Joshua Braff spoke at the Hillel Center Thursday night about his book titled 'The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Greene.' Braff said the book has gotten plenty of positive feedback in the last year since its release.
'Somehow this book tapped into a whole bunch of people's lives. I was surprised and pleased by the reaction,' said Braff.
Braff is also the brother of actor Zach Braff of 'Garden State' fame.
'Zach Braff directed and starred in 'Garden State,'' said Sammy Gutglass, a UW-Madison sophomore, 'and he is also an actor in 'Scrubs,' the television show. I'm a big fan of Zach Braff, and that's how I first heard about Josh Braff's novel.'
Braff said he used experiences from his own life and family when writing the book and counts that as the reason for popular response.
'There's a certain organic paste to the book, and a lot of people are connecting to the characters in a variety of ways,' he said.
The book's religious content has also reached the Jewish community. 'They say, 'write what you know,' so I was able to draw from my Jewish upbringing,' Braff said.
Audience members related to the coming-of-age and religious themes of Braff's novel.
'His book has themes about growing up and being Jewish. I'm Jewish, so it especially interested me,' Gutglass said.
Braff said though he was inspired by his real life, he used fictional characters and situations.
'In this project I drew from my truths to some degree, and used fiction to shape the story,' Braff said.
Lauren Landes, a UW-Madison sophomore, said the book uses great detail to describe the settings and characters, which make the story fascinating to read. 'There were a lot of unique and dynamic characters,' she said.
'It's a little edgy and dark in places, although it's also humorous,' said Braff, 'I wasn't expecting it to apply to such an age range of interest.'
Braff's first novel has been so successful that he plans on releasing another one in the near future.
'The publisher said, 'Here's money up front to write the next one,'' Braff said, 'That's the goal, pretty much. To be able to call it your job, and that's what I feel I've accomplished.'
