Ex In The House

Reuben Horowitz, 15, is about as typical a teenager as dinnertime in America is typically a family affair. Like a contemporary Holden Caulfield, Reuben Horowitz is a worrier, a brooder who bemoans the fact that he was “named after a runny sandwich,” and an already jaded observer of the times in which we live. But, unlike Holden, Reuben doesn’t obsess about growing old, or rail against the plethora of phonies in our midst. His angst stems from what he feels is a lack of peace and tranquility in his life … an “effed up” Zen, so to speak. Especially after the recent divorce of his “whacked” parents, Lou and Juniper Horowitz, (39 and 40, respectively), whose story unfolds through Reuben’s eyes. What Reuben finds most disturbing about his parents' split, is the fact that they continue to have what he refers to as, "pissed-off sex." A somewhat confused devotee of the Dalai Lama, when stuck between an rock and a hard place Reuben often finds himself wondering, “What would the Dalai Do?”