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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 6 July 2019
Novel dissects divorce with sharp, funny scalpel

By BROOKE LEFFERTS serves as the narrator and a breakdown. Rachel gets
Associated Press judge, coloring the story her say in the last part of the
"Fleishman Is in Trouble" with her own insecurities book, and we see where
(Random House), by Taffy and marital itchiness. The she got her drive, how spe-
Brodesser-Akner first part of the book reveals cific life events devastated
There was once a time Toby's side of things, and her and made her feel like
when becoming a doc- while he paints himself as no one — including Toby —
tor or marrying one was a martyr who took a back had her back.
an ideal measure of suc- seat in his career as a liver Brodesser-Akner is a jour-
cess. But "Fleishman Is in specialist to play Mr. Mom, nalist best known for her
Trouble," the new novel by it's clear his self-pity, fear of in-depth celebrity inter-
Taffy Brodesser-Akner, re- failure and disappointment views, including a New York
jects that antiquated no- in the way his life has turned Times magazine cover story
tion and several other tired out contributed to the disin- on Gwyneth Paltrow and
societal tropes, shining a tegration of the family. Goop that got attention
light on how we view work, In Toby's version, Rachel for its incisive reporting and
relationships and material is the easy villain — ob- humor.
things. sessed with money and The author's sharp wit and
Toby Fleishman, a Manhat- status — who rose from as- descriptions of a certain
tan doctor and father of sistant to superagent to the urban privileged life are
two, is in the middle of a stars, working long hours, dead-on and often hilari-
painful divorce and finds networking for social and ous. The novel feels fresh
the best medicine is swiping professional gain, and be- and modern with a satirical
right on Tinder to ease his coming the breadwinner edge, but enough truth to
pain. The plot takes place while growing increasingly sting even the schmoopiest
over just a few weeks, but powerful and financially of married couples.
the story of how his 14-year successful. Toby Fleishman isn't the
marriage to Rachel de- The seeds of resentment only one in trouble. Infus-
volved into an angry, bitter are sown as Toby feels in- ing candor, humor and so-
mess comes in flashbacks creasingly inadequate and cial commentary, this book
of how the couple met, fell Rachel's busy schedule holds up a mirror to all of us,
in love and built a life to- and pressure to keep up This cover image released by Random House shows "Fleishman demanding that we take
gether. with the elite banker crowd is in Trouble," by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. a hard look at how we live
An old friend of Toby's pushes her to the point of Associated Press and how we love.q

Even poop is cute at Japanese museum that encourages play

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) written in different lan-
— Japan's culture of cute guages.
makes no exceptions for In another room, players
poop. It gets a pop twist at use a projection-mapping
the Unko Museum in Yoko- game like "whack-a-mole"
hama near Tokyo. to stamp on and squash
Here, the poop is artificial, the most poops they can. In
nothing like what would be another game, participants
in a toilet, and comes in compete to make the big-
twisty ice cream and cup- gest "poop" by shouting the
cake shapes, in all colors word in Japanese, "unko,"
and sizes. as loudly as possible.
"The poops are colorful and A soccer video game in-
come out nicely in photos," volves using a controller to
said Haruka Okubo, a stu- "kick" a poop into a goal.
dent visiting part of the mu- Toshifumi Okuya, a system
seum devoted to all-impor- engineer, was amused
tant selfies. "The shape is so to see adults having fun.
round and cute." "It's funny because there
In Japan, little poop- are adults running around
shaped erasers with faces screaming 'poop, poop,'"
and other small items have he said.
long been popular items At the end of the tour,
collected by children, In this Tuesday, June 18, 2019, photo, two boys jokingly take cover as small toy poops gush from visitors get a bag to carry
and sometimes older folks. a giant poop-shaped inflatable at the Unko Museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. home their souvenir poop.
As elsewhere, scatologi- Associated Press If they want still more,
cal jokes are popular and the museum's gift shop
bodily functions discussed a short video introduction brightly colored souvenir every 30 minutes, spitting abounds with more poop-
openly: a recent morn- and then are asked to sit "poop" can be collected out little foam poops. themed souvenirs. The mu-
ing variety show by public on one of seven colorful, from inside the toilet bowl, The "Unstagenic" area of seum attracted more than
broadcaster NHK featured non-functional toilets lined to be taken home after the Instagram-worthy installa- 100,000 visitors in the first
tips on how to deal with up against the wall. tour. tions includes pastel-hued month after its opening in
farts. Music plays as a user pre- A ceiling-high poop sculp- flying poops and a neon March. It will remain open
Visitors to the museum get tends to poop, then a ture in the main hall erupts sign with the word "poop" until September.q