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Jul 12, 2017lukasevansherman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Jonthan Tropper is on my approved list of Jonathans, which also includes Ames and Richman. Unapproved Jonathans: Safron Foer, Franzen, Taylor Thomas. On the fence: Lethem. Over six novels, Tropper has staked out his territory: comically dysfunctional families, a fizzy cocktail of humor and pathos, sympathetically out of sorts males, mild to major tragedies. I really liked "This is Where I Leave You," which was turned into a suck-y. I found "How to Talk to a Widower" to the weakest of his books that I've read. Maybe it's because after reading five of them, they start to blur together. And maybe because there is just too much plot here. Protagonist Doug Parker has lost his wife in a plane crash and is writing a successful column about his grief, as well as sorta raising his stepson, who is having trouble at school and whose dad doesn't like Doug. Meanwhile his twin sister is pregnant and has left her husband, while his other sister is marrying a man she met while sitting shiva for Doug's wife. Then Doug starts dating, gets involved with a married woman, and develops a crush on his stepson's guidance counselor. Phew.