year-old autistic son, Hendrick-for Jack's best friend, Terry Canavan. Jack tries telling everyone he's okay, but even he's not so sure. When Hendrick, who rarely talks, starts speaking in fluent Spanish, Jack knows he's in uncharted territory. But once Canavan's ex- girlfriend Rena turns up at his door to see how things are going, Jack begins to suspect the world could be far more complicated than he'd ever believed. Set against a landscape of defunct putt-putt courses and karaoke bars, parenthood and infidelity, This Is Just Exactly Like You is a wise and witty debut novel with captivating insights into marriage, autism, suburban fiasco, and life's occasional miracles.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his turgid debut, author Perry delves into the life of bland suburbanite Jack Lang after his wife, Beth, leaves him and their autistic six-year-old son, Hendrick, for Jack s best friend, Terry, who has recently separated from girlfriend Rena (who happens to be Beth s friend). When Rena discovers Beth is living with Terry, she immediately throws herself at Jack, who, having earlier impulsively purchased the house across the street, moves there with Rena and Hendrick, though Rena, bossy and needling from day one, is probably the least plausible therapeutic lay in history. Meanwhile, Hendrick begins to come out of his shell. Every 30 or so pages, Jack and Beth stalwartly refuse to discuss what is wrong between them: throughout their numerous confrontations, the exact reasons and circumstances for their separation are only vaguely sketched, and the reader feels cheated. By never knowing what went wrong, indifference can be the only reaction to their stabs at reconciliation, and if they did clear the air, the novel would have no dramatic necessity.
