How to Talk to a Widower Top Quality

I'm a fan of Nick Hornby's work and I was taken in by the paperback's prominent People-provided blurb that states "there a touch of Nick Hornby in this winning tale." Having concluded this very enjoyable book, I agree with that assessment. Hornby's talent (at least in his first three books) was his eerie ability to get inside the head of man-as-still-adolescent. Jonathan Tropper does the same thing here. Having experienced the sudden death of his beloved, eleven-years-older wife, Tropper's protagonist Doug Parker is left in the grief-stricken position of being a twenty-something widower. Not only is he unsure how to handle it, others in his circle are as well.

The book picks up one year after Doug's wife's death. Doug remains mired in his grief. Family members are trying - one way or another - to get him to move along. The next few months of Doug's life - the focus of this book - prove to be very messy indeed. The book is equal parts grief and comedy.

I'm surprised that 'Widower' hasn't been made into a movie. At many points in the novel, it reads more like a screenplay. I have to think Tropper wrote the book with a screenplay in mind. Most notably, I imagine every teenage actor in Hollywood itching to play Doug's 16-year-old stepson, Russ. Of note, is the scene where Russ (gaining courage from some furtively imbibed drinks) lays his heart on the line for Doug's younger sister, Debbie. It's a page-long toast that Russ gives at a wedding rehearsal dinner. It'll be the knockout highlight of the film adaptation.

I did do some scratching around and found out via IMDB that there's a related film project 'in development' with a 2011 target date called "After Hailey." I won't count my chickens here though: Tropper signed this deal in 2006 and Scott Frank (Minority Report [Blu-ray]) mentions it as his 'next project' in a 2009 article. It doesn't yet show up in Frank's 2009 IMDB profile. [Though I'll note that the details of projects 'in development' are something IMDB keeps behind a paywall.]

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