I know that Fleishman Is In Trouble is mostly set from the primary male character’s point of view to demonstrate that he’s a jackass. He doesn’t see it, because he’s not terribly self aware, but we’re in his head so we do. It’s kind of like when we start getting Cersei Lannister POV chapters. Toby Fleishman doesn’t realize it, but he’s a dick.
And I appreciate that. I enjoy the Cersei chapters precisely because we get to see from her perspective how she doesn’t see she’s boxing herself into a corner and it is fascinating. It just doesn’t work quite as well here for spoiler-y reasons I’ll get into later.
Our main character, Toby, is starting to get his groove back (as in boning) after his divorce when his ex-wife, Rachel, drops their kids off with him and just doesn’t come back. He’s been trolling for some app-based strange and now he’s suddenly put upon by having to take some responsibility for the lives he helped create – and he gets more insufferable from here. Oh, and he’s short, so that’s a thing you’ll hear about a lot.
Where the book completely loses me is when SPOILERS it becomes very obvious to everyone BUT THE CHARACTERS (so I guess just the reader?) that Rachel has suffered a very serious mental break and needs help. And like it persists for days. Weeks. It’s awful and as the reader I just sat there frantically flipping pages waiting for someone, anyone, to figure it out.
So yeah. Gotta say this wasn’t my favorite. It was hugely popular at the library and I feel a little took for having waiting so long for it.