Fiction

Fleishman is in Trouble

Fleishman is in Trouble

  • Downloads：7533
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-27 08:54:53
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Taffy Brodesser-Akner
  • ISBN：1472267079
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Recently separated Toby Fleishman is suddenly， somehow--and at age forty-one， short as ever--surrounded by women who want him: women who are self-actualized， women who are smart and interesting， women who don't mind his height， women who are eager to take him for a test drive with just the swipe of an app。 Toby doesn't mind being used in this way; it's a welcome change from the thirteen years he spent as a married man， the thirteen years of emotional neglect and contempt he's just endured。 Anthropologically speaking， it's like nothing he ever experienced before， particularly back in the 1990s， when he first began dating and became used to swimming in the murky waters of rejection。

But Toby's new life--liver specialist by day， kids every other weekend， rabid somewhat anonymous sex at night--is interrupted when his ex-wife suddenly disappears。 Either on a vision quest or a nervous breakdown， Toby doesn't know--she won't answer his texts or calls。

Is Toby's ex just angry， like always？ Is she punishing him， yet again， for not being the bread winner she was？ As he desperately searches for her while juggling his job and parenting their two unraveling children， Toby is forced to reckon with the real reasons his marriage fell apart， and to ask if the story he has been telling himself all this time is true。

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Reviews

Armando Blanco ，

3，5 ⭐️ （Una historia adulta que habla sobre los problemas que existen en algunos matrimonios， y con un mensaje que pone a todos a reflexionar el cual es mejor descubrirlo uno mismo） Es la primera vez que veo a esta autora y me he dado a la tarea de buscarla y he visto que es un mujer muy reconocida， me quede muy sorprendido con la pluma en este libro en donde habla sobre los problemas que existen en los matrimonios y que además se tiene a un narrador secundario que es un personaje que aparece en 3，5 ⭐️ （Una historia adulta que habla sobre los problemas que existen en algunos matrimonios， y con un mensaje que pone a todos a reflexionar el cual es mejor descubrirlo uno mismo） Es la primera vez que veo a esta autora y me he dado a la tarea de buscarla y he visto que es un mujer muy reconocida， me quede muy sorprendido con la pluma en este libro en donde habla sobre los problemas que existen en los matrimonios y que además se tiene a un narrador secundario que es un personaje que aparece en la novela y que es muy cercano al protagonista。 Así que vemos una perspectiva muy completa que he admirado demasiado， no se encuentra uno muy seguido una novela como esta con tantos temas que trata y que además nos da una historia en donde no queda nada suelto narrando de inicio a fin la relación amorosa de Rachel y Toby。Ha sido maravilloso conocer a estos personajes， lo que si creo es que no es una novela para todos ya que puede llegar a ser una historia muy lineal con mucha descripción en los sentimientos， en las situaciones y en las historias del pasado que podría llegar a ser pesado para un lector que quizás no esta acostumbrado。 Mi caso fue muy diferente y he disfrutado de esta historia ya que a mi me gustan las historias que son muy completas como esta， que se toman su tiempo。Quizás un detalle que tuve con esta novela y que igual no es para tanto pero si quisiera aclararlo， es que el libro esta dividido en dos partes y no se cuenta con división de capítulos y cuenta solamente con separaciones， pero si uno quiere pausar la historia no hay tanto problema ya que en cada separación se ve algo diferente sobre la historia de estos personajes。 Reseña completa en: https://irresistibleleer。blogspot。com。。。 。。。more

Luna Trelawney ，

This book was sharp， funny and sad。 The first 2 parts were slow， the third part was partially redeeming。

Cvneeley ，

3。5

Trift ，

The writing was amazing， captivating， and I laughed a number of times。 However， I found this to pretty problematic and unrealistic， and it really pushed the limits of how many times I can cringe while reading one book。 I’m not convinced that Toby was messaging women who exist in this reality。

Marina ，

changed my mind after book club discussion from 1 1/2 to 3。

Dave Harmon ，

a good chance this will turn out to be the best book i read this year。 but maybe not; ill be reading The Red and the Black later。 this is a great book for married couples to read so they can take opposing sides with/against Toby （the humble， caring， hardworking， enduring， hero） or Rachel （that heartless money grubbing bitch） [winky smiley face emoji]so sort of spoilers: there is a weird first person narrator that you dont notice most of the time。 She is a stand in for the author and she is using a good chance this will turn out to be the best book i read this year。 but maybe not; ill be reading The Red and the Black later。 this is a great book for married couples to read so they can take opposing sides with/against Toby （the humble， caring， hardworking， enduring， hero） or Rachel （that heartless money grubbing bitch） [winky smiley face emoji]so sort of spoilers: there is a weird first person narrator that you dont notice most of the time。 She is a stand in for the author and she is using Toby to tell her story through a man。 the most important line is on page （1/x） of the typical married couples story （notice the the upside down picture on the book cover）The one thing I really didn't like was tobys failure to take decisive action- most importantly: CALLING THE POLICE！ Gosh。 。。。more

