Relatively Painless

by Dylan Brody

"My only complaint is that I wanted more, which is a good complaint to have. It made me laugh and cry and then laugh again and then pee and then cry. Lots of fluids lost. But in a good way. A book to make you appreciate the tragically funny and beautiful horror of family."
- Jenny Lawson, Author Let's Pretend This Never Happened, Furiously Happy
Daniel Grunman remembers his grandmother telling him, "We're Jews. We don't believe in tragedy. We believe in horror, atrocity and injustice. And we recognize all of them as inherently hilarious."
The Grunmans consider themselves a supremely functional family, in that they manage a wry self-awareness about the drinking, the pot smoking, the long-seething resentments, the brooding jealousies and the perpetual, judgmental subtext. In twenty hilariously poignant flashbulb vignettes a family comes to light, revealed in lean exchanges of unconscious cruelty and recognizable evasion.
With deft, delicate brush strokes, award-winning playwright and humorist Dylan Brody delivers a family so specific that we fear we trespass on their intimacy. We observe behavior in such startling detail because our tour guide effortlessly guides us to those small bits that matter the fingertip manipulations of a cocktail napkin, the generational echo of an inflective grunt. We watch them behave, we hear them speak, we learn their tells.
Deaths, losses, betrayals and slights resonate along umbilical bonds of familial connection.
Secrets will be revealed. Son, father, mother and daughter will lash out at one another and reach out toward one another. Words will be spoken and silences will descend. Jokes will be written. It will never be too soon.

Genres: Fiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2020

Reviews

[Alex Bernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Dylan Brody's latest novel, the author weaves a hysterical, heartfelt tapestry of a family raveling, unravelling and then somehow marvelously re-raveling again. As a well-experienced comic and storyteller (check out any of his CDs if you haven't already), it would be easy for Brody to settle for simply telling jokes. Instead, we're solidly in New Yorker territory here with warm echoes of Ann Beattie and Philip Roth. So...young Daniel Grunman isn't so young anymore. His prodigy sister is reaping all the success that he was supposed to be getting. Meanwhile, every important lesson that his pot-smoking, intellectual, hipster parents taught him suddenly seems hollow. How best then to navigate a life? And what more can be learned while there's still time left? Brody invites you on a funny, frenetic, highly intimate tour of a family you'll realize you already know. Very highly recommended.

[Julian T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book doesn’t pretend families are neat or noble. It shows the drinking, the jealousy, the quiet resentments and still manages to find humor in the wreckage. It’s brave writing. Vulnerable writing. The kind that exposes uncomfortable truths but makes you laugh while doing it. That balance is rare.

[Robert Morgan Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I know Dylan Brody. And for that reason I definitely judged this very objectively as I'm wary of over-praising "friend reviews." That said, this is a VERY good book, novel, novella, linked short stories, family saga, however you might describe it. It is a joy to read, very moving and TIGHT. I couldn't stop reading. His observations are so honest, funny and clever. The narrative is headlong, like there's a motor on it. It's a survival manual for all artists who come from families.

[bookloverbiswa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comedy is a classification of fiction that comprises talks or works expected to be funny or entertaining by prompting giggling, particularly in theatre, film, stand-up satire, TV, radio, books, or some other diversion medium.

The book which I will suggest to you folks today is an exceptionally captivating and extremely fascinating book the substance of this book will make you fall head over heels for this book.

"Generally Painless" by Dylan Brody is an elegantly composed treasury. The book is around 220 pages long, separated into 20 sections. Somewhat Painless, a wordy novel, catches the humor, misfortune, and sheer human intricacy of a broken family taking on the appearance of practical in his depiction of the Grunmans.

Every Reader expects an original where one of the primary characters is a comic to be entertaining, however, it's a joy when it is likewise so learned and familiar. The information isn't just about 'the matters of the stage that involves the two grown-up kids, but about families and sentiments. Dylan Brody in Relatively Painless summons a world that the Grunmans family made and appears to be destined to proceed within any event, when it very well may be productive for all to change. Indeed, even after its individuals have fled, the family exists emphatically in the personalities of everybody regardless of whether they own up to such an impact.

