Welcome to Litsy!

Not what I expected, layered story of the end of a marriage. Entertaining and fun.

I nearly bailed early on, and if the early behavior of Toby is bothersome, I understand but recommend pushing through. What the author does with the relative length of the three sections is brilliant. I‘ll be thinking about this for a long time. #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Last August #bookspin book review. I listened to this one over audio, it was long, 15 hours. At first I was a little unsure especially as Toby was exploring his new found freedom. I felt bad for Toby for most of it & was irritated with Rachel. But the last 2-3 hours of the book was just, wow. Maybe it resonated with me as a mom in her mid 40s & still figuring out my life. As a woman born into 2nd wave feminism as I was told I could do anything

2-5 Aug 23 (audiobook)
Funny but a little depressing. Toby‘s app experiences made me laugh but the reality that the wage of a medical specialist was not enough to live in NY and Toby‘s self-obsessiveness troubled me. I could understand Rachel‘s frustrations with him and her breakdown but found it difficult to understand how she could abandon her children.
An interesting book that provokes much thought about some deeply flawed characters.

I love how by the end, you're wondering, which Fleishman is in trouble. I think having the narrator as a 3rd party helps to understand the idea that there are 3 sides to every story.

6/2023

Fleishman Is In Trouble is multi-layered. I haven‘t re-read it (yet), but I‘m sure it‘s one of those books you can read over and over again. It's also quite a tense read, with a lot of back-and-forth (in the timeline, and emotionally). Beware of triggering depression or anxiety towards the end, particularly if you‘re prone to existential angst. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/fleishman-is-in-trouble-taffy-brodesser-akn...

Now that I‘ve finally read it I get why there was such diverse and great discussion on Litsy. I‘m late to the party. I didn‘t really like both Toby or Rachel and I was appalled by a lot of the their behaviour, but that didn‘t stop me from appreciating what this book had to say. I think it was clever in how it commented on men and women by reversing their roles in the marriage. This is a book that doesn‘t truly show itself until the end. ⬇️

Really enjoyed it. Midlife crisis in rich New Yorkers with strong feminist message to make the insecure male think

Sorry I just can‘t feel sorry or invested in the life of a rich privileged white man and his woes.

75% through...hoping it gets better because right now I'm feeling like it's going to be a 2 star read. This isn't anything like what I thought. 😐

I had mixed feeling about this book. There were some incredibly sharp and funny moments in the story, but not enough to save the book for me. I didn‘t care for how the timeline was presented and didn‘t have a strong connection to the characters. With that being said, the author tackled some interesting elements of “what could have been” as Fleischman‘s “back story” was explored. ⭐️⭐️ 1/2.

Not my cup of tea. It made me depressed about what marriage is to some people. How important random sexual encounters are to people. 75% of the time I was wondering what the heck is Rachel's deal. I guess we figure that out eventually, but still. 🤦‍♀️🤨
In case this review sounds too negative, I DO like how Toby was to his kids. So that's something. He's a good father.

This book knocked me off my feet. Right when I thought I knew what the story is about, Taffy flipped the switch and did it brilliantly. I couldn‘t put this down. Highly recommend.

I have mixed thoughts on this one. I couldn‘t put it down but found the characters extremely unlikeable...and that‘s not normally a problem for me, but I felt like we didn‘t get as much character development as I was expecting for a lengthy novel like this one. Also, the exercise in POV was impressive but I found myself asking WHY. Why is this character the narrator? Still a pick, still would recommend, but just not overall interesting enough.

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I loved this, which I expected to do, considering the number of Littens that also really liked it.

Does it say something about me that I didn‘t find Toby obnoxious?! Instead, I felt sorry for him and quite sympathetic towards him. I actually really didn‘t like Rachel though. 😬

And of course, I loved the NYC setting.

Recently hauled books, bought and borrowed, TBR and currently-reading!

This shines a light into the darkness of dysfunctional marriage and divorce. Brodesser-Akner captures the feelings and realities of shared parenting gone horribly wrong. She develops Fleishman from a horny divorced dude with kids to a full-time dad conflicted about love, sex, and kids. Sometimes I grimaced, others I laughed. And occasionally I thought the author was quite wise.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#IRLbookgroup #zoom

Wishing all of my Litsy friends in the U.S. or from the U.S. a Happy Thanksgiving day. May your day be full of peace and gratitude, even if (like me) it‘s not full of family. And if you‘re gathering with family, I wish you health and wellness along with all that togetherness.

p.s. Here‘s a peek at what I‘m baking, crocheting and reading today. Just Mr. B and I at the table today, for the first time in years. 🦃 🍴 🍷🥧

I loved every single page of this. My fear was it would be self indulgent and whiny. Instead it‘s smart, angry, funny and heartbreaking. I couldn‘t put it down and was completely immersed in these people‘s lives. I read it over the weekend in big greedy chunks.

I was bad.... I bought books.

Or actually, I was good....I donated to charity and received books in exchange! And it‘s the local Hospice and my new employer, so I‘m definitely showing commitment to the cause.

Been wanting to read the tagged book since it came out, and I know the other one gets *lots* of love on here.

It‘s a win-win situation all round!

I'm sad to say its a so so. I wanted to like it more but I felt it was a bit too long and couldn't get invested in any of the characters. Also the narrator confused me slightly, I kept thinking Toby was the narrator when it was Elizabeth. Maybe that was just me though 😏

I have never been so torn about a book before. First off, the writing is extremely well done and that's part of why I kept reading. As I was reading I felt indifferent about the book, then I hated it, and then once finishing it I found myself having a new respect for what the author was trying to say with this book.

The characters are insufferable, but finishing this book is worth it in the end.

