Fleishman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

An insightful and astute look at relationships and gender roles through a, not unique, but still effective point of view and narrative framing.

Fleishman Is In Trouble details the marriage breakdown of Toby & Rachel, narrated by Libby, a college friend of Toby’s. Toby, a doctor at a New York City hospital earning a quarter of a million dollars separates from Rachel, a successful talent agent, who, with her income, dwarfs his salary. Toby shares custody of their two children and has them on weekends. The novel really begins in earnest when one Sunday evening, Rachel doesn’t return to pick up the children, doesn’t return texts, and doesn’t answer the phone.

Fleishman is an interesting twist on the marriage novel - a well-trod format - but it does approach things differently in that our protagonist is a male. It’s difficult to talk much about the plot without giving anything away, but suffice to say, the novel isn’t the one we expect we’re reading, and when it does finally open itself up, it does so with great effect. This is a feminist novel, written so as to perhaps lure men in and have them think differently about the way they view and treat women. We empathise with Toby, despite his faults, but marriage has two sides and we as the reader are made to wait for the payoff - but it is worth the wait.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

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