Thank you so much Random House for sending me this advanced copy! I loved “Fleishman Is in Trouble” and this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. And WOW my expectations were surpassed. I cannot stop thinking about this book. 

Wealthy businessman Carl Fletcher was kidnapped on his own property in 1980 to be returned safely days later. But those few days forever changed him and his family. 40 years later, his three kids are adults and all struggling in different ways, trying so hard to cope in any way they can. 

Brodesser-Akner based this story on a real family she knew with a kidnapping like this, wondering what trauma does to a family. She layered in inherited Jewish trauma, seen differently between the generations of this family. Class, the American Dream, Antisemitism, etc are explored here in a way I can’t stop thinking about. The three meanings of the title woven throughout the book are also very complex. The structure of this book is interesting: each adult child has their own chapter and essentially hits rocks bottom. My anxiety was high while reading this, but I also laughed often, highlighted beautiful passages, and cried. What a powerful and deep book.

✨Content Warnings: Kidnapping, Death of a Parent, Graphic Sexual Content, Antisemitism, Addiction, Panic Attacks, Infidelity Misogyny, Classism, Racism