Gen X version of a Phillip Roth-like tale but with twists that make sense for a modern reader. I must admit that those Roth tales with their post-WW II era references always left me feeling lost and empty. I didn’t grow up with radio or Saturday movie matinees. FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE visits the same population but 2 or 3 generations later. Much has changed, such as careers as doctors no longer hold huge esteem, but surprisingly the ennui is similar. Author Taffy Brodesser-Akers is a marvel and worth following. This tale is worth reading and hopefully will be followed by more from the author. I can’t wait. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I could barely put this book down, I was so taken by the story. I completely fell for the unlikely protagonist, and then my assumptions were properly kicked in the ass by the last part of the novel. Now that I've finished, I'm a little sad that there's no more left to read.

Fleishman is in Trouble kind of drove me crazy. It is about rich, privileged people whining about how hard their lives are. How they just want to be loved- while they aren’t being lovable. And yet, I had to read the whole book. So I guess I was invested in the characters. The ending was disappointing yet appropriate for the tone of the book.

I liked the beginning of this book and the ending, but in between, it was long and long winded. This book has gotten a lot of buzz but wasn't for me.

As a fan of Taffy's journalism, I was eager to read this novel. It exceeded expectations. The writing was terrific, of course, as were the characters, the dialogue and the plot. Perhaps a stricter edit would've helped (it's longer than needed), and I struggled at times with the narrator character (a bit too omnipotent of things not witnessed). Yet those negatives are drowned by the things this novel gets right. Warning: This ain't for everyone. But if you're the right age and demographic, set aside time for a fun, vividly relatable journey. [About the 5 stars - I'd give it a 4.5, but forced to choose between 4 and 5, I gladly rounded up.]

At 41, Toby Fleishman finds himself divorced and thrown into the world of dating apps. While he’s busy seeing a new woman every night, his ex-wife disappears. Toby is certain she abandoned him and their kids out of spite, but there are two sides to every story, even a marriage.

I was a little unsure going into this book, worried that it would be yet another literary novel about a middle aged man finding himself. But I know and love Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s feature writing, so I trusted her, and I’m so glad I did. This novel turns those other novels on their heads in a wonderfully messy and feminist way.

It’s revealed early on that our narrator isn’t a nameless omniscient, but Toby’s longtime friend Elizabeth. Taking the story from her perspective gives our view of Toby a slightly judgy, bitter tone that is deeply enjoyable. She loves her friend, but forces us and Toby to see the true consequences of his actions.

I really liked how this book meanders in and out of memories. It feels true to the way memory works - recollections popping up here and there, but perhaps not in a totally accurate way.

I don’t want to give away too much plot, because the way this book builds and then crumbles is masterful. I hope you’ll consider checking it out!

“Fleishman” has received a lot of pre-publication attention as a book that takes on the “divorce novel” and makes it interesting. Told from the dual perspectives of Toby, a self-absorbed, self-congratulatory, somewhat sleazy doctor whose divorce is being finalized, and his college friend Elizabeth, who, while equally self-absorbed, is not nearly as self-congratulatory, nor does she view Toby with completely unjaundiced eyes. When Toby’s about-to-be ex-wife disappears, leaving Toby to deal with the complicated demands of his own life and that of his two children, we don’t know exactly why or where she is gone to, or if she will return. As we begin to wonder what Rachel’s side of the story is, she remains stubbornly gone. Ultimately, of course, we get a glimpse of her version of their marriage and divorce. While that glimpse does render Rachel more sympathetically, I felt like the truth of all of these relationships remained just out of my grasp.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such an interesting read. No crazy twist and turns just the story of everyday people.
told from different people's perspectives, 41-year-old doctor Toby Fleishman is in the process of divorcing Rachel his mentally unstable wife. With Rachel checking out for being a wife and mother Toby starts sexting random women he meets online with I thought was lol. There are some tidbits about the kids which whom I felt very sorry for as mom and dad are trying to get life right I felt the kids were neglected emotionally.

I was a bit confused with the different perspectives, when I thought it was Rachel speaking it was Elizabeth. (??) over this was a good read. Thank you, NetGalley & Random House Publishing, for this copy in exchange for an honest review. 3 out of 5.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This started out pretty interesting- a man going through a divorce and his dating life as well as dealing with his ex. Then his ex disappears and we wonder what is going on. The characters were portrayed very realistically and it felt mostly relatable.

Giving this a 3 because I didn’t like how this was written. It would jump into a third character without a lot of explanation and it was confusing. Would have been nice to have it broken into chapters or something. Around 60% in the book it just seemed to drag and I found myself skimming. Just a lot of unnecessary story. The added character I didn’t even want to read.

There were some interesting insights into being a woman and being a mother, as well as on marriage in general. It just really got bogged down with the story.

