#105: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Source Material, Vol. 10

Hello readers,

I’m excited and nervous to be talking about this adaptation. Excited because it’s a fascinating case study in adapting a book for television where the author wrote the episodes and was show runner. Nervous because I’m not sure how hard I want to sell it to this audience.

The reviews are split on Goodreads with an average rating of 3.64. Not bad, but not great either. I gave it a chance after my bookish friend Michael gave it a glowing review. As soon as I started, I found it hard to stop. Tearing myself away from it felt like separating two pieces of industrial grade Velcro.

And yet, I’m split as well and haven’t rated it. It’s probably 4 stars with plenty of 5-star moments. I’m hoping to work out some feelings over the course of this review. Let’s get to it.

The Book

Published in 2019; 373 pages

The book opens with newly divorced Toby Fleishman, father of two, early 40s, New York City hepatologist. Toby is back in the dating game, except unlike 13 years ago when he was in the game the first time, now he has dating apps. And not just dating apps, hook-up apps! An entire world of sexual freedom and exploration is open to him that wasn’t before.¹ He’s in no rush for a new commitment.

But then his ex-wife Rachel disappears, leaving him fully responsible for his children. Rachel is not answering calls or texts. We are left asking with Toby: “What kind of mother abandons her children?”

The book is told through the eyes of Libby, Toby’s friend from college. The Fleishman marriage and divorce is from Libby’s perspective and much of what we get from her is what she got from Toby, second hand. It’s when we start getting first-hand accounts from Libby that we realize things aren’t what we thought they were.

I enjoyed the format and peeling back the layers of the onion. It nimbly moves back and forth through time. Wanting to know what happened to the Fleishman marriage and what happened to Rachel kept the pages turning and uncovered a universal truth:

Toby sat, stunned, and realizing that his entire problem in life was that he could still be stunned by information that revealed what seemed to be true most of the time, which was that things weren’t what they seemed.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s finely honed skill of observation highlights other truths that are so relatable: Relationships are messy. Marriage is hard. Having children changes everything forever. Some of her observations gutted me and brought me to tears:

For a few years Hannah would straddle being both people, and that was just the worst. Both for her, to endure innocence and maturity in the same body, and for him, to watch the innocence vanish in drips until it was gone.

Other observations felt cynical and vastly different from my experience. I think that’s why reviews are split and why I’m split — for some, her writing cuts to the heart of their own experience in all the best ways. For others, it feels completely foreign. For me, it’s a little of both.

The Show

Streaming On: FX Hulu
Starring: Claire Danes, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Eisenberg, Adam Brody

The format of the book lends itself perfectly to the screen. Lizzy Caplan, who plays Libby, does voice over narration that is natural and comedic and gets around the problem of understanding what a character is thinking and feeling.

Ms. Brodesser-Akner wrote all but one of the episodes and was executive producer and show runner. That hardly ever happens! So much of the writing from the book is maintained word for word. The knockout performances, especially by Claire Danes, visual language, and music are all additive.

This show made me cry in recognition. I recognized the people on the screen; I see them in myself, in my spouse, in my friends and family. It has heart and humor and I actually prefer it over the book (which also never happens!) I’d watch it again before reading the book again.

What did you think of Fleishman is in Trouble? Did it speak to you? I’d love to know in the comments.

Upcoming Source Material Articles

Plans are constantly evolving over here at Bite Size Reviews! Below you will find a few updates to previous announcements along with plans I have in the works.

TV series photo credit

• The Expanse Series —I love this series! Consisting of 9 books, 8 short stories, and 6 TV seasons on Prime Video, The Expanse is a rich sci-fi universe that I want to talk about. My plan is to cover one book and one season of the show each month, starting next week with Leviathan Wakes and season 1. Have you read any of the books or seen any of the show? Shout out to my buddy Chris Ricks for turning me on to this series.

  

• The Last of Us — I’m currently playing through this video game for the first time and it is a thrilling experience. I’m not a gamer! I have no idea what I’m doing! Luckily, there’s an “easy” setting. The series premiered on HBO last Sunday and will release weekly. I hope to play ahead of it and have a full review of both after the season finale in March.

• The Cabin at the End of the World / Knock at the Cabin — My plan was to read and watch the movie adaptation when it came out in a couple weeks. But…I really didn’t like the book. Not one bit. I can go into it if anyone cares to hear, but I’d also be happy to never think or talk about this story ever again. Sorry Paul Tremblay, your work has many fans, but I am not one of them.

That should be enough to keep me busy! What is keeping you busy these days?

Thanks for reading,

Kyle

1. Content warning: The book and show contain explicit sexual content and language that may be a non-starter for some of you.