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64th out of 1,146 books
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6,049 voters
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This is Where I Leave You
The death of Judd Foxman's father marks the first time that the entire Foxman family-including Judd's mother, brothers, and sister-have been together in years. Conspicuously absent: Judd's wife, Jen, whose fourteen-month affair with Judd's radio-shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public.
Simultaneously mourning the death of his father and the demise of his marr...more
Simultaneously mourning the death of his father and the demise of his marr...more
Hardcover, 339 pages
Published
August 6th 2009
by Dutton Adult
(first published January 1st 2009)
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Voice Over: Judd Foxman had the perfect job...
(on-air antics at the radio station; his boss makes a sexist joke)
VO: the perfect girl...
(hot young starlet (Jessica Biel?) smiles at camera)
VO: The perfect life... Until one day, it left him behind.
(smiling, Judd carries an ornate birthday cake into a bedroom. "Surprise, honey! Happy birthday!" Flash cut: Biel in bed, looking over a man's shoulder. "Judd!" Th...more
I picked up this book on the recommendation of an acquaintance whose taste I trust. And in reading the dust jacket flap, I was immediately drawn in by the idea of the book: a family -- four siblings -- mourning the death of their father, coming together for seven days to sit shiva. The book promised to be witty and biting, an unforgiving look at family dynamic. I'm in. Sign me up.
Eh.
For sure there was some great language in here. Some sharp observations about disappointme...more
Eh.
For sure there was some great language in here. Some sharp observations about disappointme...more
Does this story sound like it’d tickle your funny bone? Judd Foxman and his wife Jen lost a baby during the last months of her pregnancy. A year later, he catches her in bed with his boss, a crude radio shock-jock. Months after that, Judd doesn’t have a job and is living in a crappy apartment when he gets the news that his father finally died after long battle with cancer. Just then, Jen drops by to let him know that she’s pregnant. Judd’s even more shocked to learn that his father’s last ...more
Tropper is a talented writer. His previoous books prove that. Unfortunately, in this book, you can see him trying to prove it. There are some passages that are well written and fit perfectly to the flow of the story. There are others that read like an observance or thought that he jotted down in his writing journal once upon a time, rediscovered it when he was writing this book, and forced a situation where he could use the phrase. It's too clever for its own good.
I also feel th...more
I also feel th...more
This book made me think... if I were a character in a generic pseudo-indie dramedy what all would happen?
I'm thinking I would be a slightly bitter divorcee who chain smokes and uses scathing sarcasm as a defense mechanism. Coming home would unleash a fury of hilarious down home characters who would be surprised at my current state of bitchiness but would still embrace me, slowly chipping away at my hard exterior until my slightly warmer (still bitchy) interior is exposed. Maybe my ex-h...more
I'm thinking I would be a slightly bitter divorcee who chain smokes and uses scathing sarcasm as a defense mechanism. Coming home would unleash a fury of hilarious down home characters who would be surprised at my current state of bitchiness but would still embrace me, slowly chipping away at my hard exterior until my slightly warmer (still bitchy) interior is exposed. Maybe my ex-h...more
I always thought the phrase, "one-trick-pony", was kind of demeaning but after reading my second Tropper book in a row- I wouldn't necessarily classify that phrase as demeaning but definitely apropos. Tropper has a few standard characters that he incorporates into his stories. The protagonist is usually a flawed, witty, yet likeable guy. Family members range from selfish mothers, emotionally-distant fathers, and wacky siblings. It's like a formula, which makes his books intersting,...more
Meh. This book was fine, but it wasn't good. My main problem is that there seemed to be a lot of anger at and objectifying of women on the part of the main character, Judd Foxman. There was a lot of talking about women (both young and old) as body parts (though to be fair, this happened a lot with the descriptions of men too) and as vehicles for Judd's fantasies. I get it that his wife cheated on him, but still I didn't like this part of the narrative. Maybe I just wasn't supposed to like J...more
This Is Where I Leave You – is the kind of book that makes you stop, think and be thankful, even for the crappy stuff. Judd Foxman has hit life’s rock bottom - his wife cheated with his boss, he’s quit his job, currently lives in a basement, and his terminally ill father has recently died. He must now return home and participate in the tradition of Shiva, spending a full week in mourning, with a family he can barely stand. However, as the reader experiences the week of Shiva with Judd’s famil...more
Nicole
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Nick Hornby fans
Shelves:
2011-book-challenge
Shiva is a Jewish mourning ritual during which a family mourns the death of one of their direct relatives for a period of seven days, all house mirrors are covered and all meals are provided by neighbors and friends. The Foxman family has just lost their patriarch, Mort, and are surprised that a nonreligious man has asked them to sit shiva after his death. And so, this family so accustomed at avoiding each other and suppressing all of their emotions, gathers at their family house to reflect on...more
To the critics who compare the Foxmans to the Bluth family, it's a comparison well made.
