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Tuttle in the Balance
Like many men his age, Ed Tuttle is having a mid-life crisis. He is bored with his job, uncertain about his faith, and unable to find love in the wake of divorce. Unlike most other men his age, however, Ed Tuttle is a justice on the United States Supreme Court.
As the swing vote in one of the most contentious terms in recent memory, Justice Tuttle holds the future of the nation in his hands, a tall order for someone who can barely make it through a weekend without making a monumental life mistake.
In this hilarious and poignant debut novel, Jay Wexler—law professor, humor writer, and former law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—reminds us that power is wielded by real, often emotionally fragile people and that nobody, regardless of how successful, powerful, rich, intelligent, lucky, or influential they may be, is immune from the feelings of restlessness, doubt, and anxiety that are inherent in living in the modern world.
As the swing vote in one of the most contentious terms in recent memory, Justice Tuttle holds the future of the nation in his hands, a tall order for someone who can barely make it through a weekend without making a monumental life mistake.
In this hilarious and poignant debut novel, Jay Wexler—law professor, humor writer, and former law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—reminds us that power is wielded by real, often emotionally fragile people and that nobody, regardless of how successful, powerful, rich, intelligent, lucky, or influential they may be, is immune from the feelings of restlessness, doubt, and anxiety that are inherent in living in the modern world.
250 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 2015
About the author
Jay Wexler
8 books53 followersJay Wexler has taught at the Boston University School of Law since 2001. He studied religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School and law at Stanford, and worked as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He has published numerous academic articles, essays, and reviews, as well as over three dozen short stories and humor pieces in outlets such as The Boston Globe, Huffington Post, Mental Floss, the New Yorker, Newsweek, Salon, Slate, Spy, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Wexler lives in Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 5, 2023
I did not vibe with this book at all. Tuttle is a mostly competent lawyer, bored with being on the supreme court, and very aware of how bogus the court is. But he doesn't care except that it's boring. His wife left him because he was a bad husband, and he is horny. He wanders around, hanging out with his dude-bro friend, sleeping with anyone who will go for it, feeling sorry for himself when he gets an STD, and in general being a jerk.
I have no idea what to do with the end. I mean, I
It's a book for the club that is doing supreme court issues, but I think the previous funny book I read for that covered all the same ground but with much more likable characters? Like this guy would be friends with the baddie from that book, so it was hard to root for him. But it does show how devoid of ethics supreme court justices are, and how dangerous it is to hand them so much power. No answers about where to put that power though.
I have no idea what to do with the end. I mean, I
It's a book for the club that is doing supreme court issues, but I think the previous funny book I read for that covered all the same ground but with much more likable characters? Like this guy would be friends with the baddie from that book, so it was hard to root for him. But it does show how devoid of ethics supreme court justices are, and how dangerous it is to hand them so much power. No answers about where to put that power though.
March 15, 2016
If you're looking for fan fiction about the federal Supreme Court, this is your book. Light on the law (but not too light) and heavy on character development, it was engaging romp through the marble halls. Wexler crafts some clever, yet comically flawed, characters; it was fun to see the author put these characters through their tribulations. Sure, at times the story drifted into the absurd (Freddy for President!), but it was ultimately a delightful (and quick) read.
October 31, 2017
I don't often read humor, but thought I'd give this a try, as it sounded really funny. Also, I am an attorney, and figured it would all resonate with me (even though I have never argued a case before the Supreme Court). I did find it laugh-aloud funny at times, and most of the rest of the time smile-worthy, and at the very least, charming and endearing in a way. Definitely well-worth reading, if you find the idea of a SCOTUS justice going through a mid-life crisis, joining Taoism philosophy reading-clubs, trying to get laid, making ill-advised passes at the Chief Justice (a female), running off to Vegas with his former college buddy to go on a gambling/drinking bing, etc. etc.
(I liked it better than "Supreme Courtship," which was probably better written, but sort of fizzled the last 1/3 of the book).
(I liked it better than "Supreme Courtship," which was probably better written, but sort of fizzled the last 1/3 of the book).
December 16, 2015
Ed was such an endearing character! This book keeps you entertained for all of its pages. It made me laugh out loud and wonder what type of shenanigans go on in the chambers of the Supreme Court. It was the perfect Saturday read for me. I won this in a goodreads giveaway and couldn't be more stoked!
February 5, 2018
Very entertaining novel about a Supreme Court Justice who is bored and having a midlife crisis. Enjoyed this very much.
July 2, 2023
Ed Tuttle is a Supreme Court justice who gets distracted by his rediscovered horniness. I found this amusing sometimes, the situations Tuttle gets himself into tended to be amusing. However, it's hard to generate much concern for Tuttle as his extreme privilege means he's going to wind up just fine.
It took me a lot to get into this book, as the beginning was less funny than the middle and end, but I found it easier to read the more Tuttle made bad decisions that burned him.
It took me a lot to get into this book, as the beginning was less funny than the middle and end, but I found it easier to read the more Tuttle made bad decisions that burned him.
May 19, 2021
This was a cool little novel. It started slow, but progressively got better. It helped to be knowledgeable about the Supreme Court, but it wasn't necessary.
May 3, 2024
Promising premise, but it ended but just being an amalgamation of a National Lampoon and Nancy Meyers movie.
December 27, 2020
[bird noises]
December 30, 2015
I was actually pretty disappointed in this, although I'm not sure my reasons are totally fair.
The pitch to this was essentially "Anthony Kennedy-like figure goes through mid-life crisis during a critical term on the Supreme Court." Personally, the part I was interested was the "comic novel set on the Supreme Court bench" part of it, and less the mid-life crisis part. Unfortunately, the emphasis here was the other way around.
There are some funny moments and the parts set in the Supreme Court are pretty interesting, but the story would glance in that direction and then head right back into the struggles of a wealthy, powerful, troublingly un-self-aware man bemoaning how unsatisfied he is with his phenomenally-even-by-the-standards-of-a-wealthy-and-powerful-man successful and interesting life, largely separate from the details of that life.
I do think that Ed Tuttle is intentionally written as something of an unsympathetic main character, and I might enjoy this more on reread when I know what I'm getting into, but on first read it was simply not the book I was hoping it was going to be.
The pitch to this was essentially "Anthony Kennedy-like figure goes through mid-life crisis during a critical term on the Supreme Court." Personally, the part I was interested was the "comic novel set on the Supreme Court bench" part of it, and less the mid-life crisis part. Unfortunately, the emphasis here was the other way around.
There are some funny moments and the parts set in the Supreme Court are pretty interesting, but the story would glance in that direction and then head right back into the struggles of a wealthy, powerful, troublingly un-self-aware man bemoaning how unsatisfied he is with his phenomenally-even-by-the-standards-of-a-wealthy-and-powerful-man successful and interesting life, largely separate from the details of that life.
I do think that Ed Tuttle is intentionally written as something of an unsympathetic main character, and I might enjoy this more on reread when I know what I'm getting into, but on first read it was simply not the book I was hoping it was going to be.
January 14, 2017
A good premise for a book but the execution fell flat. The beginning suggests the end and the middle seemed very much like random filler.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews