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This is Just Exactly Like You
A darkly humorous debut novel of suburban survival and life's occasional miracles
When Jack Lang impulsively buys a second house directly across the street from his own, his wife Beth leaves him -- and their six-year-old autistic son, Hendrick -- to move in with Jack's best friend, Terry Canavan. Jack tells everyone in his life he's okay, but no one believes him. Not his employees at Patriot Mulch & Tree in suburban North Carolina, not Beth herself, and not Canavan's estranged girlfriend Rena, who arrives on Jack's doorstep to see how, and whether, he's bearing up. When Jack starts letting Rena further into his life, and when Hendrick suddenly starts speaking fluent Spanish -- stunning everyone -- it becomes apparent to Jack that the world is far more complicated than he believed.
As Drew Perry's characters change houses, partners, and perceptions, Hendrick emerges from his shell in unexpected and delightful ways and becomes, at times, this witty and winning debut novel's center of gravity -- he's parenting the confused grown-ups as often as they are him. Perry's fresh and funny insights into marriage, autism, parenthood, and suburban ennui (not to mention mulch) create a landscape that will charm and captivate fans of Tom Perrotta and Jennifer Haigh.
When Jack Lang impulsively buys a second house directly across the street from his own, his wife Beth leaves him -- and their six-year-old autistic son, Hendrick -- to move in with Jack's best friend, Terry Canavan. Jack tells everyone in his life he's okay, but no one believes him. Not his employees at Patriot Mulch & Tree in suburban North Carolina, not Beth herself, and not Canavan's estranged girlfriend Rena, who arrives on Jack's doorstep to see how, and whether, he's bearing up. When Jack starts letting Rena further into his life, and when Hendrick suddenly starts speaking fluent Spanish -- stunning everyone -- it becomes apparent to Jack that the world is far more complicated than he believed.
As Drew Perry's characters change houses, partners, and perceptions, Hendrick emerges from his shell in unexpected and delightful ways and becomes, at times, this witty and winning debut novel's center of gravity -- he's parenting the confused grown-ups as often as they are him. Perry's fresh and funny insights into marriage, autism, parenthood, and suburban ennui (not to mention mulch) create a landscape that will charm and captivate fans of Tom Perrotta and Jennifer Haigh.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
8 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
About the author
Drew Perry
12 books31 followersDrew Perry lives in Greensboro, NC, with his wife, a dog, and two cats, and, somehow, two boys. His first book, THIS IS JUST EXACTLY LIKE YOU, was a finalist for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction, and was an Atlanta Journal Constitution best-of-the-year pick. A new novel, KIDS THESE DAYS, is due out January 2014. More info here: www.drewperry.net .
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
April 29, 2011
I think this is one of those novels where people read it, don't understand a bloody thing it says, because it's convoluted blubbering nonsense, but they're afraid to say it's crap because "it must be good because it's incomprehensible"!
One reviewer stated that what Drew Perry did "wonderfully" with this novel, is to accurately capture how people interact with each other. I am more stunned by the ridiculousness of that statement than I am with the ridiculousness of this book. Accurately captures how people interact? Here's an example of his accurate capturing;
"What are you doing"? He brushed an imagined speck from his neck. .
"What am I doing, Jack?, she asked. "How can you ask me that? What are you talking about? Are we going to do this"? A plane passed overhead, just out of sight.
"We can talk later".
"This is just like you".
"Like me"?
"I can't do this"! She looked at the wall, remembering her grandmother's orchard and the feel of leaves between her toes". "Did you call the Vet"?
He remembered then his intention not to. "Yes".
"That's all you can say, Jack? Yes"? She needed ice.
"Hen speaks Spanish". He hadn't meant to be that abrupt, but she would find out eventually anyway".
"I can't do this right now". Two streets over the postman left a parcel, unsigned for, just outside the side door, beneath the green awning. The same door she used to dream about in college.
Now, if you could follow that conversation..., if that spoke to you as accurately depicting the way you interact with others, then read this book. If not, let that sample dialogue serve as a warning. There are 318 pages of disjointed nonsense just like that between the front and back covers of this Piece O' Crap novel.