Next up. This cover messes with my mind!

#3books #ivereread for bookclub discussions.

I don‘t often re-read, but when I do, it‘s almost always for a bookclub, and on audio (if I read it in print originally)
I love to have a book fresh in my mind when I host my bookclub.
Fleishman and The Wife we‘re both interesting re-reads, as it‘s a different experience reading a book when you know it‘s twist or ending.
Tiny Beautiful Things was my most recent re-read for last month‘s bookclub. 💕

Toby Fleishman struggles to balance his work as a liver doctor, parenting two kids with his ex Rachel, and dating in the age of apps, but it turns out Rachel has disappeared...

Read August 15-24
Rated 4.5/5 ⭐️
Book 34/60

8-20-20: My 62nd finished book of 2020! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #fleishmanisintrouble #taffybrodesserakner 👍🏼📖#️⃣6️⃣2️⃣

8-17-20: Starting a new one.....📖

Yes, it‘s hilarious. Yes, it‘s smartly written, and very well done. But what makes this book stand out, to me anyway, was the blisteringly accurate observations and the humane portrayal of deeply flawed characters. This book has such heart; even the more awful characters get an empathetic hearing. I loved it.

This book tho. 🤣

Plans for a one-day heatwave

For all the Fleishman is in Trouble fans, Taffy Brodesser-Akner wrote a short story sequel. Check out how Toby is coping during COVID.
Thecut.com/amp/2020/07/fleishman-is-in-lockdown-a-story-by-taffy-brodessee-akner.html

🎧 Unlikeable self-consumed thing-centric incessantly-horny 40-something A-holes. The only likable character is 9 years old. Toby‘s sex life, dating APP sleeze-pics 😴 so much repetition. A cheap last ditch plot twist with Rachel, Libby and an unreliable narrator. As a reader I feel cheated. Disappointed.

Men, women, marriage, divorce. Welcome to the sad upper crust midlife crisis. Glad I bumped up the playback speed to 2.5X. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an engaging book which kept me reading. Interesting narration alternating from third person POV and first person told by the main character's long-time college friend Libby. Toby's marriage is falling apart, he's trying to figure out how to balance his own needs with his kids and his job. Life is messy and this novel explores gender roles and how society judges strong women.

(One not to suggest to with my feminist book club?) it‘s such a well observed book. The characters are all flawed, irritating and worth my empathy. Agree with other reviews: a good book should spark debates and divide opinions

This book seems like a polarizing one and I can understand why. Toby Fleishman is divorcing his wife and finding his way in a dating world of apps. He reflects on his wife and why their marriage failed. I loved the tone of this book, but Toby‘s portion was so long, with only a brief part at the end devoted to his wife‘s perspective, which was vital to the story. For that reason, I gave it four stars instead of five. #redwhiteorbluetype #booked2020

Book 14 of 30 books in 30 days. This book starts out so ridiculously. It begins with the sexual awakening of a recently divorced white dude. Thankfully, the further I got into this the more the idea of having it all was discussed and I very much enjoyed it.

#botm picks. 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I‘m not thrilled with the June picks but that‘s ok because I still ordered two books that I‘m really excited about.

I gave this a good 80 pages but it‘s just not my thing.

I am so torn by this book. Pris - it had me laughing; it was an interesting character study on how people can see the same marriage differently
Cons - really just one, I very much did not like the narrator. I didn't like her voice, I didn't understand why she was in the story, I was jilted every time she started monologuing. It threw everything off for me.

Learning a new hobby and listening to tagged book which is making me laugh! No one told me this book was funny.

Fleishman has trouble with a lot of things, but he‘s good at physical distancing.
#quarantinereads

A story of a hetero marriage and divorce in today‘s world in NYC and exploring the family dynamics amidst the tumult. I didn‘t really connect with the characters. We largely hear Toby Fleischman‘s story, but at the end, we learn more about his (ex)wife, Rachel. Her story was far more interesting to me; I wish it was given more of the book (or that the book was shorter). But women are often overshadowed by men, right? So maybe it was intentional.

I just finished the work of art that is this literary fiction novel.

It follows 41 year old Toby Fleishman who is recently separated from his wife Rachel and is learning his way around contemporary dating apps while trying to raise his two kids abandoned by Rachel at his apartment. Rachel disappears and Toby must hold his life together. Expect many pithy observations on life.

Reminiscent of Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff. Must read!

“She always thought divorce would come from hate, but her anger was never based in hate. It was based in disappointment that someone she loved misunderstood her so deeply.”

I started it in the beforetimes and finished it in the wee hours of the morning #insomnia Reading about how we‘re swept along by our routines made more sense in the beforetimes, but the ending did a great job of bringing it home.

Insomnia has reared its ugly head but it has given me the opportunity to finish several in-progress books which is more than I‘ve read in a month. Not pictured here is Samantha Irby‘s latest which was a pick as was Lady Killers and Fleishman. Defending Jacob was just so-so for me. But I‘m looking forward to the Apple series.

I don‘t think I really appreciated how much I liked this book until I got to the end. The writing is good, and while reading I know I was invested in the characters, but the way the author tied everything together at the end and brought her points home were what really did it for me. Overall a very interesting look at human nature and why merely existing can at times be both baffling and exhausting.

Caroline! What a treat! Thank you so so much, I'm really looking forward to this! Sending hugs and peace 😘
@Caroline2

This was a real winner for me. The heart of this novel is what becomes of us, when we find we are unhappy with, and within our lives. It examines the adversarial behaviour that emerges when we feel trapped. At a deeper level, it is a story about how we lose ourselves in the routine and the expectations that structure our everyday lives. Powerful observations of the human condition, and biting prose won me over.