Starting with Daniel and Lindsay's relationship, Brody catches kin characteristically. This is the excellence of Brody's art; he flourishes through utilizing family generalizations we know all about and starts to cut out the truth. In Daniel and Lindsay's case, this is shown later in the novel as the desire and profound respect go on true to form yet the two kin meet up even with their folks to remain light. Brody's capacity to reveal these delicate minutes without the platitude is excellent. Subsequently, the improvement of this relationship tells the truth - the two of them display ways of behaving seen in the initial section yet find an adoration and security in the other which I think numerous about us find in our kin once we age. All things considered; it is in many cases said kin are we have left when companions dismiss.

Everybody can peruse this book, the accounts will revenue the youthful every reader and the energetic every reader. The characters will have a durable effect on your head, you'll partake in the setting.

Written cautiously, this book is something that will be a joy to peruse and I prescribe you to peruse it. This book is certainly worth the buy and worth the read.

Book Review By bookloverbiswa

[Kristiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

For centuries, the best and most honest writers of tragedy have been writers well-versed in comedy and Dylan Brody is no exception. Relatively Painless, an episodic novel, captures the humour, tragedy and sheer human complexity of a dysfunctional family masquerading as functional in his portrayal of the Grunmans.

Beginning with Daniel and Lindsay's relationship, Brody captures siblings stereotypically. This is the beauty of Brody's craft; he thrives through using family stereotypes we are all familiar with and begins to carve out the reality. In Daniel and Lindsay's case, this is demonstrated later in the novel as the jealousy and admiration continue as expected but both siblings come together in the face of their parents in order to stay buoyant. Brody's ability to uncover these tender moments without the cliché is admirable. Thus, the development of this relationship is honest - they both still exhibit behaviours witnessed in the opening chapter but find a love and safety in the other which I think many of us find in our siblings once we age. After all, it is often said siblings are all we have left when friends turn away.

It is through these characters that we are introduced first to Brody's talent as a humorist and then his mastery when it comes to unravelling tragedy in a way which feels undeniably human. Nothing is protracted or gratuitous. Lindsay's experience with grief is moving and messy. Brody is brave enough and good enough to write moments in all their awkwardness and ugliness. Not once did I need to suspend belief; Brody capitalises on the ordinary and our complex, and often useless, coping mechanisms in these situations. And so, the exploration of Daniel and Lindsay's parents, Ellen and Paul, was superb too.

At times, as Ellen spoke I found myself fuming in response. I truly believe there is no higher compliment to made to a writer than that I vehemently disliked one of the characters. That said, by the end, Brody's writing of Ellen was raw and touching because he writes people not characters or caricatures. The writing and development of both Ellen and Paul was stunning. As the novel progresses, despite often being from Daniel's perspective, you soon realise the crux of the plot relies utterly on Ellen and Paul as parents and as individuals. Therefore, as mentioned above, although Brody begins with the stereotypes, he ends with a genuine portrayal of human beings struck by tragedy and grief.

[T J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reader expects a novel in which one of the main characters is a comedian (not a comic, but we'll get to that later) to be funny, but it's a pleasure when it is also so knowledgeable and fluent. The knowledge is not just about 'the business' of show business that occupies the two adult children, but about families and feelings. Dylan Brody in Relatively Painless conjures a world that the Grunman family created and seems fated to continue even when it might be profitable for all to change. Even after its members have flown the coop, the family exists strongly in the minds of everyone whether they admit to such an influence or not. And the Grunmans will live in the minds of lucky readers for quite some time as well.

The careful and at times both humorous and painful depiction of two parents and their two children allows the reader to consider the forces of their own family of origin, but to do so by reading a story that evokes smiles and winces in almost equal measure. Those shocks of recognition do not land unpleasantly because Brody leads us through this almost cinematic tale with enormous sympathy for all of the characters, which for us as the readers translates into an invitation to have greater sympathy for the cast in our own family follies. Along the way we get the inside dope on a callback and the distinction between a comedian and a comic along with other bits of knowledge that illuminate the world.

Hannah Arendt wrote that, “An artist creates his own authenticity. What matters is imaginative conviction and boldness, a passion to invade alien territory and render an account of one’s discoveries.”
Might the passion to reconnoiter familiar territory be even more dangerous than those 'alien' spaces and yet delightful? James Joyce investigated every dimension of a life that he had known so well. So did Jane Austen and so many others much to our advantage. Dylan Brody in looking at imperfect people in a perpetual set of relationships delivers that authenticity with "imaginative conviction and boldness" his success in rendering an account of his discoveries satisfies and enriches the reader of Relatively Painless.

[Johnny Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sounds like a sharp, intimate exploration of family told through a darkly comic lens. What stands out most is the balance between humor and heartbreak the idea that horror, atrocity, and injustice can be viewed as “inherently hilarious” gives the narrative a distinctly Jewish, self-aware sensibility that feels both specific and universal. The promise of “flashbulb vignettes” suggests a fragmented structure, which can be powerful when done well offering snapshots of truth rather than a neatly packaged arc.

The description paints Dylan Brody as a meticulous observer of human behavior, someone attentive to the tiny gestures and loaded silences that define real family dynamics. That level of detail can make characters feel uncomfortably real like we’re eavesdropping rather than reading fiction. If the execution matches the premise, this could be a deeply resonant portrait of generational tension, love, resentment, and the strange comedy embedded in pain.

That said, vignette-style storytelling sometimes risks feeling emotionally distant or uneven, depending on how cohesively the pieces connect. Readers looking for a traditional plot may find the structure unconventional. But for those who appreciate character-driven storytelling, subtle cruelty, and humor rooted in truth, this sounds like a rewarding, bittersweet read.

Overall, it seems like a book that embraces the messy absurdity of family life making you laugh at the very things that hurt the most.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel arrives just in time for the holidays when the stresses of family life and career paths reach their climax. The cathartic, binge-worthy collection of short stories straps the reader into an emotional roller coaster ride with the fictional, superficially Jewish Grunman family who frequently find themselves in the familiar pressure cookers of life, such as a car, airport terminal, restaurant, apartment, funeral, bar or office. Each chapter is an alluring appetizer loaded with candid conversations from the hopelessly humorous characters. The introspective and self deprecating situations seem to be taken directly from Dylan Brody's own life as he grapples with his perception of success and the constant yearning for his parents approval in the midst of a disorienting career in Hollywood. The tasty mix of sardonic, insightful, tragic and heartwarming scenarios inspire laughs, occasional tears and plenty of "we've all been there" reactions. This is a perfect gift for family members or friends who are in desperate need of humor and stress relief as they struggle to survive the holiday season. It is an entertaining companion to the satirical works of David Sedaris.

[Clio McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect this book to sneak up on me the way it did. At first, I thought I was just in for some sharp, dark humor about a slightly dysfunctional family. And yes, I laughed a lot. But somewhere between the jokes and the quiet little observations, it started to feel uncomfortably familiar.

Relatively Painless doesn’t dramatize family life it exposes it. The grudges that never fully die. The things nobody says but everybody knows. The way love and irritation can exist in the exact same moment. Dylan Brody writes with such precision that even a small gesture feels loaded with years of history. I kept thinking, “I know these people,” and then realizing I probably do.

What really stayed with me is how the humor doesn’t cancel out the hurt it coexists with it. The laughter feels earned, sometimes even defensive, like the only way to survive the weight of memory. By the end, I felt like I had sat in the corner of someone’s living room for years, quietly watching this family try and fail and try again to understand each other.

It’s funny. It’s sad. It’s awkward. It’s honest. And somehow, it makes the messiness of family feel a little less lonely.

[Lillian C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively Painless is a triumph of dark comedy and emotional insight. Dylan Brody walks the tightrope between satire and sincerity with incredible balance, delivering a portrait of familial dysfunction that feels uncomfortably familiar and unexpectedly healing. The Grunman family is drawn with such specificity that they become universal; their neuroses, failings, and quirks echo the uncomfortable truths many of us carry about our own families. What elevates this book is not just its humor though it is genuinely, sharply funny but its ability to find beauty in grief and connection in conflict. The dialogue is as smart as it is biting, and the structure short, vivid scenes creates an almost cinematic rhythm. It's the kind of book that leaves you thinking about your own family's "tells" and unspoken histories.

[Steven M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dylan Brody has written the kind of book that sneaks up on you. Relatively Painless doesn’t just unfold, it peels itself open like a memory you didn’t know you had. Each vignette is sharp and startling, filled with the kind of dialogue that feels overheard at a family dinner you swore you’d never attend again, but somehow miss with an aching fondness. Brody’s gift is his ability to make us laugh in the same breath that we feel gut-punched by the weight of generational pain. The Grunmans are at once exasperating and exquisite, hilarious and heartbreaking. I didn’t read this book so much as I felt it echo in the places where I store my own unresolved conversations. Rarely has dysfunction been so lovingly rendered.

[E PRAISE · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Relatively Painless feeling like I had just witnessed something very private, but also very familiar. The book doesn’t rely on big revelations or dramatic twists. Instead, it builds its impact through accumulation small moments of friction, dry observations, quick exchanges that carry years of history underneath them. The humor is steady and sharp, but what really gives the book weight is its honesty about how families can wound each other without ever meaning to. There’s affection here, but it’s complicated and imperfect. The vignette format keeps the pace tight while allowing each scene to stand on its own. By the end, the Grunmans feel less like characters and more like people you’ve spent time around flawed, recognizable, and impossible to fully untangle.

[Alonzo L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few writers who can so effortlessly blend humor with heartbreak, but Dylan Brody proves himself a rare talent in Relatively Painless. With the precision of a playwright and the soul of a memoirist, he gives us twenty snapshots of a family whose emotional wiring is as tangled and short-fused as any real one. This is the book I didn’t know I needed one that reminds me that grief can be hilarious, love can be cruel, and silence is sometimes louder than the most dramatic scene. I laughed out loud in public and cried alone in bed, and I’ll be pressing this book into the hands of everyone I love and argue with. Which, as Brody would agree, are often the same people.

[Linnea W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t expect Relatively Painless to knock me sideways. I knew Dylan Brody could write funny his reputation precedes him but I wasn’t prepared for the depth of emotional intelligence on every page. He writes like someone who has eavesdropped on every therapy session I’ve ever had. The Grunmans are vivid, specific, and maddeningly familiar. Their conversations drip with subtext, their silences with meaning. There’s so much story packed into so little space that you find yourself pausing after each vignette just to breathe. This isn’t just a book it’s a mirror, held up to the cracked, complicated beauty of family life. And it’s one I’ll be returning to again and again.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting. Hilarious. Heartbreaking. Dylan Brody dives deep into the big/little moments of a family’s life and turns them inside out, so we see them, hear them, smell them, live them as if they were our own. He intricately weaves the magic and ache, wit and wordplay through time and memory, creating a thick, rich, darkly funny tapestry of characters we can’t help but love, and mini-epiphanies that make us laugh/cry in recognition that this is, in fact, somehow our story. Dive in and luxuriate Highly recommended!

[Alan R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively Painless is a masterclass in emotional storytelling with a razor sharp wit. Dylan Brody captures the chaotic beauty of family life in a way that’s both painfully honest and hilariously relatable. The vignettes are vivid and intimate, like overhearing conversations you’re not supposed to hear but can’t turn away from. I laughed, I teared up, and I saw pieces of my own family on every page. This book is a rare gem

[Evelyn Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively Painless completely disarmed me. What begins as sharp humor slowly unfolds into something tender, raw, and painfully honest. Dylan Brody captures the strange alchemy of family how love and resentment can share the same breath. I laughed at the absurdities, then felt that quiet ache of recognition. The vignettes feel intimate, almost intrusive, yet beautifully human. It’s the kind of book that makes you call a relative afterward or at least think about them differently.

