Jonathan Tropper is an author whose books very much inspired me during the writing of Last Wishes.
I even told my cover designer to create something similar to a Tropper cover, and I believe she did a great job.
According to Jonathan Tropper’s Wikipedia page:
The themes of his books appear to stem from his personal experiences: they deal with topics such as being single, growing up, getting married, being married, getting divorced, and living in suburbia.
Tropper’s hometown of New Rochelle in Westchester County, New York, is a main source of inspiration when creating the characters and settings in his books.
As with Tropper, Last Wishes deals with Danny Meacham’s singleness, his arrested development, and a huge host of family issues.
I also made my hometown and various places in it the settings for my book.
I first discovered his work while browsing through my local Barnes & Noble one evening.
His second book, The Book of Joe caught my eye and its premise intrigued me.
I bought and subsequently devoured that novel.
In the years since I have read all of Mr. Tropper’s novels.
He hasn’t published anything since 2012 as he’s been working in television (which is probably more lucrative) and I hope he does.
Here are my favorite three Jonathan Tropper books:
(Please note, the hyperlinks are affiliate links, so I will receive a small commission from any subsequent purchases you make on Amazon)
The Book of Joe
Joe Goffman returns to his hometown of Bush Falls when his father falls ill.
15 years before he left right after high school and went on to write a merciless novel about the town and its people.
His return to Bush Falls is not a welcome one — even by the book club that throws copies of his book at him when they see him.
This is however a story of reconciliation, not only between Joe, his family, and the town but also with Joe and his best friend Wayne who is not critically ill and his high school girlfriend Carly.
The Book of Joe made me cry and want to write something as funny and as poignant someday.
I hope that Last Wishes has achieved this.
How to Talk To A Widower
The title of this book initially turned me off, but a few chapters in and I was already in love with the characters.
When we meet 29-year-old Doug Parker he is a somewhat recent widower and still mourning the loss of his wife.
So is his 16-year-old stepson, Russ, who keeps getting into various types of trouble.
This book takes the reader on Doug’s humorous and at times bizarre journey of emotional recovery as he seeks to rediscover his place in the world and begin living again.
How to Talk to a Widower is an extremely heartfelt book that I’m happy I gave a chance.
This Is Where I Leave You
This Is Where I Leave You was made into a movie but I didn’t see it.
The reviews I saw were lukewarm and I didn’t want the cinematic adaptation to take away from my love of the book.
Judd Foxman’s life has fallen apart as his wife was caught in an affair with his shock-jock boss.
Then his father dies and Judd must return home to sit shiva for seven days with his extremely dysfunctional family.
All the comedy and emotional outbursts you’d expect in such a story are there.
This Is Where I Leave You also has a perfect ending which left me wanting a follow-up book starring Judd Foxman from the moment I read the last sentence.
So if you enjoyed Last Wishes and wanted to read some of the work that inspired me, there are three novels for you.
Of if you’re already a fan of Jonathan Tropper, maybe I’ve made a convincing pitch for giving Last Wishes a read.