Book ~ "How to Talk to a Widower" (2008) Jonathan Tropper

From GoodReads ~ Doug Parker is a widower at age twenty-nine, and in his quiet suburban town, that makes him something of a celebrity—the object of sympathy, curiosity, and, in some cases, unbridled desire. But Doug has other things on his mind. First there's his sixteen year-old stepson, Russ: a once-sweet kid who now is getting into increasingly serious trouble on a daily basis. Then there are Doug's sisters: his bossy twin, Clair, who's just left he husband and moved in with Doug, determined to rouse him from his Grieving stupor. And Debbie, who's engaged to Doug's ex-best friend and manically determined to pull off the perfect wedding at any cost. Soon Doug's entire nuclear family is in his face. And when he starts dipping his toes into the shark-infested waters of the second-time around dating scene, it isn't long before his new life is spinning hopelessly out of control, cutting a harrowing and often hilarious swath of sexual missteps and escalating chaos across the suburban landscape.

Lady Banana had recently read this and recommended it so I thought I'd check it out.

It took me a couple chapters to get into it and I'm glad I stuck with it.

I enjoyed the writing style ... most of the time it was funny and sarcastic. It's almost like Doug was talking to me. As I was reading this, I could imagine it being made into a movie.

I felt bad for Doug. He was widowed before he was 30. He thought he had found "the one" in Hailey (who was more than ten years older than him) and would spend the rest of his life with her. But when she is killed in a plane crash, his life is destroyed and he has to find a way to rebuild it ... but he doesn't want to. Instead he spends his days and nights with his buddy, Jack Daniels. A year later, the bathroom still has her products on the counter and her red bra is still hanging on the back of the door where she'd left it.

His thought processes are interesting ... he blames Hailey for catching that plane, he blames himself for letting her leave on the business trip, he blames her because now he has to start all over again, etc.

His family are characters but I liked them ... all are hurting over things in their lives and trying to makes the best of it.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it ... it's happy and sad at the same time.