The Book of Joe

A Novel

By: Jonathan Tropper

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Connecticut, and never looked back. Then he wrote a novel savaging everything in town, a novel that became a national best seller and a huge hit movie. Fifteen years later, Joe is struggling to avoid the sophomore slump with his next novel when he gets a call: his father's had a stroke, so it's back to Bush Falls for the town's most famous pariah.

His brother avoids him, his former classmates beat him up, and the members of the book club just hurl their copies of Bush Falls at his house. But with the help of some old friends, Joe discovers that coming home isn't all bad - and that maybe the best things in life are second chances.

Fans of Nick Hornby and Jennifer Weiner will love this book, by turns howling funny, fiercely intelligent, and achingly poignant. As evidenced by The Book of Joe's success in both the foreign and movie markets, Jonathan Tropper has created a compelling, incredibly resonant story.

©2004 Jonathan Tropper (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A beautifully crafted book of enormous heart, humility, wit, honesty, and vulnerability. You want to call your friends at 3 a.m. and read whole passages out loud. You want to press it into the hands of strangers. You cannot stop thinking about it because it has rearranged your very molecules. You know that kind of book? This is that kind of book. The Book of Joe is utterly magnificent. I wish I'd written it myself. "(Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors)

"The Book of Joe is an elegiac, wickedly observant look at a small town and its secrets. In Jonathan Tropper's highly readable novel, the problem isn't that you can't go home again, it's that eventually you have to, whether you like it or not." (Tom Perrotta, author of Election and Joe College)

"[Tropper] does it with wit, insight, and a lot of fun cultural references." (Booklist)

Sorry to see it end

Jonathan Tropper’s ability to make you feel like his best friend is what makes his books so enjoyable. His writing is easy, believable and natural.

The protagonist Joe Goffman had a difficult time in high school. He was seen as a loser and his friends were no better. There were three important people in his life back then, Carly, the girl he loved, Wayne and Sammy, his two best friends who went through their own hell. Joe’s tumultuous high school years left him angry and bitter.

After high school, he chose to leave his small town of Bush Falls. More as a cathartic exercise with no expectations, Joe wrote a book dissing every one who ever crossed him back home. Never in his wildest dreams did he think his book would become a best seller.
Then came the call. His father had a stroke and after 15 years Joe would have to return home and face all the people he had maligned so publicly, and each one wanted a piece of him.

Tropper managed to create believable, rich characters. Disguised by humor, Tropper deals with difficult topics such as bullying, coming out, aids, family relationships and the frustrations and scars of growing up as the underdog.

The Book of Joe was one of those stories I was sorry to see end. Looks like there is a film in development too.

As usual, Scott Brick does a stellar job of reading.

Strap your self in and enjoy the ride!

Was it the narrator or the story that made me feel with in the first 5 minutes that I had wasted money on this book? Could it be the narrator painstakingly reading the book slowly or was that the way the author wrote it? Either way I was rolling my eyes. Now, after the story is finished I realized I was set up. They had strapped me in to the car, slowly climbed the coaster first hill only to tear down and around the track of this story.


Great character development, laughs, tears and wistfulness for your own youth. I first despised the main character, loathed his self destructive ways then I found him interesting. Joe's friend with AIDS touched me as did his lack of sympathy from his religious mother. Joe's ex-girl friend and his brother's wife wasn't who they seemed in the end. It gave the story it's fast curves, loops and turns.

Just like every ride, the end came as a cushioned but regretful end. The sudden weightlessness as you are lifted off your seat as the whole story came together at the end was a bit of a revelation to me. It gave me some insight on how I dealt with my husband's sudden death and my children"s loss.

Pay your ticket, strap yourself in and enjoy the ride.

Great book

Any additional comments?

Really great book! loved the story, the narrator's performance was excelent! the only thing that could have been better is how the author closes the book.

Loved It!

I thought this book was very interesting. Loved the characters and the storyline. An easy listen. Couldn't help but notice the resemblence to ABC's "October Road."

Highly Entertaining

Perhaps it's the time of life I am in (just faced my 20th high school reunion), but this book made me laugh and kept me highly entertained. There was no unnecessary tearful reunions or sudden epiphanies...just a slow unfolding of the story. I also like the way Tropper told a "story within a story" in the same, unhurried way. HIGHLY entertained...

Loved It

A good read (or listen!). The performers voice is very pleasant to listen to. Some parts are laugh at loud funny and others ver thought provoking.

My new favorite author

This is the second Tropper book I have listened to, and I haven't been let down yet. I love the quirky, early 30's characters that somehow can't help but mess up most of the things in their lives. I guess it is therapy for me - I don't seem half as messed up as I thought I was after reading about Joe's life! If you get this book, be ready to laugh out loud one minute, then be near tears the next. He goes through some tough subject matter, but in a way that doesn't seem too presumptuous or overwhelming. The characters deal with things the best they know how, and it makes for a very interesting story! Try it out!

Just what I needed to read....

Just what I needed to read! This book is deceptive: it is really funny so that you think it can't really be meaningful too, but then it turns out that it IS also endearing and heartwarming and meaningful. I will definitely read more by Jonathon Tropper.

Writer Returns to Hometown He Trashed in His Novel

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would like the author to tie up loose ends, and show some growth in maturity for his main character over the 17 years(!) he has been absent from his hometown.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jonathan Tropper? Why or why not?

I have read a couple of other, later books and found them more focused.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His portrayal of the self-involved, slightly whiny main character was pretty spot on.

Was The Book of Joe worth the listening time?

It was just OK. There were too many questions left unanswered: Could the main character have apologized for the book he wrote? Was any disciplinary action taken against the townsperson who tried to kill him? What was the reason he broke up with his girlfriend originally?

Any additional comments?

It was pretty unbelievable that the main character could return to his hometown after 17 years and almost nothing had changed. The same people still live there, playing virtually the same roles.

Riviting, thought-provoking, fabulous

This is a classic, and Scott Brick is brilliant. This book kept me happy all the way to Nashville and back...drama, pathos, humor....it has it all.

From someone who rarely publishes reviews.