At some point, Drew Perry got the idea that writing page after page of random, senseless dialogue was the key to a successful novel. There is no way in the world that he isn't aware that his novel is crap. There is no way his editor, his agent, his family, his friends are not aware that his novel is crap. And, I am both angered and offended that someone would put a cover on it and masquerade it as a novel worthy of reading.
"
One reviewer stated that what Drew Perry did "wonderfully" with this novel, is to accurately capture how people interact with each other. I am more stunned by the ridiculousness of that statement than I am with the ridiculousness of this book. Accurately captures how people interact? Here's an example of his accurate capturing;
"What are you doing"? He brushed an imagined speck from his neck. .
"What am I doing, Jack?, she asked. "How can you ask me that? What are you talking about? Are we going to do this"? A plane passed overhead, just out of sight.
"We can talk later".
"This is just like you".
"Like me"?
"I can't do this"! She looked at the wall, remembering her grandmother's orchard and the feel of leaves between her toes". "Did you call the Vet"?
He remembered then his intention not to. "Yes".
"That's all you can say, Jack? Yes"? She needed ice.
"Hen speaks Spanish". He hadn't meant to be that abrupt, but she would find out eventually anyway".
"I can't do this right now". Two streets over the postman left a parcel, unsigned for, just outside the side door, beneath the green awning. The same door she used to dream about in college.
Now, if you could follow that conversation..., if that spoke to you as accurately depicting the way you interact with others, then read this book. If not, let that sample dialogue serve as a warning. There are 318 pages of disjointed nonsense just like that between the front and back covers of this Piece O' Crap novel.
At some point, Drew Perry got the idea that writing page after page of random, senseless dialogue was the key to a successful novel. There is no way in the world that he isn't aware that his novel is crap. There is no way his editor, his agent, his family, his friends are not aware that his novel is crap. And, I am both angered and offended that someone would put a cover on it and masquerade it as a novel worthy of reading.
"
July 1, 2010
Autism, mulch, giant putt-putt golf course figures, chainsaws and unintentional partner-swapping (in the "it just sort of happened" way). Parenting challenges, relationship challenges, business challenges. Frustrated academics, fulfilled academics. Excellent dialogue and slightly off-beat, unpredictable plot of going around in circles. Who doesn't need a backyard tricycle racetrack in their identical home across the street?
A few bits:
"He puts Hendrick in the papoose carrier and leashes up Yul Brynner and walks them both around the neighborhood, explaining what he knows to Hendrick, suburban sprawl and watersheds and cul-de-sacs and bridges and why kitchens in postwar homes are so tiny, how we thought we'd never cook again, how everything would come frozen, how we had defeated food."(109)
"Their friends who were pregnant looked frightened. The ones who already had kids looked like something had run them over, backed up, hit them again."(157)
"Wrap that motherfucker up. This has been a public service announcement. Wrap up your peckers out there, germs and gents. Do not get warts on your dicks."(214)
"White guys in yellow in blue slickers stand in the rain and talk about how there's really not that much damage. They use phrases like dodged a bullet and Mother Nature's wrath and agricultural concerns. A woman looks into the camera and tells everybody watching at home not to drive into standing water, not to drown. She says that. Do not drown." (225)
A few bits:
"He puts Hendrick in the papoose carrier and leashes up Yul Brynner and walks them both around the neighborhood, explaining what he knows to Hendrick, suburban sprawl and watersheds and cul-de-sacs and bridges and why kitchens in postwar homes are so tiny, how we thought we'd never cook again, how everything would come frozen, how we had defeated food."(109)
"Their friends who were pregnant looked frightened. The ones who already had kids looked like something had run them over, backed up, hit them again."(157)
"Wrap that motherfucker up. This has been a public service announcement. Wrap up your peckers out there, germs and gents. Do not get warts on your dicks."(214)
"White guys in yellow in blue slickers stand in the rain and talk about how there's really not that much damage. They use phrases like dodged a bullet and Mother Nature's wrath and agricultural concerns. A woman looks into the camera and tells everybody watching at home not to drive into standing water, not to drown. She says that. Do not drown." (225)
October 20, 2011
Your enjoyment of a book often depends on how much you like the protagonist. In this case, I very much enjoyed Jack, the owner of a mulch store, whose wife has left him and moved in with his -- now former -- best friend. Jack is left alone to contend with their seven-year-old autistic son, Hendrick. Jack's struggles to be a good father, and his efforts to win his wife back -- while trying to figure out why she left -- make for very compelling reading. The Publishers Weekly review listed here says it's never fully clear why Jack's wife, Beth, left him. That shocked me. The books makes abundantly clear why the wife walked out -- she's frustrated with Jack because he starts things, like tearing up their kitchen and buying an identical house across the street, without finishing these projects or understanding why he's taken them on. She's also burnt out from the challenges of raising their son. There are wonderful secondary characters here -- the crew who work at the mulch store, including Jack's right hand man, who gets things done but whose macho, jingoistic worldview doesn't allow for much senstitivity towards women and minorities, and the Mexican man who's managing to teach Hendrick Spanish. Best of all is the best friend's ex-girlfriend, Rena, who hooks up with Jack and gives him a small and brief taste of being with an iconoclastic woman who doesn't become enraged by his crazy schemes. You'll feel a lot of compassion for Jack, while admiring the way he nobly stumbles through the challenges life is throwing at him.
September 8, 2023
In this book we meet Jack Lang his wife Bethany and their autistic son Hendrick. The story takes place the summer his son is seven the summer his marriage gets a little rocky. We follow along as he learns to parent his son by himself as he and his wife share time with him. This is a story about a family and friends about things falling apart and coming together.It is also about marching to the beat of your own drum in a world that doesn’t always look kindly upon that. It deals with hard subjects but does it with humor. Jack has some very interesting ideas and reading about them as well as his inner dialogue is hilarious. Above all this book is about a father who accepts his son for exactly who he is and loves him more than anything.
June 28, 2010
I think that it was interesting that the most relatable character in this novel was the one with autism. The main character, as well as his wife, and friends are infuriating on and off throughout the novel. There were several times that I just wanted to yell at one or the other of them and tell them to just get over themselves and act like an adult. I didn’t dislike this story. I liked how it was written and how the plot was woven together, but some of the characters were somewhat intolerable.
April 24, 2013
Oh I just had to read this one again. So tender. So funny. Every turn unexpected (unless you have read it before of course). I dip into this novel when I need refreshment. Anyone who loves quirky Southern stories set in mulch yards should be buying this book. And I know that means everybody.
May 14, 2010
Welcome to the middle aged white guy midlife crisis with clever dialogue club, Drew Perry! An excellent addition to my favorite genre.
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July 16, 2010It's great.
October 12, 2020
This book will tear your heart out. Drew Perry has an individual style that I have rarely come across. The closest experience to reading this book was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime -- both because the authors shape the action around an Autistic child and because of the oddly and admirably idiosyncratic style. Drew Perry's story narrates the father's perspective and asks the question, "How do you reach a son when he may be bound, impenetrably, inaccessibly away from his parent?" Perry shows that his own fracturing is secondary to the top priority of creating a world where his son can enjoy life. I look forward to more work from Perry.
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February 4, 2020Possible spoiler.....I am about 2/3‘s through the book and I’m enjoying it quite well. But......is anyone else frustrated as heck by the way Jack reacts when Beth is appalled to find out that Rena has been hanging out at their house(s)? A lot of audacity there. Hahaha.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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January 20, 2025This is a weird book, but somehow it worked for me. How a book can feel both gritty and dream-like I do not understand, but this one, somehow, does. Cannot explain, can only recommend to those with a penchant for the bizarre and a tolerance for totally hapless characters.
May 31, 2017
I had a hard time with this book. I couldn't get into it and could not relate to the characters. This book was not really funny, but more depressing.
April 28, 2018
A little chaotic but it held my interest
Some parts funny, some parts disturbing, but all in all a good read. I would read more by this author, I thought his writing was wonderful
Some parts funny, some parts disturbing, but all in all a good read. I would read more by this author, I thought his writing was wonderful
February 4, 2022
This was such a weird story about some messed up people. Almost nothing happened in 300 pages.
August 27, 2022
I liked the storytelling, but not the action of this book. It wasn't for me, or at least not for me at this time. All the reviews said funny. It was not funny. Too sad and not enough humor.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2024
Really loved this book. Interesting writing style, lovable characters, and a lot of humor. Dropped a star because I didn’t love the ending/resolution. Complicated, messy, but fun. Perfecto.
June 23, 2010
Jack Lang is not great at being in the world. At the start of this quirky and original book, he has impulsively purchased a second ranch house – right across the street from his original house – at an auction. His wife Beth, a teacher at a local college, his just left him for his good friend Terry Canavan. Terry’s long-time girlfriend, Rena, may or may not be coming on to him.
To really complicate things, he is left in charge of his autistic savant son Hendrick, who has a penchant for memorizing the Weather Channel and mimicking advertising and sloganeering verbatim.
And that’s just the start of things.
We never know exactly why Beth left Jack except for she’s just fed up. “You can’t just let everything happen to you,” Beth tells him at one point. “You can’t always just wait.” But Jack is out of control; his plans and ideas exceed his abilities to execute them. “Sometimes he thinks of his life like everything that’s happened to him has been something he’s at least half-fallen into.” That includes his mulch-and-garden business at Patriot Mulch & Tree, which is authentically described but if truth be known, is a little too heavy on the details (at least for this reader).
The novel takes place in an abbreviated time period and meanders along as Jack falls into one situation after another. For instance, he impulsively buys a huge fiberglass catfish from a defunct miniature golf course as decoration for a concrete tricycle path at the back of his new home. The point is made: Jack is unconventional and whimsical and Beth is solid and controlling. Still “he knows he needs Beth to save him from his crazier angels, or try to, and he knows, too, or hopes, that she needs him to try to save her from his plainer ones.”
The depiction of Hendrick, the autistic savant, is delightful, especially when he emerges from his shell to spout off Spanish or participate with Rena in a karaoke night; it’s hard not to fall in love with this child. The father-son interactions sparkle. There is much wild black humor, despite the over-the-top, sometimes marginally successful characterizations. And there are fresh insights into what keeps couples together when by all natural instincts, they should fall apart. Drew Perry has a fresh and audacious imagination that shines through…again and again.
To really complicate things, he is left in charge of his autistic savant son Hendrick, who has a penchant for memorizing the Weather Channel and mimicking advertising and sloganeering verbatim.
And that’s just the start of things.
We never know exactly why Beth left Jack except for she’s just fed up. “You can’t just let everything happen to you,” Beth tells him at one point. “You can’t always just wait.” But Jack is out of control; his plans and ideas exceed his abilities to execute them. “Sometimes he thinks of his life like everything that’s happened to him has been something he’s at least half-fallen into.” That includes his mulch-and-garden business at Patriot Mulch & Tree, which is authentically described but if truth be known, is a little too heavy on the details (at least for this reader).
The novel takes place in an abbreviated time period and meanders along as Jack falls into one situation after another. For instance, he impulsively buys a huge fiberglass catfish from a defunct miniature golf course as decoration for a concrete tricycle path at the back of his new home. The point is made: Jack is unconventional and whimsical and Beth is solid and controlling. Still “he knows he needs Beth to save him from his crazier angels, or try to, and he knows, too, or hopes, that she needs him to try to save her from his plainer ones.”
The depiction of Hendrick, the autistic savant, is delightful, especially when he emerges from his shell to spout off Spanish or participate with Rena in a karaoke night; it’s hard not to fall in love with this child. The father-son interactions sparkle. There is much wild black humor, despite the over-the-top, sometimes marginally successful characterizations. And there are fresh insights into what keeps couples together when by all natural instincts, they should fall apart. Drew Perry has a fresh and audacious imagination that shines through…again and again.
February 7, 2020
I have read Drew Perry’s articles in Our State magazine and enjoyed them very much, so I had high hopes for this book. It was just ok. Except for the little boy, the characters weren’t likeable. At times, I didn’t think the book would ever end.
August 22, 2011
This a pretty interesting story about Jack a man who's wife Beth walks out on him and their autistic 6 year old son Henderick. The story opens up on a few days after she leaves. what makes it strange is she leaves and goes to his best friend's house Canavan. She still continues to see their son dropping by and scolding jack about Hen. This book pretty much takes you thru from there to about 2-3 weeks out as Jack processes and neglects to deal with what has happened to him.
Its very clear that Jack allows things to happen to him. He doesn't fight back, get angry or do much of anything. Life happens around jack and he just is. Thats the underlying theme of this book. He doesn't even address Beth leaving him he's afraid to even ask er why. His worker's Butner and Ernesto wonder why he doesn't do anything, stand up for himself anything. Everyone what;s Jack to just do something. jack doesn't know how to feel he's used to Beth telling him that, he pretty much has it in his house this will all blow over. Jack continues living in his fog until, and accident brings Rena, Canavan's ex into his life who is just as surprised about the Beth and Canavan situation and Hen starts speaking spanish. Not repeating things he has heard has real conversations in spanish.
The story is a lot of dialogue, the pauses, and nuisances you would expect from a guy who has no backbone and can't even bring himself to ask his wife why she walked out but still visits every single day. Some people may be turned off by the writing style because its dialogue heavy, there isn't too much location set up as it all takes place in the same town with the same small set of characters. There aren't any chapters the story breaks in various parts throughout the book.
i read it because i thought it was a fictional story about a father dealing with his son's autism but its not, its about a man who instead of living life, life happens to him and what if anything he will do about it.
Its very clear that Jack allows things to happen to him. He doesn't fight back, get angry or do much of anything. Life happens around jack and he just is. Thats the underlying theme of this book. He doesn't even address Beth leaving him he's afraid to even ask er why. His worker's Butner and Ernesto wonder why he doesn't do anything, stand up for himself anything. Everyone what;s Jack to just do something. jack doesn't know how to feel he's used to Beth telling him that, he pretty much has it in his house this will all blow over. Jack continues living in his fog until, and accident brings Rena, Canavan's ex into his life who is just as surprised about the Beth and Canavan situation and Hen starts speaking spanish. Not repeating things he has heard has real conversations in spanish.
The story is a lot of dialogue, the pauses, and nuisances you would expect from a guy who has no backbone and can't even bring himself to ask his wife why she walked out but still visits every single day. Some people may be turned off by the writing style because its dialogue heavy, there isn't too much location set up as it all takes place in the same town with the same small set of characters. There aren't any chapters the story breaks in various parts throughout the book.
i read it because i thought it was a fictional story about a father dealing with his son's autism but its not, its about a man who instead of living life, life happens to him and what if anything he will do about it.
April 15, 2010
I have to say I loved this book. I couldn't put it down--I read the whole thing in two days. Perry has a gift for language, for keeping both the plot and the words moving forward, and a real gift for dialogue. You can really hear these characters talking, and the story is so quirky and interesting that you care what they're saying. The prose is beautifully written, wryly funny, and, frankly, captivating. I was rooting for Jack at the same time that I was really glad not to be married to him myself.
It's not a perfect book. Perry knows the protagonist, Jack, incredibly well, and he's written well--Jack is believable and realistic. However, I didn't feel that some of the other characters were quite as well characterized, particularly Beth. Some of this is because the book is written from Jack's perspective, and people are kind of a mystery to Jack. I'm sure Perry knows Beth better than Jack does, but I don't feel that I do, and I would have liked to. The other thing that bugged me a bit was just a technicality--I don't know the NC school system, but it seems that a kid who's almost seven years old would be going to some kind of school, autistic or not. And don't schools make an effort to get special-needs kids when they're younger? It's summer in the book, but schools or teachers still aren't really mentioned, just that Hendrick doesn't understand other kids. However, I was willing to let that go and go along with Perry for the ride.
Still, though, these were little issues, things I wasn't at all aware of as I was reading the book. I only came up with them later, after I'd finished it, and the story was still simmering away in my brain. While I was reading I was completely enthralled. The writing is seamless and lovely, and I highly recommend it. Definitely my favorite that I've read this year.
It's not a perfect book. Perry knows the protagonist, Jack, incredibly well, and he's written well--Jack is believable and realistic. However, I didn't feel that some of the other characters were quite as well characterized, particularly Beth. Some of this is because the book is written from Jack's perspective, and people are kind of a mystery to Jack. I'm sure Perry knows Beth better than Jack does, but I don't feel that I do, and I would have liked to. The other thing that bugged me a bit was just a technicality--I don't know the NC school system, but it seems that a kid who's almost seven years old would be going to some kind of school, autistic or not. And don't schools make an effort to get special-needs kids when they're younger? It's summer in the book, but schools or teachers still aren't really mentioned, just that Hendrick doesn't understand other kids. However, I was willing to let that go and go along with Perry for the ride.
