WINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“A beautiful book … a world of insight into death, grief, art, and love.” —Wall Street Journal“A penetrating, moving meditation on loss, comfort, memory…Nunez has a wry, withering wit.” —NPR“Dry, allusive and charming…the comedy here writes itself.” The New York … —NPR
“Dry, allusive and charming…the comedy here writes itself.” The New York Times
A moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog.
When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.
While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog’s care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.
Elegiac and searching, The Friend is both a meditation on loss and a celebration of human-canine devotion.
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A novel, musings about the writing life, friendship, suicide, and a dog. Observational writing. Sparse at times. Dark and lonely, but with love and affection. A twist, sort of, at the end. Kirkus reviews said, “It is a lonely novel: rigorous and stark, so elegant—so dismissive of conventional notions of plot—it hardly feels like fiction.
Breathtaking both in pain and in beauty; a singular book”
Just finished reading it A wonderful reflection on loss, friendship, memory and DOGS. One of the best evocations of our love for our canine companions.
Whatever you’ve heard about this book, be prepared that it is not what you think. It’s an impeccably conceived and written book about grief…but also about a dog. The latter was a surprise–not welcome in the beginning–but the author does pull it off. In the simplest terms, a friend who has committed suicide has left the narrator his dog for reasons irritating– you think in the early pages– but ultimately loving as it gives her the ability to cope with their history, his choice of an end, and for her to better understand herself–the ultimate act of love. The wonder you’ll have about how they felt about each other is often interrupted by chapters dealing with dog poop and real estate issues. I loved the first story, put up with the second, but ultimately was sobbing my way through the end. It will get you. Note: I enjoyed this as an audio book. The very best narrator has been chosen. Listen to it while you walk your own dog.
An excellent examination of a woman’s feelings after losing her best (male) friend and being tasked to care for his dog.
This is one of those books that has lots of acclaim and hooah that I don’t actually get. It’s an exploration of the loss of a best friend to suicide. The construction is interesting and pacing is considered. I was put off by the narrator’s self indulgence, but you know, that may be more me than the story or composition. Try it, see what you think.
Told in the first person as if the narrator is having a conversation with her dead friend, this book is highly original, and addresses the grief, anger, guilt, and what-ifs related to suicide, Coming to terms with taking care of her friend’s dog, a responsibility she did not want nor was she even consulted about it, helps her process her grief. It’s an easy read and a nice meditation.
depressing
Insightful for writers, dog-lovers, and literary suicides.
Awesome writing, lots of fascinating literary allusions and lots of fascinating pondering on themes of grief, writing, friendship, and love.
Wonderful, unique writing style.
Are we in the middle of a novel that the author has dropped us into? Who Is the narrator? Is the narrator reliable? I don’t want to give anything away in the novel that asks so many questions about the meaning of life. And, If you’re a dog-lover, you will love this book. It’s a quick read but don’t let that fool you — it’s profoundly deep and rewarding.
Humor, depth, and dogs. Can’t ask for much more.
Sad and slow.
A moving story about a woman and her Great Dane. Love, loss and literary philosophies explored through a deeply contemplative narrative. Loved it.
I got about 1/3 of the way through and put it down. Appeared to be very specific to being a writer.
A wonderful book about mourning lost love and gained friendship with his dog. I loved the book because of the inside look into the writers’ milieu and wonderful literary citations. Useful as my next novel will deal with death and euthanasia. After finishing, I opened it to read it again.
A bit rambling dialog however interesting and well worth reading
This book was different from what I normally read. It was a change of pace. I read it while reading a more dramatic book.
You cannot help but like this narrator. She has few to no illusions about her deceased friend. The ex-wives are wittily and believably drawn. The acceptance of a huge dog that basically takes over her life (not to mention the apartment) is something that a lot of readers, like me, could identify with. If you’ve ever been taken advantage of and lived to be glad of it, you should read this book.
Interesting meditation of love, writing, teaching, finding solace and companionship in the world. Extremely well crafted–and mercifully short. But were the stakes for the narrator high enough? Was it craft and not insight or revelation that had it win the National Book Award?
For writers: This is a good examply of how craft exceeds what the writer has to say. Ultimately, it is the quality or depth of the story that moves us.