The Friend (National Book Award Winner) cover art

The Friend (National Book Award Winner)

A Novel

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The Friend (National Book Award Winner)

Written by: Sigrid Nunez
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
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Summary
 WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING NAOMI WATTS

“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 Times

The New York Times bestselling story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog—by the author of It Will Come Back to You

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. Animals Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction Magic Heartfelt Grief Meditation

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All stars
Most Relevant
There were parts that were compelling. Overall the best part was the dog - the most believable of the book's characters.

Award winning - maybe good for academic discourse

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I was expecting a story of love between the writer and a dog she got saddled with
I guess this is the story, but she doesn't give the dog much of a personality. Kind if boring.

not so great!

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Ultimately, the book was worth the read. The end sort-of justifies the content. But at first, it feels heavy and slow and reads like a school paper with all those references to who wrote or said what. In some places, I found myself wondering why I was being subjected to all the discombobulated meandering talk. Overall though, the dog fixation is what got me plus the end is really cool.

Mixed feelings

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the writing style of the author is unappealing, especially in the audiobook style. the flow is inconsistent and the rambles lack emotional connection

not worth it

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