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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is Where I Leave You reminded me why I fell in love with reading as a young child. It’s not too long and not too short; it’s got a list of characters that aren’t too complicated, but also aren’t too shallow; the story isn’t too happy and it’s not too sad either. It’s a good book to make time for, and once you start reading it’s really hard to put it down.
The protagonist—Judd—reminds me a bit of me. He’s a sarcastic, smart, Jewish Met fan from the east coast. When his did passes away he’s forced to return to his childhood home and sit Shiva with his four estranged siblings, their spouses, his over-sexed mom, and a rotating cast of other weirdos. Judd has just walked in on his wife of a decade having sex with his boss and his life is in shambles. Which I guess is the perfect time for some wonky adventures in your home town.
Am I a better person for having read this book? Probably not. But the time I spent with it made me feel happy and included. It’s been a hard time for me lately, and escaping into this book has pretty much made life worth living. I’m sad it’s over, but it’s probably one that will stay with me for a while (even though I apparently saw the movie based on this book a few years ago and had completely forgotten about it).
There’s not much more to say. I guess it made me wish I had a bigger family, or one that I lived closer to.
Tropper's tale of an ill-fated family gathering is amusing enough to make it worth a read. Do not expect a lot of soul-searching insights, but anyone with a bit of a dysfunctional family will appreciate the humor.
The story is about four siblings who return to the family home upon their father's death. They learn that his last request was that they sit shiva, a Jewish rite of mourning. Shiva lasts five days, forcing the siblings to stay in the same house together exactly five days longer than they want. Judd, the fearless narrator, has just separated from his wife upon discovering her affair with his boss. So clearly he's dealing with some issues. Each of his siblings, however, are also dealing with their own personal issues, ranging the gamut of trying to conceive a child to trying to be a responsible grown up. Combined with residual angst from childhood, the result is an amusing tale of what happens when a family is forced into being a family.
The only thing that hurts that book is a bit of predictability with the level of dysfunction in the family. Each of the characters, including the narrator, represented an almost-cliche stereotype of family angst. Steve Martin starred in a movie comedy called "Parenthood" back in the 1980s. It depicted the struggles of the "modern" family. Many of the cliched characters from that movie have a counterpart in Tropper's novel, the most obvious being the irresponsible, immature younger brother. The parallels in this character especially were so uncanny that I couldn't help but picture Tom Hulce in the novel. That was a bit off-putting to say the least.
The story is about four siblings who return to the family home upon their father's death. They learn that his last request was that they sit shiva, a Jewish rite of mourning. Shiva lasts five days, forcing the siblings to stay in the same house together exactly five days longer than they want. Judd, the fearless narrator, has just separated from his wife upon discovering her affair with his boss. So clearly he's dealing with some issues. Each of his siblings, however, are also dealing with their own personal issues, ranging the gamut of trying to conceive a child to trying to be a responsible grown up. Combined with residual angst from childhood, the result is an amusing tale of what happens when a family is forced into being a family.
The only thing that hurts that book is a bit of predictability with the level of dysfunction in the family. Each of the characters, including the narrator, represented an almost-cliche stereotype of family angst. Steve Martin starred in a movie comedy called "Parenthood" back in the 1980s. It depicted the struggles of the "modern" family. Many of the cliched characters from that movie have a counterpart in Tropper's novel, the most obvious being the irresponsible, immature younger brother. The parallels in this character especially were so uncanny that I couldn't help but picture Tom Hulce in the novel. That was a bit off-putting to say the least.
The first words that come to my mind to describe this book are (it's so anti-bulls***), it was such a good book and definitely 4.5 stars. the whole time i was smiling while reading it and was so eager to know what's gonna happen next. It dealt with so many common issues in an easy way which in return made it an easy read.
This book was awesome. And the movie definitely did it justice. Warning though it is pretty raunchy and contains a lot of sex and innuendo etc. So if you're not into it then this books not for you. But I loved it
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual assault
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes