The Book of Joe: A Novel
A man must return to the hometown he disowned in this “sweet, deft, and sentimental coming-of-age-at-34 story” (New York Daily News) from the New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where I Leave You
“An elegiac, wickedly observant look at a small town and its secrets.”—Tom Perrotta, author of Mrs. Fletcher
Fifteen years after leaving Sleepy Bush Falls, Connecticut, Joe Goffman wrote a savage bestselling novel about his hometown. The book went on to become a hit movie, making Joe a pariah in the Falls, which was fine with him, since he never planned on going back. But when a family tragedy strikes, Joe is left with no choice. His return ignites a maelstrom of hostility among the town’s still enraged residents.
As Joe walks the familiar streets of his childhood, he revisits the terrible events of his senior year in high school, and the heartbreak and catastrophe from which he’s never fully recovered. After almost two decades of hiding it, Joe will finally have to face his troubled past and start mending fences with family, onetime schoolmates, and a former love. And with the help of some old friends, Joe might actually learn something—if he manages to live through the homecoming.
“An elegiac, wickedly observant look at a small town and its secrets.”—Tom Perrotta, author of Mrs. Fletcher
Fifteen years after leaving Sleepy Bush Falls, Connecticut, Joe Goffman wrote a savage bestselling novel about his hometown. The book went on to become a hit movie, making Joe a pariah in the Falls, which was fine with him, since he never planned on going back. But when a family tragedy strikes, Joe is left with no choice. His return ignites a maelstrom of hostility among the town’s still enraged residents.
As Joe walks the familiar streets of his childhood, he revisits the terrible events of his senior year in high school, and the heartbreak and catastrophe from which he’s never fully recovered. After almost two decades of hiding it, Joe will finally have to face his troubled past and start mending fences with family, onetime schoolmates, and a former love. And with the help of some old friends, Joe might actually learn something—if he manages to live through the homecoming.
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Community Reviews
This is my second Jonathan Tropper novel and it has sealed me as a definite fan. I love his honest and unapologetic style. His novels are real--but surprising--and oh so witty. I laugh, I cry, my mouth drops open in shock. From the beginning, the reader feels like they are careening down from the top hill of a roller coaster, the story gathering momentum as they traverse the twists and turns, coming to a stop only after the last line of the novel. The Book of Joe is a grown-up book for those of us who come from small towns with all those small town secrets.
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