Amy Wunderlin ，

Beautifully written as expected but the most depressing book I’ve ever read。 None of the characters are likeable and maybe I’m too young for a book about divorce， but I could not relate to anything or anyone。 But then again maybe I’m just not deep enough for a book like this ha！

Ffion ，

I think the novel gave some interesting insights into marriage， divorce， having children and life in the upper class in general。 Although I don't know how accurate some of it was at times。 There was also way too much going on as the book follows a lot of characters but none of their stories seemed to actually get finished， which made the ending fall a bit flat。 The third person narrative was also very confusing at times which made the book quite difficult to follow。 Although the book was highly I think the novel gave some interesting insights into marriage， divorce， having children and life in the upper class in general。 Although I don't know how accurate some of it was at times。 There was also way too much going on as the book follows a lot of characters but none of their stories seemed to actually get finished， which made the ending fall a bit flat。 The third person narrative was also very confusing at times which made the book quite difficult to follow。 Although the book was highly rated by many， I don't think think I'd recommend as it just seemed a bit detached from reality in parts and difficult to follow because of the way it was written- good idea for a novel just poorly executed。 Having just finished it I now feel slightly disappointed。 。。。more

Rob ，

Interesting。 Parts 1 & 2 were entertaining enough， though I feared I was reaching the saturation point of "another book set in Manhattan populated by people with infinite time and copious money on their hands"。 Part 3 therefore came as a refreshing change and infused the book with a gravity that it didn't previously suggest it would possess， diminished only by a hackneyed destruction of the fourth wall at the very end。 Interesting。 Parts 1 & 2 were entertaining enough， though I feared I was reaching the saturation point of "another book set in Manhattan populated by people with infinite time and copious money on their hands"。 Part 3 therefore came as a refreshing change and infused the book with a gravity that it didn't previously suggest it would possess， diminished only by a hackneyed destruction of the fourth wall at the very end。 。。。more

Uxue ，

Some parts dragged a bit， but enjoyable overall。

Corrina ，

I think I’m just fed up with reading about privileged whites abs their first world problems。

Jennifer ，

This one was a bit confusing。 It left me feeling sad and a little， but maybe that was how I was feeling before I started it。

Clare ，

I'm not usually a fan of American literature。 But this style drew me straight in to the character's minds as it is written like a wandering trail of thoughts。 Fast-paced， uncomplicated language with long sentences for effect。I had expected a more dramatic experience for Rachel。 I'm not sure why。。。 maybe because we're led in the narrative to sympathise with Toby and expect that Rachel has come to no good。。。 maybe the Trouble in the title somewhat misleads。 So it loses a star for this reason。 Neve I'm not usually a fan of American literature。 But this style drew me straight in to the character's minds as it is written like a wandering trail of thoughts。 Fast-paced， uncomplicated language with long sentences for effect。I had expected a more dramatic experience for Rachel。 I'm not sure why。。。 maybe because we're led in the narrative to sympathise with Toby and expect that Rachel has come to no good。。。 maybe the Trouble in the title somewhat misleads。 So it loses a star for this reason。 Nevertheless， it is a really well crafted book with excellent character development， which made me laugh and made me cry。 It will lead any "smart" lady to question the point of marriage today。 Some may even reflect on the point of relationships altogether。。。 。。。more