"This is Where I Leave You" tells the story of the Foxman family — four siblings and a mother — grieving the death of their father who they believe wants them all to sit shiva (they are Jewish) for the week following his death.
The book is told from the voice of Judd Foxman, who joins in the shiva just as his life is falling apart: a cheating spouse who tells him on the day o...more
"This is Where I Leave You" tells the story of the Foxman family — four siblings and a mother — grieving the death of their father who they believe wants them all to sit shiva (they are Jewish) for the week following his death.
The book is told from the voice of Judd Foxman, who joins in the shiva just as his life is falling apart: a cheating spouse who tells him on the day o...more
I feel like a two star rating is a bad thing but by definition the book was ok. I liked the writing and the flow of the book was good. I just felt that the book was also written by a sex craved teenager.
Sure sex is fun and enjoyable but I feel like I was trasported back to jr high or high school when the boys were obsessed with anything to do with sex. About half way through the story, I felt that the author was just beating a dead horse. I get it already, how about a bit more c...more
Sure sex is fun and enjoyable but I feel like I was trasported back to jr high or high school when the boys were obsessed with anything to do with sex. About half way through the story, I felt that the author was just beating a dead horse. I get it already, how about a bit more c...more
Sweet, tender, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Who knew that sitting shiva could be this much fun?
Thanks so much for the recommendation, Lisa!
Thanks so much for the recommendation, Lisa!
Candace Burton
added it
I've heard that in your dreams, you are actually everyone you interact with. This hysterically lifelike novel was a bit like a dream, in that I could identify with almost every single character--or at least with the way other people saw them. "Hysterically lifelike" may sound like an odd turn of phrase, but I can see where some people are not going to find this book funny. I feel sorry for them, because I nearly fell out of bed giggling on several occasions, due to the familiarity of m...more
I definitely enjoyed the premise more than the execution. I think the modern view of an ancient tradition provided insight into the power of togetherness in times of mourning. Even though I knew just a little about sitting shiva, I felt invested pretty quickly and the confluence of characters brought about by tragedy would be familiar to any family.
My problem with the execution is that everything was a "little too..." Dialogue was a little too witty, certain aspects of cha...more
My problem with the execution is that everything was a "little too..." Dialogue was a little too witty, certain aspects of cha...more
-Probably one of the most effective combinations of heartbreaking and hilarious I've ever read.
-Something about it is cinematic, and almost begs to be turned into a movie (one that won't be as good as the book, of course), and subsequently a few of the plot points feel just very slightly bordering on cliché.
