This Is Where I Leave You

By: Jonathan Tropper

Narrated by: Ramon De Ocampo

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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 14-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.

©2009 Jonathan Tropper (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"The affectionate, warts-and-all portrayal of the Foxmans will have fans wishing for a sequel (and clamoring for all things Tropper)." (Amazon.com review)
"Tropper strikes an excellent balance between the family history and its present-day fallout, proving his ability to create touchingly human characters and a deliciously page-turning story." ( Publishers Weekly)

After the candles scene, it’s all downhill

This is a book about a self indulgent, whiny guy who judges all women by whether he’s willing to have sex with them. Above a certain age, they’re too old for sex and, thus, must also be judged harshly based on age and looks. Thank goodness girls were off limits.

At the same time, he’s less attractive and certainly less charming than he realizes, making me wonder if his attractive wife is blind and deaf or just an idiot. Although the book is supposed to be about sitting shiva for the dead dad, it’s really not. It’s caustic criticism of women, some fun antics, a few moments of existentialism, and a lot of a narrator who is too oblivious to realize he’s a jerk. You’re supposed to root for him, but I was hoping for death or dismemberment of this fictional character.

I had hoped that the candle scene in the beginning, with its amazing comedic timing, was a hint of more to come. It wasn’t — it was the peak.

Story line great

The story line was great but was not prepared for all the swearing and sexual stories

Don’t miss this book!

I Love a book that makes me laugh out loud. This is a great story about a somewhat dysfunctional family getting through a sad but enlightening time. It’s worth a credit.

skip the movie, read this

I am a 27 year old black woman who LOVES dry, witty, UNPOLITICALLY correct humor. The movie certainly wasn't based on this laugh out loud novel, hollyweird has to make everything touchy feely and what they think is digestible. I loooved the narratorators emotionless reading as it made the emotional unavailability in each character (except for Phillip) shine!!

Loved the movie, so the book had a lot to live up to.

And it knocked it out of the park. I could relate a lot to where Judd was at in life. It was nice to hear someone explain it so well. The narrater was amazing too.

probably appreciated by younger audiences

I found this somewhat comical, somewhat predictable and a little too raunchy for my taste.

An engaging Dramedy

I love a good dysfunctional family story, and This is Where I Leave You features the ultimate family train wreck. In this book, the Foxman family gathers to remember their recently deceased father Mort. He wants them to sit shiva for a week, and that brings the family under one roof for socializing, reflecting, and fighting. Personalities clash, old wounds reopen, and secrets slip out in this dramedy.

The reason I picked this one up is because of the upcoming movie release. The movie has an all-star cast featuring Jason Bateman, Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Connie Britton, Dax Shepard, and on and on. I saw the trailer with all these funny people and it sparked my interest in the book. The movie reminds me of those dysfunctional family comedies like Little Miss Sunshine, The Royal Tenenbaum‘s and The Family Stone. And from what I’ve seen so far it looks like the movie is very similar in tone to the book.

The book is written in the dejected Judd Foxman’s POV. His life is turned upside down when he catches his wife in bed with another man, and now he’s grappling with his father’s death and dealing his siblings baggage and other skeletons in the closet. He and his three siblings may all be grown now, but being back at home (with the spouses and kids in tow) brings back some juvenile tendencies.

The tone of the book is darkly comic, and the book’s narrator Judd is wry and bitter. It’s one of those books where the situations get more and more outrageous, and you’re wondering what could possibly happen next to this family. There is an eccentric cast of characters that bring comic relief to what is obviously a sad occasion, and the revelations come on fast and furious.

I listened to the audiobook, performed by Ramon de Ocampo. His delivery is great, and his voice kind of reminded me of Steve Carell, so I was kind of imagining Carell as Judd when I was listening. The narrator has a deadpan style that gels nicely with the book, and de Ocampo delivers an engaging performance. There are a lot of different personalities for de Ocampo to inhabit, and he gets into character without going over the top. A quick listen, overall.

This Is Where I Come Back

This is the book that turned me on to Jonathan Tropper several years ago. I've since read all of his work in print, re-read several on Audible. With the movie version due in September, and with This Is Where I Leave You showing up in a recent BOGO sale, I leaped at the chance to re-read one of my all time favorites in audio. So it is now one my all time favorites in audio.

Judd Foxman recently caught his wife sleeping with his boss, so he is loveless, homeless, jobless, broke, and on the verge of divorce (cuckolded, as he says repeatedly). Then his father dies. He and his family have to sit shiva in his parents' suburban home, receiving visitors while revisiting every aspect of their past and determining the course of their future. Similar structure to all of Tropper's books, but each one somehow remains fresh, and this is one of the funniest of them all.

The cast of the upcoming movie is killer. Jason Bateman as Judd, Tina Fey as his sister, Jane Fonda as his mother, Adam Driver from Girls as his funnier brother, Corey Stoll from House of Cards as his serious brother, Dax Shephard from Parenthood as his donkey-hole boss, Connie Britton from Friday Night Lights, Ben Schwartz from House of Lies and Parks & Rec, Abigail Spencer from Suits, Tim Olyphant from Justified, and the underrated Kathryn Hahn who was hilarious in We're the Millers. Although Ramon de Ocampo doesn't do voices, he nails the passive aggressiveness of the Foxmans with his deadpan reading, and I could hear each of the actors delivering these lines in the movie.

Whether you've read it already or not, read it in advance of the movie, or read it afterwards, you will not be disappointed.

had me laughing out loud!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, very good story line. Funny when you don't expect it, considering the family's circumstances

Any additional comments?

too many questions in your survey

Never more than a minute from charming

After a few jokes early on that felt dated and pulled straight from the sarcastic-family-sitcom playbook, I was worried. But within minutes, the perfectly comically crafted dialogue and poignantly real relationships found their voice. Judd’s Gen X cynicism seems almost painted on at first, but the book does an excellent job unpacking his rich family history, creating a nuanced cast of characters and an endearing, totally believable profile of a man’s midlife crisis.

But the real staying power of this book is the unwavering humor in nearly every conversation, description, and anecdotal aside. Emotional distress is always turned around into fodder for the family’s scathing jokes, and the author paints a hilarious picture in nearly every scene of embarrassing intrafamily antics.