The Book of Joe

A Novel

By: Jonathan Tropper

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Right after high school, Joe Goffman left sleepy Bush Falls, Connecticut, and never looked back. Then he wrote a novel savaging everything in town, a novel that became a national best seller and a huge hit movie. Fifteen years later, Joe is struggling to avoid the sophomore slump with his next novel when he gets a call: his father's had a stroke, so it's back to Bush Falls for the town's most famous pariah.

His brother avoids him, his former classmates beat him up, and the members of the book club just hurl their copies of Bush Falls at his house. But with the help of some old friends, Joe discovers that coming home isn't all bad - and that maybe the best things in life are second chances.

Fans of Nick Hornby and Jennifer Weiner will love this book, by turns howling funny, fiercely intelligent, and achingly poignant. As evidenced by The Book of Joe's success in both the foreign and movie markets, Jonathan Tropper has created a compelling, incredibly resonant story.

©2004 Jonathan Tropper (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A beautifully crafted book of enormous heart, humility, wit, honesty, and vulnerability. You want to call your friends at 3 a.m. and read whole passages out loud. You want to press it into the hands of strangers. You cannot stop thinking about it because it has rearranged your very molecules. You know that kind of book? This is that kind of book. The Book of Joe is utterly magnificent. I wish I'd written it myself. "(Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors)

"The Book of Joe is an elegiac, wickedly observant look at a small town and its secrets. In Jonathan Tropper's highly readable novel, the problem isn't that you can't go home again, it's that eventually you have to, whether you like it or not." (Tom Perrotta, author of Election and Joe College)

"[Tropper] does it with wit, insight, and a lot of fun cultural references." (Booklist)

Ehh.

Maybe this story resonates with men a bit better, but it was just another story that passed the time for me. It had moments of humor, but ultimately didn't do it for me.

Great performance by Scott Brick!

I heard about this book by watching a video of narrator Scott Brick in which he said it was his personal favorite of all his performances. Since he is among my favorite narrators, I decided to download it and am very glad I did. A predictable plot (it's pretty easy to imagine what would happen if you were to leave your small home town for the big city, write a novel that profoundly insults everyone back home, then return home 20 years later) is rescued by a black comic sensibility and great writing that had me laughing out loud one moment and crying actual tears the next. As promised, Mr. Brick delivered a perfect reading of this memorable novel.

Interesting story

The description says the book is "by turns howling funny, fiercely intelligent, and achingly poignant." Lose the adjectives and I'd agree. Well-written.

Enjoyable but nothing special

This book has all the elements of a good made-for-tv movie - the main character is flawed enough to be interesting but not so much that he's unlikable, there's a good cast of supporting characters, and the story-line, while predictable, is still compelling enough to keep you from changing the channel. I enjoyed the listen and suspect that this is due in large part to the Scott Brick's excellent narration. Not sure I'd advocate spending a precious credit on this one, but I would recommend getting it when it goes on sale.

Great Read

Would you consider the audio edition of The Book of Joe to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the narrator's version very much. The story is interesting and leaves room for thought. We read it in our book club and it led to a lively discussion

Loved every minute of it!!

this book is clever, witty and absolutely hilarious!! I have been recommending it to everyone I know and will probably listen to it again.

Emotional Genius!

I have NEVER cried so much at a book that made me so happy and spent. My first Tropper novel and definitely not my last. I just need some time recover from the emotional rollercoaster that is The Book of Joe.

Très bien écrit, narrateur excellent, histoire bof

J'ai beaucoup apprécié le style de l'auteur, le narrateur est parfait, mais j'ai été déçue par l'intrigue même si les thèmes abordés sont intéressants.

Fun, great plot, well presented

I LOVED this audiobook and have listened to it many times. Well reminiscent for those of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s, with Springsteen references an added bonus -- and for those of us still trying to "grow up" in various ways. The storyline, however, is reflective of things still going on today and still very pertinent. Very well presented, also. Did not find it shallow as suggested by a previous reviewer, although can see where that idea might grab one --but this is a character who is trying to be shallow to aid living in denial, but just can't carry it off because the truth keeps staring him down. Great on all points.

Witty, but a little depressing

The author has such a distinct way of writing that really shows his wit & ability to characterize what so many of us think on an everyday basis. I really enjoyed the "connection" this gives to Joe. However, the story itself is pretty dark. Even though there are great lessons to be learned as he makes his way through this journey~ the topic itself was too much of a downer for me to thoroughly enjoy the book. I also found it annoying that a lot of the story was about him writing a story as an author. After awhile it made me feel "stupid" for connecting to this character. After all this is only a book that was written & it made me too conscious of this is all just made up to begin with.