-It took me most of the book before I began to realize that, due to the narrator's state of depression, he's a bit hard to like. But at the same time, it's his ...more
After very much enjoying The Book of Joe by the same author, I wanted to give another of his books a try. This is Where I Leave You did not disappoint. Tropper has a gift for pointing out people's foibles and for picking out the tiny, but telling, details that make up our lives. His characters, particularly the protagonist, are complex and not necessarily likeable, but he manages to make them sympathetic and the reader is rooting for them all the way. Even when they are being jerks (which is ...more
Described to me by friends as a laugh aloud book, I chuckled several times during This is Where I Leave You left me laughing but found Trooper less hilarious and more uncomfortably funny. His true prowess is not the plot line, which never moves beyond the shivia proceedings, but rather his mastery of language. From the opening scene where Judd walks in on his wife sleeping with his boss, Trooper catapults the readers into the mind of a 30-something year old male, romantic enough for the female...more
There are few things I hate in a book so much as I hate an incomplete ending. I did not feel fulfilled after all of the time I devoted to this book. It was an interesting story, most notably because it was told entirely from the perspective of a man, which is a departure from what I normally read. I enjoyed it and I am definitely glad that I took the time to read it. I just wish the ending had felt more complete to me.
The characters in this book were all flawed, whether they wore their...more
The characters in this book were all flawed, whether they wore their...more
I liked this Tropper book better than the other one I read (How to Talk to a Widower), although I don't think that I really need to read any more of his books after this one. I'm not sure why I originally put this on my reading list. I know that every time I looked at it, I felt ambivalent about it. But I was having trouble finding books on my list recently that aren't bloated (most are 500+ pages, which I can't commit to right now), and this one was less than 400, so I went for it.
I d...more
I d...more
Tropper mines old themes with his new book, This is Where I Leave You. Love relationship with college soul mate? Check. Father whose love is silent and unspoken and strong? Check. Sex with old high school fantasy? Check. Issue with athletic brother and other sibling rivalries? Check. I could go on.
I've been a fan since Plan B. Tropper writes with warmth and insight and great, great humor. Some scenes are hysterically funny. This is Where I Leave You is par for the course. As long as...more
I've been a fan since Plan B. Tropper writes with warmth and insight and great, great humor. Some scenes are hysterically funny. This is Where I Leave You is par for the course. As long as...more
Catherine Woodman
added it
Read more on my blog: http://homemadelemoncake.blogspot.com/2010/01/this-is-where-i-leave-you-by-jonathan.html
This is not great literature, but it is good literature, and it is definitely engrossing to read. The hero of our story, Judd, is the second of four children. He is estranged from his siblings, and he has also just found out that his wife of nine years has been carrying on an affair with his boss. For over a year. And he is not happy about it. And then his father dies, and while his...more
This is not great literature, but it is good literature, and it is definitely engrossing to read. The hero of our story, Judd, is the second of four children. He is estranged from his siblings, and he has also just found out that his wife of nine years has been carrying on an affair with his boss. For over a year. And he is not happy about it. And then his father dies, and while his...more
What happens when everything in your life goes wrong at once? When life throws all of its crap at you in one go? Well, this is what happens to Judd Forman when he walks into his bedroom to find his wife having sex...with his boss. Which in turn means that he loses his job. Things don't get any better for Judd when his father dies from cancer and this brings his entire family together for the first time in several years. And his father's dying wish appears to have been that the entire family sit ...more
This is one of those books I that I really enjoyed, yet I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what to say about it!
