Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
February 2023
I re-read the last third of Fleishman in very excited anticipation of the TV series, which has just come out on Disney+. I remember getting to the last third on holiday in Portugal last year. While the first part entertained me (excellent writing, intriguing premise, sort of hated Toby but then I don’t read many male characters) I woke up really early to fly through the last part, where we finally get to the story about where on earth Rachel has been all this time…and I loved this part just as much second time around.
It is very easy to hate her, and plenty of readers don’t find the ending redemptive, but I do. It explains her position without absolving her. I am fascinated by Toby and Rachel’s different takes on marriage and their future - she’s in it, regardless, for the long haul. Isn’t that the point? He wants to improve things, work on their time together, won’t stand still in a situation which has become unrecognisable from the partnership he envisaged.
I’m mid-way through the series - had to watch without Ben so I could binge on it, but he’s been home too much making me watch The Last of Us instead.