Fleishman is in Trouble tells the story of Toby, a successful NYC doctor whose almost ex-wife Rachel has vanished, leaving him alone with their two children. But is she the selfish, self-absorbed, neglectful mother he portrays?
Finally free from his nightmare marriage, Toby Fleishman is ready for a life of online dating and weekend-only parental duties. But as he optimistically looks to a future that is wildly different from the one he imagined, his life turns upside-down as his ex-wife, Rachel, suddenly disappears. While Toby tries to find out what happened – juggling work, kids and his new, app-assisted sexual popularity – his tidy narrative of a spurned husband is his sole consolation. But if he ever wants to really understand where Rachel went and what really happened to his marriage, he is going to have to consider that he might not have seen it all that clearly in the first place . . .
It’s been described as a Trojan horse of a novel, a sharp, dry portrait of the blind spots that come with male privilege and entitlement. But what did Laura’s book club make of it? Listen in to find out.
Book recommendations
Our recommendations for your next book club pick.
- Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
- The Course of Love by Alain de Botton
Notes
Articles mentioned on this episode:
- This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad (New York Times)
- How Taffy Brodesser-Akner Thrives on Stress (Real Simple magazine)
And for Kate’s personal all-time favourite Taffy Brodesser-Akner article, check out this one on Val Kilmer.
Curious to know more about Alain de Botton’s thoughts on love? Watch him talk about it here.
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