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This Is Where I Leave You

By: Jonathan Tropper
Narrated by: Ramon De Ocampo
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Editorial reviews

Judd Foxman has not had a good year. Shortly after catching his wife in bed with his boss (a Howard Stern-like DJ whom he works for as a producer), he learns that his father has died. Not only must Judd attend the funeral, he then has to honor his dad's dying request sitting shiva for seven days with the rest of his eccentric family, including his sex therapist mom, older brother Paul (who's married to Judd's high school sweetheart), sister Wendy, and youngest brother Phillip, who leads a carefree life of hedonism. While a few of the storylines ring cliché (namely catching your wife with your boss), this book is anything but. The dialogue between the family members is realistic, witty, and caustic. And just when you're hysterically laughing at a scene, the next one sucker punches you with the vulnerability and authenticity of Judd's emotions.

Narrator Ramon de Ocampo delivers the right tone for this novel written from Foxman's point of view dry and defeated but the nasal quality of his voice is sometimes distracting and can even border on effeminate. Besides that, his pace is perfect, as well as his voice changes for the dialogue of different characters he really shines as Judd's mother and some of the older Jewish men that drop by to pay their respects.

While This Is Where I Leave You is very funny, the truly laugh-out-loud scenes are few and far between, with the heart of the book being the very real, and very emotional trials of Judd Foxman and the relatable love/hate relationship he shares with his family members. Colleen Oakley

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)

What listeners say about This Is Where I Leave You

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Hilarious... and stunning at times

You will laugh out loud - and I mean LOUD - at parts. At other parts I gasped at how this family talks to each other and some of the situations. Overall, I loved the story.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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catches you from the beginning

Would you consider the audio edition of This Is Where I Leave You to be better than the print version?

I wasn't prepared for the language or sexual description, but fairly new to audible books. The further I listened I actually started enjoying how he had a quite a sense of humor in those descriptions.

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The book is ALWAYS better than the movie.

The book is ALWAYS better than the movie. Hilarious, well written and so true. Great book.

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Good Story Line

Enjoyed the sequence of events and interaction between the family members with each other and non-family members.

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favorite

Any additional comments?

This is a harsh, funny and charming story about the dysfunction of families, the power of grief and healing, love in various forms and how no matter how crazy a family is they have your back and will support you in all your crazy glory!!!

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Excellent

I loved this audiobook and couldn't stop listening. The story is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and other times sad and moving. This book reminded me of David Sedaris's writing, if Sedaris were Jewish and wrote fiction. The narrator was excellent as well.

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Good book and great movie!

I liked the book but ending up moving on to something else and forgot about it until I wanted to watch the movie. The book is good don't get me wrong but the movie is great. The movie had a lot of good actors and actresses in it which made it all the better. :)

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Surprisingly the best read in years

I am not Jewish, not a middle aged man (or a man at all for that matter!), and have never been in any sort of marital crisis... but I identified so deeply with the main character. This is such an endearing story of love, loss, and family. I laughed through most of the narrative and cried in a few touching, honest moments. I am on my way to buy hard copies of this book for my brother and sister. Well done.... it’s early, but I know this will be a contender for favorite book of 2018.

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Review

It's fun and some good laughs. Absurd situations that are like Larry David. Good way to spend time when driving and not interested in concentrating.

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Funny & Touching!

I really enjoyed the story and it I hope that the movie follows the book, but I bet it won't!

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