The breezy writing style and frenetic pace of this novel
captivated me. Toby Fleishman is having
to juggle his hospital work as a liver specialist with childcare duties, since
his estranged wife, Rachel, deposited their two kids in his apartment in the middle
of the night, ostensibly just for the weekend.
However, Rachel is still a no-show after several weeks, and Toby has had
to fire the regular babysitter after discovering that his nine-year-old son
spent hours looking at online porn during her watch. The irony of his son’s infraction is that
Toby has discovered the sexual benefits of online dating apps, in which women
frequently send him revealing and erotic photos of themselves. The first-person narrator of this novel,
however, is neither Toby nor Rachel; it’s Toby’s old friend Libby, whose role
in the story grows as the novel progresses.
The main source of suspense in this novel is the vanishing of Rachel,
not only because she has abandoned her children, but because she has also
checked out completely from her very successful career as a talent agent. I finally realized that the title applies to
both Toby and Rachel, perhaps even more so to Rachel, although this is clearly
Toby’s story. He has evolved from a too
short, too fat boy to a man with lots of relationship potential, despite never
having experienced the growth spurt everyone promised in his youth. He is quick-witted, smart, and reasonably
successful, although his career has been stunted by family responsibilities,
since Rachel’s demanding job prohibits her from participating in any such
tasks. Clearly, raising children is not
part of her agenda, and Toby is a willing partner, until he becomes overwhelmed
and mystified by the disappearance of a wife whom he chose, by his own admission,
because she was not crazy. Think again,
Toby.
No comments:
Post a Comment