I felt like, in a way, it was perfect. I loved the author's writing -- the way he put his thoughts into words. I loved his wit... his insight... his view of the world. I loved the way the book was organized... the pacing. The characters were real, crazy, likeable. And how the author managed to balance a topic that was so tender, and sometimes sad, yet also made it hilari...more
I felt like, in a way, it was perfect. I loved the author's writing -- the way he put his thoughts into words. I loved his wit... his insight... his view of the world. I loved the way the book was organized... the pacing. The characters were real, crazy, likeable. And how the author managed to balance a topic that was so tender, and sometimes sad, yet also made it hilari...more
The Foxmans are a Jewish family, thrown together for the 7 days of mourning (sitting Shiva) for their patriarch, Mort Foxman. His four children and their smattering of kids, significant others, spouses, sexual partners, exes, and old friends gather and try not to kill one another while stuck living in cramped quarters for a week. The backdrop of the narrative is Judd's life. Judd is our narrator, and we flash back neatly throughout the book, catching up on the drama that is his personal life at ...more
I picked this up because I was looking for something mindless to read, a beach read if you will. I've been reading heavy, depressing books for awhile now and I needed a break. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my mindless beach read wasn't. This is a book that so perfectly captures the dynamics of a family. I read some of the other reviews on here and I can see that it isn't a portrait of EVERY family, but how could it be? It is a good stand in for mine though. The sarca...more
Well, that was interesting. I don’t really have too much to say about this book, except that it made me really uncomfortable to read in public. There are very graphic sex scenes and related dialogue, and I was embarrassed to read it anywhere near other people who might casually glance at my Kindle. (Benefit of e-books? I can see how many times the word “sex” appears in the text. The answer? 74.) Sometimes I’d read a passage and just think, “Was that really necessary? What is this guy’s deal that...more
This book was most definitely written by a man. It seemed to be obsessed about sex. Pretty much the entire story line is around sex. I mean, it's like that is practically only thing these men in the book ever think about. The reason I gave it 2 stars (which signifies "it was OK") is because the book was pretty funny. The Foxman family are a witty bunch. The book is narrated by the 2nd oldest Foxman brother, Judd, who is going home to sit shiva after the death of his dad, and shortly af...more
Jonathan Tropper's This Is Where I Leave You is, simply put, one of the best books I've read this year. Edgy, witty and fantastically hilarious, the story follows four adult siblings who gather with their mother in their childhood home to sit shiva (the seven days of mourning in Jewish tradition) for their recently deceased father. Our narrator is third of the fourth siblings by age: Judd, a radio producer who has recently caught his wife of nine years cheating on him with his boss, a Howard Ste...more
This was a recommendation, and I loved it. The whole time I was reading this book, I could see it playing like a movie in my head, and I experienced the characters like they were real people.
To summarize: This book is about a man-Judd Foxman- who has just caught his wife sleeping with his boss, and then his father dies. His sister informs him that his father's dying wish is that his family sit shiva (a seven day period of mourning). So, Judd leaves the wreckage of his failed marri...more
To summarize: This book is about a man-Judd Foxman- who has just caught his wife sleeping with his boss, and then his father dies. His sister informs him that his father's dying wish is that his family sit shiva (a seven day period of mourning). So, Judd leaves the wreckage of his failed marri...more
This is a real fireball of a book. Not since Philip Roth's early works have I read an author that strikes such a sharp equipoise of comedy and tragedy. I had twenty different kinds of laughter while reading this--inward grins, hardy howls--even gasping intakes of breath, while simultaneously my heart was melting. The narrative zips along at roughly the speed of light, but the exquisite irony, megawatt metaphors and the urbane satire that saturate every page incited me to read it out loud. I was ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Divine Madness: November 2010 - This is Where I Leave You | 75 | 6 | Feb 06, 2011 08:24pm | |
| Chat with Jonathan Tropper | 1 | 42 | Sep 28, 2009 02:52pm |
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Jonathan Tropper is the author of Everything Changes, The Book of Joe , which was a Booksense selection, and Plan B. He lives with his wife, Elizabeth, and their children in Westchester, New York, where he teaches writing at Manhattanville College. How To Talk To A Widower was optioned by Paramount Pictures, and Everything Changes and The Book of Joe are also in development as feature films...more
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“You have to look at what you have right in front of you, at what it could be, and stop measuring it against what you've lost. I know this to be wise and true, just as I know that pretty much no one can do it.”
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“We all start out so damn sure, thinking we've got the world on a string. If we ever stopped to think about the infinite number of ways we could be undone, we'd never leave our bedrooms.”
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