Jonathan Tropper -This is Where I Leave You

Judd Foxmann is not having a great time of it. His wife has left him for his boss, he has lost his job, and now his father has died. Jonathan Tropper's fifth novel is much like his first four: it's an essentially sad story, infused with wit and observation. It's confronting but ultimately, hope prevails. It makes you think about life and death, but never leaves you confused.

These are all good things; the only problem being that Tropper has done it all before. Tropper's breakout novel The Book of Joe tells the story of a man who returns home after his father has died and confronts his past and present. This is Where I Leave You is about Judd Foxmann, who is forced by the death of his father to return home and confront... well, you catch the drift.

The Foxmanns are obliged to sit Shiva, a seven day Jewish ritual that brings the family together to mourn. Enter the sister in a loveless marriage, the older brother who hates everyone and the messed-up younger brother with a drug problem. Through the forced intimacy of Shiva, the family both falls apart and reunites. Their history is suddenly staring them in the face, and the present has its own problems and Tropper explores both with expertise.

Judd is naturally sarcastic, a voice Tropper adopts with ease, and he is the perfect vehicle for insight into this dysfunctional family. When Judd talks about his mother's breast implants you'll cringe with him, and when he replays old voice messages from his wife, you'll feel his crushing sadness. It's in eliciting empathy that Tropper has the greatest skill. He can cut through layers of difference and find moments we all share, laying them out deftly on the page to inspire laughter or tears.
 
Tropper ticks all the boxes for rom-com literature. Sex, love, aging, children and money are all on the agenda, but ultimately This is Where I Leave You is a snapshot of a broken family, told by a broken man. You'll instantly feel connected to this book, but in the end it seems almost too familiar.

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