The Book of Joe

About five years ago, I read Jonathan Tropper’s Plan B which was about a group of friends turning thirty and going through some large life changes. I liked it but didn’t love it – it felt a bit forced, too cute and way too derivative of The Big Chill of all things. But in looking back at the review I wrote for Epinions, it turns out I liked it more than I remembered. Perhaps this is why subconsciously, I grabbed two of Tropper’s books off of bookins.com recently.

The first one that I read was The Book of Joe, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t flat out great. Joe Goffman is an author who wrote a surprisingly successful first novel, entitled Bush Falls, which uncoincidentally is the name of his hometown. The book is a not so very veiled memoir of his growing up, and while he hasn’t been back home since leaving for college eighteen years ago, the locals there see him as Enemy #1. The book (and movie, apparently starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kirsten Dunst) brought a lot of unwanted attention to the town, and most felt mocked by outsiders. Additionally, some folks who Goffman painted very negatively still, shall we say, hold major grudges.

So when Goffman is forced to come home to attend to his father, who has fallen into a stroke-induced coma, he drives home wondering if he’ll be able to handle it. What he doesn’t expect – selfishly, it turns out – is the reaction from everyone there. Also waiting back there is his high school girlfriend (presumably, in the fake movie, Dunst) Carly. Carly is recently divorced and the reader knows instantly, even if Goffman doesn’t, that she’s his only true love.

So there is plenty of predictability, to be sure. But there’s a lot I didn’t expect, from the hilarious run-ins with locals to an astonishingly tender moment towards the end with his best friend in the high school gym. The Book of Joe feels as if it’s autobiographical, but only because it feels real and vivid. While it’s not perfect, it was an extremely worthwhile read and highly recommended. Interestingly enough, it was only after I had read it that I noticed a blurb on the back stating that fans of Nick Hornby and Tom Perotta would really like this book. Yep, there you go.

Rating: 8.5/10.0