Still, though, these were little issues, things I wasn't at all aware of as I was reading the book. I only came up with them later, after I'd finished it, and the story was still simmering away in my brain. While I was reading I was completely enthralled. The writing is seamless and lovely, and I highly recommend it. Definitely my favorite that I've read this year.
July 18, 2015
Awful.
Jack is passive. He just lets things happen - usually bad things. As a married college teacher, he lets a student kiss him, and he gets fired. As the owner of a mulch supply store he lets his employees run things - they drink continuously, sometimes they make money with shady deals, sometimes they crash the heavy equipment, sometimes they shoot rats, sometimes they hack themselves with chainsaws, etc... Jack is usually on the sidelines dully trying to decide what to do. Jack's wife is stable, but collapsing under the burden of raising an autistic child with husband who can't finish any task. After Jack's botched attempt to remodel his kitchen his wife leaves him and she moves in with his best friend (who will eventually hack himself with a chainsaw). His best friend's wife moves in with Jack - they drink a lot. All the while Jack's autistic boy is pretty much on his own. The grand finale is when Jack installs mini-putt-putt animals in the yard - termites, fires, etc ensue. And, oh yeah, there is a lot of drinking. Jack's wife comes back to him, because somehow, he is just the right amount of crazy to balance her. Jack ditches his best friend's wife because she is too unstructured for him. So Jack and his wife learn that they are perfect match even though NOTHING IN THE ENTIRE NOVEL INDICATES THAT THEY ARE A GOOD MATCH. Awful.
I think the bigger theme was supposed to contrast autistic behavior and its ritualistic crazy routines with the more 'normal' routines and 'normal' craziness that we all have. That theme was crushed under the absurdity and depravity of the cast of characters.
Jack is passive. He just lets things happen - usually bad things. As a married college teacher, he lets a student kiss him, and he gets fired. As the owner of a mulch supply store he lets his employees run things - they drink continuously, sometimes they make money with shady deals, sometimes they crash the heavy equipment, sometimes they shoot rats, sometimes they hack themselves with chainsaws, etc... Jack is usually on the sidelines dully trying to decide what to do. Jack's wife is stable, but collapsing under the burden of raising an autistic child with husband who can't finish any task. After Jack's botched attempt to remodel his kitchen his wife leaves him and she moves in with his best friend (who will eventually hack himself with a chainsaw). His best friend's wife moves in with Jack - they drink a lot. All the while Jack's autistic boy is pretty much on his own. The grand finale is when Jack installs mini-putt-putt animals in the yard - termites, fires, etc ensue. And, oh yeah, there is a lot of drinking. Jack's wife comes back to him, because somehow, he is just the right amount of crazy to balance her. Jack ditches his best friend's wife because she is too unstructured for him. So Jack and his wife learn that they are perfect match even though NOTHING IN THE ENTIRE NOVEL INDICATES THAT THEY ARE A GOOD MATCH. Awful.
I think the bigger theme was supposed to contrast autistic behavior and its ritualistic crazy routines with the more 'normal' routines and 'normal' craziness that we all have. That theme was crushed under the absurdity and depravity of the cast of characters.
May 11, 2011
It was a great wild wacky and weird read. Just the kind of off center book that has you wondering what is happening with the characters still. This is Just Exactly Like You is a great debut novel from the man's view of wonder when a marriage starts falling apart. Jack Lang does not understand why his wife is gone. Or how she can not see how life is never going to be all pat and nice. But that instead the house will be unfinished, the marriage will not always work and their son will never be like everyone else. He is sitting at home with their autistic son, looking at the house across the street. The house he bought. Thinking of how his wife is living across town with his best friend. And not quite getting the whole picture into focus. I think you might just want to read this one yourself. Figure out if life is smooth or do we all have these internal conversations that no one else should ever hear?