Alida ，

Good read but unlikable characters。 So much angst！ Depressing really。

Cathryn Conroy ，

Reminiscent of Lauren Groff's brilliant novel "Fates and Furies，" this remake is whiny， whiny， whiny， as well as a quite daringly sexy read， but most important it is not as erudite， intelligent， or shocking as Groff's literary masterpiece。 In all fairness， author Taffy Brodesser-Akner probably doesn't think of this book as a "Fates and Furies" remake， but because the plot/structure similarities are unmistakably alike it's hard not to compare them。 And "Fleishman Is in Trouble" is a poor runner-u Reminiscent of Lauren Groff's brilliant novel "Fates and Furies，" this remake is whiny， whiny， whiny， as well as a quite daringly sexy read， but most important it is not as erudite， intelligent， or shocking as Groff's literary masterpiece。 In all fairness， author Taffy Brodesser-Akner probably doesn't think of this book as a "Fates and Furies" remake， but because the plot/structure similarities are unmistakably alike it's hard not to compare them。 And "Fleishman Is in Trouble" is a poor runner-up。This is the plot set-up: Toby Fleishman， M。D。 is a top hepatologist at a top New York City hospital， making a respectable quarter of million dollars a year。 But that's not enough for his wife， Rachel， who has her own creative agency representing actors and makes five times what her husband pulls in。 This is Manhattan in the 2000s and it's all about money because it takes a lot of it to buy the lifestyle of a tony apartment with the right address， private schools for the children， a house in the Hamptons， and vacations in Europe。 She is greatly annoyed that Toby just doesn't care about any of that。 Rachel is all about the money and prestige and impressing others。 Toby is all about loving the children。 Rachel and Toby's love story dissolves。 They separate。 They work out child custody。 But before the divorce is final， Rachel disappears and goes completely incommunicado， leaving Toby （who has recently discovered sexy dating apps and has become weirdly obsessed with them） with the children。 The novel has three chapters， all told by the narrator—unnamed for quite some time， which is incredibly confusing， if not actually disconcerting—who is an old friend of Toby's named Libby whom he met in Israel during their junior year abroad and hasn't seen since。 Libby is a former magazine writer turned happily married， stay-at-home New Jersey suburban mom。 The first chapter is from Toby's point of view。 The second chapter is mostly from Toby's point of view with a lot of Libby interjecting her own story， while the third chapter is from all three points of view。 After all， every marriage—and its disintegration—has two sides。I am willing to stretch my imagination for every novel I read and give the author a lot of artistic license。 But Libby as the narrator is just too much—even for me。 Libby is a distant friend， but somehow Libby knows intimate， incredibly personal details about both Toby and Rachel。 It is completely， eye-rollingly implausible。And did I mention it is whiny？ Oh， so very， very whiny。 Uber-privileged， rich white people who have everything in the world kind of whiny。One more thing: The ending is awful。 Very， very disappointing。Longlisted for the National Book Award， this is a well-written， satirical novel that is amusing and entertaining， although quite pretentious， but it absolutely does not rise to the level of great literature as its National Book Award nomination would suggest。 It is ChickLit。 And because of all the whining， it's not even very good ChickLit。 Just know you're getting ChickLit and not literature before you buy the book。 I have no idea why it's so highly overrated。 。。。more

Montanojennie ，

I found myself rushing to finish reading this book because by the end I found all the characters whiny and uninspiring。 A very cynical take on love， marriage and child rearing。

Kelly ，

A slog to get through the start but I liked the ending

Debby ，

Very engrossing。 Thought the first person narrator insertion was weird。 Thought the ending was too drawn out and odd。 Otherwise liked it a lot。 Toby is great。 The description of modern dating is great。 Some of the comments regarding marriage， oh so true。

Marilynn Leahy ，

If the rating were 0-5， I would rate this book a 1。 The author is repetitious with her story。 The story is confusing in that the author interjects another speaker during the story and which made me go back a few pages to figure who was speaking， with even doing that， did not help。 What husband， even during divorce proceedings， would not search for his wife， unless he killed her， which he did not， would not search for her after being missing for 3 weeks？The one positive， the author knows how to w If the rating were 0-5， I would rate this book a 1。 The author is repetitious with her story。 The story is confusing in that the author interjects another speaker during the story and which made me go back a few pages to figure who was speaking， with even doing that， did not help。 What husband， even during divorce proceedings， would not search for his wife， unless he killed her， which he did not， would not search for her after being missing for 3 weeks？The one positive， the author knows how to write a novel， a lot of thoughts and words are used。 I just did not like the story。 。。。more

Sandy Minea ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I thought I would like this so much more than I did。 As the story progresses you view the main character as the protagonist， and then it is revealed there’s another side to everything。 Once the other side was revealed I had a hard time even finishing。 Maybe my strong feelings indicate I liked it more than I thought？