[Amelia Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me laughing in the most inappropriate places and I mean that as the highest compliment. Brody’s comedic timing is razor sharp, but what elevates Relatively Painless is how the humor sneaks up on grief and stares it down. The family dysfunction feels so specific it becomes universal. It’s absurd, tragic, biting and somehow comforting. A masterclass in finding comedy inside catastrophe.

[Tali Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daniel Grunman’s reflections on his family are vivid and unforgettable. Each vignette feels like a snapshot of a life that’s messy, contradictory, and real. The subtle gestures the cocktail napkin, the muttered grunt tell entire emotional histories. Brody doesn’t exaggerate for effect; he reveals. And in that revelation, we see ourselves. The characters feel less like fictional creations and more like people you’ve known your entire life.

[Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me in how sharply it observes family dynamics. The flashbulb vignette structure works beautifully each moment feels small on its own, but together they build a layered, complicated portrait of the Grunmans. I especially appreciated the idea that tragedy and horror can be processed through humor. That thread runs quietly but consistently throughout. It’s intimate without feeling invasive, and funny without trivializing the pain underneath.

[Sandra Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively Painless feels like a close study of how families communicate in code. The surface dialogue is often casual, even humorous, but underneath there’s a constant negotiation of power, memory, and identity. What impressed me most is how the book captures the subtle mechanics of interaction the tone shifts, the passive remarks, the silences that say more than any confrontation could. It’s not dramatic in a cinematic way; it’s dramatic in a psychological one. That makes it feel authentic.

[Evans Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up thinking it would just be clever and funny and it absolutely is but what caught me off guard was how real it felt. Relatively Painless captures the strange rhythm of family life: the teasing that cuts a little too deep, the silences that say everything, the love that never quite shows up the way it should but is there anyway. It’s sharp, observant, and quietly emotional. I finished it wishing there were just a few more pages to sit with these people.

[Evelyn Praise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t prepared for how much this book would move me. One moment I was laughing at the family’s dark, self-aware banter; the next I was sitting in silence after a line that hit too close to home. Brody writes about death, betrayal, and buried resentment with such honesty that it almost feels therapeutic to read. Beautifully painful. Painfully funny.

[Favour James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every family insists they’re functional until you look a little closer. Relatively Painless captures that perfectly. The Grunmans’ dynamic feels exaggerated only because it’s so honest. The book doesn’t judge; it observes. And in that observation, it reveals how love can coexist with sharp edges. I finished it feeling oddly grateful for my own imperfect family.

[Ebenezer A · Rating 5 out of 5]

The line about believing in horror and injustice and recognizing them as inherently hilarious sets the tone brilliantly. Brody taps into a tradition of Jewish humor that transforms suffering into survival. The wit is layered, cultural, and deeply rooted in generational memory. It’s not just comedy; it’s inheritance. And it’s executed beautifully.

[Kristy Carabello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowing Brody’s background in performance changes how this book lands. The dialogue feels staged in the best way timed, intentional, aware of its own rhythm. You can almost hear the pauses. It reads less like a conventional narrative and more like a series of monologues delivered under a single spotlight.

[Kenny Westo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What makes this book stand out is how specific it is. The details a gesture, a tone shift, an inflective grunt do more than paragraphs of explanation ever could. You don’t just read about this family; you observe them. The dysfunction is real, but so is the love, even when it’s poorly expressed. It feels honest rather than dramatized.

[Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how the book leans into the contradictions of family life. The Grunmans see themselves as functional, yet the drinking, resentments, and judgmental subtext tell another story. That tension gives the narrative its energy. It’s uncomfortable at times, but intentionally so. It mirrors how families often operate: half self-aware, half in denial.

[Grace B.M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The humor here feels cultural as much as personal. The line about believing in horror and injustice rather than tragedy sets the tone early. There’s a generational wit woven into the storytelling laughter used not to avoid pain but to survive it. That balance between sharp comedy and emotional weight is handled with control.

[Shadex · Rating 5 out of 5]

The vignette format makes the reading experience feel almost like flipping through old photographs except these photos talk back. Each piece is brief, but loaded. The silences between conversations feel just as important as the dialogue itself. It’s subtle storytelling that trusts the reader to notice.