This was fantastic - compulsively readable (I polished it off in less than a day because I couldn't leave it at home while commuting to/from places), funny in so many of the details about relationships, New York, teens, and the various other details that make up the characters' lives, and sharp in the human way that none of its main characters felt like either the good guy or the bad guy - they all felt fully realized. If you're a fan of Taffy Akner's profiles in GQ and the NYT, you'll appreciate her sense for detail and framing of a story in this book.

What a dense, complicated novel FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE is. There is so much packed into the novel, and what the reader thinks the book is about continuously morphs into different yet surprising things. It is certainly a blockbuster, and I can see it doing extremely well this summer, but it is not for everyone. All of the characters are pretty uninteresting and unsympathetic. They are rich, yet sad (a story as old as time), and this makes the dense nature of the book frustrating as you more just want to know where the plot goes instead of burying deeper into their subconscious.

The revelation that this book is really about women is what makes it what it is. It was both surprising and not. But I think the impact would have been larger if the book was a bit zippier. It even makes the title of the book unexpected and not what I thought when I picked it up. Brodesser-Akner is an incredible writer, and I look forward to more from her, but hopefully about perhaps a different set of characters.

This is a gem. It won't be for everyone but it's got some of the most incisive commentary on love, marriage, moms, Manhattan, and so on I've read in a long long time. Toby and his wife Rachel have separated and now she's disappeared, leaving their two children, Solly and Hannah, with him. And she's unreachable. He's a physician and she's a talent agent (for want of a better word). I was initially a bit turned off by Toby's ahem, play dates, but once I got further into the novel, it all made sense. Brodesser-Akner has captured how a tween speaks, the yoga pants/tshirts with sayings thing, work frustration, dating frustration and so much more in the first 80 percent of the book. It's told from Toby's third person perspective and from the viewpoint of Libby, his long time friend up til that point and then we get Rachel's perspective. You'll think about her differently. I know I was able to relate to her experience. There's an especially wonderful explanation of the beef lo mein in the fridge. Thanks to net galley for the ARC. I liked this more and more the longer I read it. Two thumbs up- a terrific fiction debut.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow, this book was nothing I thought it was going to be. I was utterly annoyed for most of the first half. Reading about a doctor (Toby)who happens to be short and a little overweight perhaps suddenly becomes attractive to so many women on his dating apps. His ex-wife (Rachel) makes more money than him and is more driven toward climbing career ladders. She pays him support in their separation and Toby splits child care with Rachel. Toby is the one who is more present for his children and isn’t ashamed to tell people that. I appreciated that the author flipped the script for who was the career driven parent. All this made it so much easier for Toby to dismiss the fact that his ex-wife didn’t show up to retrieve the kids. Of course she would, in his opinion, be more worried about work than her children and be ready to inconvenience his dating life. Time goes on and Toby”s frustration rises with his ex-wife. Where the author takes the reader was impressive. She totally played with my emotions. The last third of this book is an essay on marriage, maturing and the equality of women.

Life is messy, marriage is messy, divorce is messy. This book takes on these topics in a sometimes humorous and insightful way. There was a little too much sex for my taste, and the characters aren't very likeable, but it was enjoyable to read. Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a talented writer and I would read more of her work in the future.

I love everything Taffy Brodesser-Akner writes, and her first (!) novel is no exception. A compelling, insightful portrait of a marriage and people facing middle age. This sounds like well-trod ground, but Brodesser-Akner's beautiful writing and the twisting, shifting perspectives make it exciting, fresh and true. Thank you to Netgalley and PRH for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This novel did not work in any way for me. None of the characters are likeable or sympathetic. And, the “twist” felt like a gimmick but didn’t save the novel for me.

I love Taffy’s writing and was excited to read her first novel. I have to admit, it was hard for me to get into the book at first and I nearly gave up—it was hard to connect with Toby Fleishman and his soon-to-be ex-wife Rachel was equally unlikeable. The narrative is dense and meanders a bit.

BUT I’m really glad that I stuck with the book because Taffy gives a really honest look at the big messy and complex truths in our lives—how we love, how we change, how love turns to resentment, how we often miss the mark with those we love—that left me with a lot to think about, especially when we hear Rachel’s side of the story.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Brutal novel about divorce and the aftermath. It chronicles the couple's lives and what happened prior to their meeting to detail the reasons for their actions that led to their eventual ending.

First, thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-galley of this book.

Fleishman is in trouble. His world is not as he hoped it would be. Toby, Libby and Seth are all friends from college. Throughout the ups and downs of their lives, their friendship has remained.

#NetGalley # FleishmanisinTrouble

I’m DNF at 25%. I love Taffy’s writing and was so excited to see she had a novel. I just can’t get into this. There’s so little happening and the writing is just so...dense. I so badly wanted to like this, it just isn’t happening for me.