Cathy Joseph ，

Fabulous！ This book takes you on many journeys

Shelly ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was thinking of the song "Ellen and Ben" by the Dismemberment Plan a lot while I read this， a song where the narrator isn't the focus of the story but it turns to them in the end。 I really hated this book for a lot of it， because I found Toby so odious， but trying not to be odious， but that was the point， and I knew it was the point。 I knew once I got past six pages of Toby's gross sex descriptions that the ending of this would have my sympathies align with Rachel， of course of course of cours I was thinking of the song "Ellen and Ben" by the Dismemberment Plan a lot while I read this， a song where the narrator isn't the focus of the story but it turns to them in the end。 I really hated this book for a lot of it， because I found Toby so odious， but trying not to be odious， but that was the point， and I knew it was the point。 I knew once I got past six pages of Toby's gross sex descriptions that the ending of this would have my sympathies align with Rachel， of course of course of course。 I should have assumed it would be feminist because of course。 It really made me sad and I hated the first half of it but it's what you have to struggle through to get to the good ending。 Which isn't the worst thing a book can do to you。 。。。more

Kathrin Peters ，

Moments of fun and genius but altogether a struggle。 Too cynical and boringly rude。

Treacy Devlin ，

I had to take a 6 month break or more from this book as it was arduous but I wanted to see what the fuss was about。 I couldn't think of more annoying people， or maybe it's that we had to hear about it。 I skimmed whole chunks at a time to finish it。 If I had a fire I'd use it for kindling I had to take a 6 month break or more from this book as it was arduous but I wanted to see what the fuss was about。 I couldn't think of more annoying people， or maybe it's that we had to hear about it。 I skimmed whole chunks at a time to finish it。 If I had a fire I'd use it for kindling 。。。more

Jen Hyatt ，

A novel for and about a very specific audience: white， upper class， Jewish New Yorkers。 The insecure， self-absorbed characters have midlife crises， their marriage falls apart， they screw up their kids， and they constantly compare themselves to more successful rich people in their social circle。 I couldn’t relate， or care less about their “problems” and was driven to distraction by the narrator， a friend who interrupts the plot and who feels absolutely unnecessary， even intrusive。 Although I appr A novel for and about a very specific audience: white， upper class， Jewish New Yorkers。 The insecure， self-absorbed characters have midlife crises， their marriage falls apart， they screw up their kids， and they constantly compare themselves to more successful rich people in their social circle。 I couldn’t relate， or care less about their “problems” and was driven to distraction by the narrator， a friend who interrupts the plot and who feels absolutely unnecessary， even intrusive。 Although I appreciated some of the musings about women in （or not in） the workplace， get that this is meant to be a critique， and found some general truths about the challenge of sustaining a relationship， I ended up skim-reading the last stretch， eager to be done with the Fleishmans and their insular， shallow， materialistic world。 。。。more

Richard Zinman ，

I really enjoyed this book。 The writing style， the pace， the wit and intelligence worked for me。 It was easy to tell that the author was Libby， the narrator。 However， I would have preferred if she left her personal animosities out of the story。 Still， a very worthwhile read and I look forward to more from Akner。

Karol ，

I read someone's review on Goodreads and thought， "I've gotta read that！"。 Started it and since I'm an old woman I couldn't really relate to the e-dating scene and thought， "Ugh！"。 So I skipped to the last couple chapters and could completely understand and relate to the thoughtful things I was reading。 I went right back to the beginning and started over and enjoyed the entire book this time。 The insight into relationships made me stop and think。 Highly recommend。 I read someone's review on Goodreads and thought， "I've gotta read that！"。 Started it and since I'm an old woman I couldn't really relate to the e-dating scene and thought， "Ugh！"。 So I skipped to the last couple chapters and could completely understand and relate to the thoughtful things I was reading。 I went right back to the beginning and started over and enjoyed the entire book this time。 The insight into relationships made me stop and think。 Highly recommend。 。。。more

Allison Stadd ，

Wish I could give this 6 stars。 Perfect。

Daniel Suhajda ，

I really enjoyed the first part of the book from Tobys perspective。 I was surprised and read through the short second section in one sitting it was so riveting。 But the end of the book ruined it for me。 The narrators story was uninteresting。 And her summation was tedious and unnecessary。

Molly ，

I resisted this book for a while— it seemed like it was having a moment and was too popular to read。 I picked it up after seeing it again in people’s hands recently。 For some reason I thought Fleishman was black and spent the first few chapters confused。 The book is good。 I enjoyed the meandering， long prose that revealed something about our inner selves， what we want， how we navigate the world。 I didn’t enjoy the sex— it seemed gratuitous。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Fleishman is in Trouble

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Fleishman is in Trouble&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Fleishman is in Trouble&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0