"A witty dissection and resurrection of an off-kilter, loopy family" (Bookmarks)

"Gladstone's nuanced characters are utterly believable...it will remind many readers of their own troubled clans." (Time Out, New York)

"Every adult trying to shake the shackles of their upbringing will find a comforting spark of recognition." (The Weekly News (Miami))

"Gladstone's real comedic genius lies in Josh's high school and college recollections...that each pack the punch of today's best short stories. (Think David Sedaris.)" (The Book Reporter)

An entire family comes of age simultaneously in this funny and poignant novel, narrated by a gay 22-year-old son torn between embracing and rejecting his quirky suburban kin. After abandoning a planned suicide, Joshua Royalton returns to his childhood home to unravel the elaborate tales, theories, and neuroses he developed while growing up, including a fictional history of Chinese restaurants, a mortal fear of crows, an obsession with singer Carly Simon, and his parents' addiction to jigsaw puzzles. 

Reinvention, reconciliation, and and the power of transforming life into art infuse Josh's stories, ultimately leaving the listener with a sense of hope and optimism.

The critically acclaimed winner of a Foreword Award for independent publishing, The Big Book of Misunderstanding is a hidden gem of contemporary domestic fiction. Author Jim Gladstone's pop culture writing has appeared in The New York Times, Billboard, The Chicago Tribune, and dozens of other publications.

"This book is sweet and true and surprisingly honest in a world of worked-up horseshoe. I related to all the characters in the book. I have met people like them. I've even been a few of them." (Susan Werner, singer-songwriter, The Gospel Truth, Last of the Good Straight Girls)