Awards
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2010 Morning News Tournament of Books Nominee |
Staff Pick
When Judd's father dies, he joins his family for a week to observe shiva. Meanwhile, in the face of his wife's affair and a divorce on his horizon, he discovers his wife is pregnant. This doesn't much sound like a funny book, but it truly is. Tropper has the amazing ability to write both poignantly and hilariously at the same time; he seems to be able to untangle, and capture, the pathos and levity in life. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
International bestseller Jonathan Tropper joins Dutton with the book his fans in the trade have been waiting for him to write: an uproarious, sophisticated, and deeply moving breakout novel.
Those who have already discovered Jonathan Tropper have called his novels "hilarious, but emotion-packed", "fantastically funny", "surprisingly moving", and "utterly magnificent". With his Dutton debut, Tropper has delivered a novel of true sophistication, at once light of touch and with a real sense of humor, without sacrificing a depth of character and raw emotion reminiscent of the early work of John Irving and Michael Chabon.
This Is Where I Leave You opens with the death of Judd Foxman's father, an event that marks the first time in a decade that the entire Foxman family — including Judd's mother, brothers, and sister — have been together in the same house for an extended period. Conspicuously absent: Judd's wife, Jen, whose fourteen-month affair with Judd's radio-shock-jock boss has recently become painfully public.
The typical Foxman family gathering ends with car doors slamming and tires screeching as various factions scatter to nurse their resentments in private. But this time around, the Foxmans reluctantly submit to their father's dying request: to spend the seven days following the funeral together. In the same house. Like a real family. For Judd it's a week-long opportunity to come to terms with his father's death, his failed marriage, and to explain the mess his life has become to a never-ending parade of people he thought he might never see again. Which would be bad enough without the bomb Jen dropped the day Judd's father died: She's pregnant.
Review
"This Is Where I Leave You is able to transcend any small quibbles by being consistently surprising. Tropper keeps the reader off-balance by changing the allegiances between siblings and spouses, friends and enemies, lovers and losers....charms by allowing for messes, loose ends and the reality that there's only one sure ending for everyone." Tod Goldberg, The Chicago Tribune
Review
"Jonathan Tropper is the new breed of novelist who writes for men and women with ease and grace." Haven Kimmel
Synopsis
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 marriage, Judd joins the rest of the Foxmans as they reluctantly submit to their patriarch’s dying request: to spend the seven days following the funeral together. In the same house. Like a family.
As the week quickly spins out of control, longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed, and old passions reawakened. For Judd, it’s a weeklong attempt to make sense of the mess his life has become while trying in vain not to get sucked into the regressive battles of his madly dysfunctional family. All of which would be hard enough without the bomb Jen dropped the day Judd’s father died: She’s pregnant.
This Is Where I Leave You is Jonathan Tropper's most accomplished work to date, a riotously funny, emotionally raw novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind—whether we like it or not.
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Synopsis
Now a major motion picture starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey Jane Fonda, and Adam Driver
"Often sidesplitting, mostly heartbreaking...[Tropper is] a more sincere, insightful version of Nick Hornby, that other master of male psyche." --USA Today
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.
This Is Where I Leave You is Jonathan Tropper's (One Last Thing Before I Go) most accomplished work to date, and a riotously funny, emotionally raw novel about love, marriage, divorce, family, and the ties that bind-whether we like it or not.
Synopsis
What would you do if you knew you only had 100 days left to live? For Lucio Battistini, its a chance to spend the rest of his life the way he always should haveby making every moment count Womanizing, imperfect but loveable Lucio Battistini has been thrown out of the house by his wife and is sleeping in the stock room of his father-in-laws bombolini bakery when he learns he has inoperable cancer. So begins the last hundred days of Lucios life, as he attempts to care for his family, win back his wife (the love of his life and afterlife), and spend the next three months enjoying every moment with a zest he hasnt felt in years. From helping his hopelessly romantic, widowed father-in-law find love, discovering comfort in enduring friendships, and finding new ones, Lucio becomes, at last, the man hes always meant to be. In 100 epigrammatic chapters, one for each of Lucios remaining days on earth,
100 Days of Happiness is as delicious as a hot doughnut and a morning cappuccino. Wistful, often hilarious, and always delectable, 100 Days of Happiness reminds us all to remember the preciousness of life and what matters most.
