Product Description

When Doug Parker married Hailey - beautiful, smart and ten years older - he left his carefree Manhattan life behind to live with her and her teenage son, Russ, in the suburbs. Three years later, Hailey has been dead for a year, and Doug, a widower at 29, just wants to drown himself in self-pity and Jack Daniels. But his family has other ideas... Russ is furious with Doug for not adopting him after Hailey died, and has fallen in with a bad crowd. Claire, Doug's irrepressible and pregnant twin sister, has just left her husband and moved in, uninvited, determined to turn his life around. Then there's Debbie, their younger sister, engaged to Doug's ex-best friend and maniacally determined to pull of the perfect wedding at any cost. Soon, Doug finds himself trying to forge a relationship with Russ, reconnecting with his own eccentric nuclear family, and reluctantly dipping his toes into the shark-infested waters of the second-time-around dating scene. It isn't long before his new life is spinning hopelessly out of control...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12359 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-28
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
"Humorous...but also poignant and moving -- I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion" (Philip Wicks The Bookseller )

"consistently witty, often insightful and full of strong and engaging characters" (Toby Clements Daily Telegraph )

"Sad, funny, brilliant, How to Talk to a Widower is one of the great books of the season" (Evening Herald )

Synopsis
When Doug Parker married Hailey - beautiful, smart and ten years older - he left his carefree Manhattan life behind to live with her and her teenage son, Russ, in the suburbs. Three years later, Hailey has been dead for a year, and Doug, a widower at 29, just wants to drown himself in self-pity and Jack Daniels. But his family has other ideas...Russ is furious with Doug for not adopting him after Hailey died, and has fallen in with a bad crowd. Claire, Doug's irrepressible and pregnant twin sister, has just left her husband and moved in, uninvited, determined to turn his life around. Then there's Debbie, their younger sister, engaged to Doug's ex-best friend and maniacally determined to pull of the perfect wedding at any cost. Soon, Doug finds himself trying to forge a relationship with Russ, reconnecting with his own eccentric nuclear family, and reluctantly dipping his toes into the shark-infested waters of the second-time-around dating scene. It isn't long before his new life is spinning hopelessly out of control...

About the Author
Jonathan Tropper was born and raised in Riverdale, New York. He attended the creative writing program at New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science, where he received a Masters degree. His novels have been translated into more than ten languages. He lives with his wife and children in Westchester, NY, and teaches writing at Manhattanville College. Visit his website at: www.jonathantropper.com.

Customer Reviews

No Timetable for Grief
This is a must for anyone who enjoyed "Friends", "Will and Grace" and those American TV movies on an afternoon. It comes from the same place; the humour and the poignancy are excellently executed.

It's a bit of a wallow, but rewarding for all that. Very much a book of the Aughties.

Doug, Russ and Claire are the lynchpins and the author details their psychological messes in a way that completely endears them to the reader. It is fun to be part of all this.

The surrounding Parker family again match those TV types we all know, but that is not to denigrate, but to praise: Tropper's writing resonates with fellow feeling and that's what makes it all so enjoyable.

This is not a deep novel, probably more sentimental than analytical. That's a plus because if that's the sort of book you feel like reading, you're in for a treat.

How To Talk To A Widower
I knew from the first page that I was going to like this book. It is extremely readable, very funny yet very poignant in places and the characterisation is excellent. I particularly loved Doug's dad - hard to say why he was so great without giving too much of the plot away though. Highly recommended.

Pretty good but not that memorable.
I could not find the depth in this book that others appear to have uncovered.
It is a potentially good story line but I did not develop any empathy for the characters as they were drawn quite thinly with highly predictable outcomes. There were a few set pieces that worked well and amused at times but as a whole I should imagine most people will forget the book within hours of finishing it. No bad thing in itself as for the most part many of us read to be entertained and it fundamentally achieves that.