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Judd Foxman’s life in a nutshell: He walked in on his pregnant wife cheating on him with his boss. He lost his job. His father died — and now he must sit shiva with his dysfunctional family.

“This is Where I Leave You,” a New York Times best-seller by Jonathan Tropper, is a hilarious and quirky novel about a loving Jewish family that can’t seem to be in the same room for more than five minutes without inflicting bodily harm on each other. Reading this novel, it is hard not to laugh out loud at times, and sometimes it is tempting to take the characters and shake some sense into them. This is Tropper’s fifth novel, and his funny, laid-back writing style makes “This is Where I Leave You” an easy and relaxing read.

When the book begins, Judd is crazy about his wife and has a job he loves — in other words, life is good. Then, coming home early from work on his wife’s 30th birthday with her favorite cake, he walks into the bedroom and life as he knows it is over. And then it gets worse.

Judd’s family was never one to express any kind of affection. So when his sister calls to tell him that their father died, they laugh about it, and continue insulting each other (a common pastime in the Foxman family). When she tells Judd that their dad wanted them to sit shiva for the full seven days, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they try to bend the rules of mathematics and Judaism to bring it down to three days. Nevertheless, they embark on the reluctant journey of being under the same roof for a week without killing each other.

Visitors, both welcome and otherwise, keep piling in as the days of sitting shiva go on. The drama continues when every woman in the room tries to set up Judd with their eligible daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and ex-husband’s stepdaughters. At the same time, every eligible man over the age of 60 is trying to get his foot in the door for a chance to be with Judd’s tarty 65-year-old mother, Hillary (the wife of the man everyone is supposedly mourning).

As the pace of Judd’s dysfunctional life speeds up with one surprise piling on top of another, the book becomes faster to read as well. Tropper writes as if he is telling you the story in person about a close friend’s life, becoming more animated as he spins the tale.

Back at home where everyone is sitting shiva, Hillary has quite a few surprises of her own. With the limitless love of family, anything is possible.

“This is Where I Leave You” by Jonathan Tropper (339 pages, Penguin Group, $15)