Author: Jonathon Tropper
Read by: John Shea
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: Approximately 8.5 hours (7 CDs)
Source: Penguin Audio Review Copy
I will admit, when I first started listening to this audiobook, I was ready to turn it off. Drew Silver leads a very sad and depressing life. He was a drummer with a one-hit wonder band. His fleeting fame cost him his wife and daughter, and he now lives in an apartment building, the Versailles, full of sad divorced men like himself. They are a very sad lot also with depressing stories of lost families and lost self-worth. A lonely life filled with no love and a distance from all of his family members is the hallmark of Drew’s life. He is so down and out now that he and his friend Jack sell their sperm to a study at a local hospital. It was exactly during this description of the process of selling one’s sperm, that I was ready to eject the CD and move on to another book. I didn’t, and I am glad I did not.
Silver discovers that he has a heart condition and he will only live with a life-saving surgery, performed by his ex-wife’s fiancé, a man that he can’t quite bring himself to hate. Silver decides to opt out of the surgery and to spend his days remaining trying to repair his broken relationships and find meaning in life again. His main focus is his daughter, Casey, but he also spends time with his father and ex-wife, Denise. The book gets comical at times, but also remains serious. It overall asks the question, what makes your life worth living?
I will just say that by the end, I loved Drew Silver and his entire crazy family. The ending was unexpected and brought tears to my eyes. I found myself constantly thinking about this book long after its conclusion. I previously read The Book of Joe by Tropper and enjoyed it, but I enjoyed this book even more. It is a masterpiece.
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