Synopsis
A spirit-stirring debut about basketball, family, and an unlikely underdog who overcomes adversity to become a legend Basketball prodigy Jimmy Kamikaze” Kirkus is destined for the NBA. But before he can sail off into a golden future, Jimmy must reckon with a tragic past and with a curse that has haunted his family for generations. His father had been a basketball great himself, but his dreams of stardom were traded in for a hasty marriage and parenthood. Born into a house haunted by wasted talent, alcoholism, and death, will Jimmy fall victim to the Kirkus Curse or break it once and for all?
In the same vein as the wildly popular Friday Night Lights, Rules for Becoming a Legend uses sports as a lens through which to understand family, community, catastrophe, and hope. This spirit-igniting debut announces Lane as an extraordinary young writer to watch.
Synopsis
"For its darkness and its glee, I loved this novel." —Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore A high school music festival goes awry when a young prodigy disappears from a hotel room that was the site of a famous murder/suicide fifteen years earlier, in a whip-smart novel sparkling with the dark and giddy pop culture pleasures of The Shining, Agatha Christie, and Glee
Synopsis
"For its darkness and its glee, I loved this novel." —Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbras 24-Hour Bookstore A high school music festival goes awry when a young prodigy disappears from the most infamous room in the Bellweather Hotel, in a whip-smart novel sparkling with dark and giddy humor Fifteen years ago, a murder-suicide in room 712 rocked the grand old Bellweather Hotel and the young bridesmaid who witnessed it, Minnie Graves. Now hundreds of high school musicians, including quiet bassoonist Rabbit Hatmaker and his brassy diva twin, Alice, have gathered in its cavernous, crumbling halls for the annual Statewide festival; Minnie has returned to face her demons; and a colossal snowstorm is threatening to trap them all in the hotel. Then Alice's roommate goes missing—from room 712. The search for her entwines an eccentric cast of characters: conductors and caretakers, failures and stars, teenagers on the verge and adults trapped in memories. For everyone has come to the Bellweather with a secret, and everyone is haunted. Bellweather Rhapsody is a genre-bending page-turner, full of knowing nods to pop culture classics from The Shining to Agatha Christie to Glee. But its pleasures are beautifully deepened by Kate Racculia's skill with her characters, her melancholy, affecting writing about music, and her fearlessness about the loss and darkness that underline the truest humor. This is a wholly winning new novel from a writer to watch.
About the Author
"Jonathan Tropper is a genius."
-Jane Green
"Jonathan Tropper is the new breed of novelist who writes for men and women with ease and grace."
-Haven Kimmel
"A beautifully crafted book of enormous heart . . . utterly magnificent."
-Augusten Burroughs on The Book of Joe
"Tropper's book is a smart comedy of inappropriate behavior at an inopportune time."
-Publishers Weekly on How to Talk to a Widower
"A mixture of mourning and mockery . . . surprisingly moving."
-Entertainment Weekly on How to Talk to a Widower
Table of Contents
The Program Prelude: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1982
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1997
Andante Misterioso
1. Heaven Help Me for the Way I Am. . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Rabbit Makes an Entrance.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3. Roommates and Mothers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4. Natalie Takes the Elevator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5. The Face of the Bellweather.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6. Bad Rabbit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
7. Who You Are.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
8. Alice Sees the Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1997
Scherzo Agitato
9. Clear as Crystal.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
10. Return of the Unremarkable Cupcake.. . . . . 115
11. Alice in the Morning.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
12. Declarations.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
13. Dangerous Girls.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
14. Big Dance Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
15. Surprises.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
16. In the Dark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1997
Allegro Furioso
17. Alice, the Next Morning.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
18. I Want to Believe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
19. Connections.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
20. Accelerando. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
21. Solo Viola. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
22. What Hastings Saw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
23. Found.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
24. Lost.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1997
Grave e Cantabile
25. Only One Afternoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
26. Songs for Two Voices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
27. Hatmakers Descending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Postlude: AND AFTER
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Jonathan Tropper