August 25, 2011
I was completely charmed by Drew Perry's funny and honest first novel. It's the story of a married couple, Jack and Beth, their autistic son, and a whole lot of mulch. Perry's writing is so true about the ways couples communicate -- or fail to -- and about the ways marriage is changed by children, but these truths don't come like lightning flashes of insight but more quietly, shruggingly, leaving the characters still a bit puzzled, but awkwardly trying to make things better. Jack accidentally buys the house across the street and his wife, frustrated by one more unfinished project, moves in with Jack's best friend; later, Jack moves an ocean-themed miniature golf course into the backyard and builds a tricycle racetrack around the giant, fishy mini golf figures for his son. Will this bring Beth back to him? It seems unlikely, really, and I'm glad not to be married to Jack myself, but he's a well-meaning guy, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his story.
March 9, 2011
I was really drawn into this book - the characters seemed believably flawed yet likable and I really loved what inherently good people the supporting characters are. If you're looking for a book about guys helping their buddy out during a tough time, this is it. The writing is strong and lean - some of the passages (especially the last paragraph) are outright beautiful.
That being said I was put off by the turn of events in the last thirty pages and a certain action seemed downright manipulative. Without ruining anything, all of the sudden everything seemed highly symbolic in a book that had previously been full of recognizable people in a highly stressful situation making understandably bad choices. But overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary fiction.
That being said I was put off by the turn of events in the last thirty pages and a certain action seemed downright manipulative. Without ruining anything, all of the sudden everything seemed highly symbolic in a book that had previously been full of recognizable people in a highly stressful situation making understandably bad choices. But overall I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone interested in contemporary fiction.
May 27, 2010
This was actually a pretty good book. It was an impulse grab at the library, but completely worth it. Every character is flawed, which is nice. Only the kid is completely innocent and it was interesting to see him learning Spanish. I wanted to kick the wife throughout the story. Every time she had some dialogue, I wanted to kick her. I think that was the point, though. The main character was compelling, and I agree that a mini-golf course or racetrack in the back yard would be wonderful. Mini-golf is endlessly fun. I think kids should be required to play mini-golf. It helps teach important topics like geometry, physics and philosophy. The philosophy because life is not fair and life is hard, just like the par 4. I tilt at the windmills that block my obscenely bright-hued ball.
August 4, 2010
I started this on Sunday night and the only thing that kept me from reading it in one sitting is knowing I had to get some sleep before work on Monday. What an engrossing story!
Jack is not having a good time. His wife has moved out and is shacking up with his best friend. His son is autistic and developing new savant abilities without any warning. His life is out of his control and he's not sure how to put it back on course.
How does he react? By doing some crazy stuff that I won't get into because it would be a spoiler.
This is an interesting view into the lives of every day type people who seem eccentric until you realize you know someone just like them. Loved it!
Jack is not having a good time. His wife has moved out and is shacking up with his best friend. His son is autistic and developing new savant abilities without any warning. His life is out of his control and he's not sure how to put it back on course.
How does he react? By doing some crazy stuff that I won't get into because it would be a spoiler.
This is an interesting view into the lives of every day type people who seem eccentric until you realize you know someone just like them. Loved it!
April 10, 2012
So I didn't realize this author was from Greensboro, UNCG grad, I honestly just grabbed this off the shelf - the title grabbed me and when i saw the cover I was on board. I'm 2/3 through and I have to say this is a campy little ride and many of the streets - if you are from Greensboro - you will recognize. Anyone know this author? he teaches at Elon and lives in Greensboro according to the jacket.
Update - finished it last night. It gets increasingly uncomfortable as many dark comedies do, but I enjoyed it. I honestly couldn't relate to most of the characters, really only the main character, Jack, but he is so lovable to me really hung in there til the end with him.
Update - finished it last night. It gets increasingly uncomfortable as many dark comedies do, but I enjoyed it. I honestly couldn't relate to most of the characters, really only the main character, Jack, but he is so lovable to me really hung in there til the end with him.
May 1, 2014
Wonderful. Hilarious first-person voice that vacillates between the tender and the bitingly acerbic. Rich, perfectly-metered dialogue. I just devoured this book and I'll be tracking down the rest of Perry's work as well. Dude can write circles around a lot of people tilling the kind of familial, "day in the life of" narrative that's on display here. When books like this are done well - and This is Just Exactly Like You is done exceedingly well - it reminds me just how captivating fiction can be, even that utilizing supposedly mundane settings and tropes. I mean, the main character's a mulch salesman, for shit's sake, and I was STILL captivated from the first page. Recommended.
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