Fleishman is in Trouble
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Reviewed by Jess
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‘Fleishman’ starts and ends as a completely different tale. You begin with a surgical dissection of marriage, from the perspective of Toby Fleishman, a liver specialist at a New York hospital who’s divorcing his wife Rachel and trying out a new life. His children navigate upper class socialite circles as dictated by his wife, he’s constantly passed over at work for grants and promotions and to top it all off, he’s a very short Jewish man constantly in the shadow of himself and the bullying he received as a child. And then, Rachel drops off the face of the earth. How could she do this to him? Why didn’t she care about being a mother or wife as much as she cared about her job? I felt for him, as the underdog, but I did wonder where the story was going at times.
But then came the jewel in the crown of this book: the final act dedicated to Rachel’s story, where @taffyakner surgically dissects womanhood. There are snippets all along at what might be to come, but you’re so absorbed in Toby’s world and feelings, the man’s perspective, that how Rachel feels is merely a sidebar. Here, I suddenly snapped out of how I had viewed her this whole time through Toby’s eyes. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see some of myself in her either. This is such a clever way of showing how society views women, forever through a man’s lens, cast aside as soon as they’re no longer “desirable”, how there’s no form for a woman outside of motherhood. The women in this novel are VERY privileged - their money provides access us normal people don’t have. But even then it’s still a man’s world, and there’s always concessions to be made for them. Always.
This book was on my radar for over a year - it took me ages to get around to reading it, but I wish I hadn’t waited this long. The writing is sharp, darkly comic, witty, and Akner really has a handle on social commentary, but it truly excels when she digs under the skin and picks out the truth. Whilst this book is a window into a society I’ll never be part of, there’s human stories in here that we can all learn from. Especially the female voice!!!!
