The Friend (National Book Award Winner)

you?

He is.

Would have, would have. The dead dwell in the conditional, tense of the unreal. But there is also the extraordinary sense that you have become omniscient, that nothing we do or think or feel can be kept from you. The extraordinary sense that you are reading these words, that you know what they ll say even before I write them.




It s true that if you cry hard enough for long enough you can end up with blurred vision.

I was lying down, it was the middle of the day, but I was in bed. All the crying had given me a headache, I d had a throbbing headache for days. I got up and went to look out the window. It was winter yet, it was cold by the window, there was a draft. But it felt good as it felt good to press my forehead against the icy glass. I kept blinking, but my eyes wouldn t clear. I thought of the women who d cried themselves blind. I blinked and blinked, fear rising. Then I saw you. You were wearing your brown vintage bomber jacket, the one that was too tight and looked only better on you for that and your hair was dark and thick and long. Which is how I knew that we had to be back in time. Way back. Almost thirty years.

Where were you going? Nowhere in particular. No errand, no appointment. Just strolling along, hands in pockets, savoring the street. It was your thing. If I can t walk, I can t write. You would work in the morning, and at a certain point, which always came, when it seemed you were incapable of writing a simple sentence, you would go out and walk for miles. Cursed were the days when bad weather prevented this (which rarely happened, though, because you didn t mind cold or rain, only a real storm could thwart you). When you came back you would sit down again to work, trying to hold on to the rhythm that had been established while walking. And the better you succeeded at that, the better the w

life of an aging writer in New York. Far from being heavy going, this novel, written as a letter to the late friend, is peppered with wry observations, particularly those of a writer stuck teaching undergraduates. The Economist

In this slim but pitch-perfect novel, a writer loses her best friend and mentor suddenly without explanation Wry and moving, The Friend is a love story, a mania story, and a recovery story.   Vanity Fair

A poignant reflection on loss and companionship. Marie Claire

[A] sneaky gut punch of a novel a consummate example of the human-animal tale The Friend s tone is dry, clear, direct which is the surest way to carry off this sort of close-up study of anguish and attachment.   Harper's Magazine

A wry riff on Rilke s idea of love as two solitudes that protect and border and greet each other. Vogue

"With enormous heart and eloquence, Nunez explores cerebral responses to loss The Friend exposes an extraordinary reserve of strength waiting to be found in storytelling and unexpected companionship.   Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Often as funny as it is thoughtful, The Friend is an elegant meditation on grief, friendship, healing, and the bonds between humans and dogs."  Buzzfeed

A serious book about a big sloppy dog, Nunez s seventh novel displays the intellectual heft of her late friend s work, but also a distinctive sense of humor and narrative momentum. Vulture

A brilliant examination of the writer s life, literary friendship, mortality, bereavement, and our relationship to animals. The novel is not easily summarized; the true rewards of this reading experience are the crystalline prose Readers will also savor the surprising shifts in narrative focus. The Rumpus

"An elegant and darkly humorous meditation on grief and companionship, it's a great read whether or not you're obsessed with canines.   Shondaland.com

Sigrid Nunez s novel delivers an enthralling, emotional tale.   Paste Magazine

"The Friend is proof that what we lack is itself a vital part of life and that loss can lead to meaningful connections found in unlikely places. Sometimes it can take an animal to make a person understand their own humanity. And sometimes a book as unexpected as The Friend can provide as much comfort as any canine companion.   B&N Review

Quietly brilliant and darkly funny [The Friend is] 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.   Kirkus, starred review

Riveting This elegant novel explores both rich memories and day-to-day mundanity, reflecting the way that, especially in grief, the past is often more vibrant than the present.   Publishers Weekly

Light, musing, curious, and somehow wonderfully sturdy. Vivian Gornick for Bookforum

Brilliant but informal, sad yet laugh-out-loud funny This beautiful, spare, work will not disappoint. Bookpage

Nunez offers an often-hilarious, always-penetrating look at writing, grief, and the companionship of dogs.   Booklist

"The joys of this novel lie in Nunez s striking capacity to describe the world and its inhabitants, both human and animal. Nunez is a keen observer of behavior, and throughout the text she plants wonderful nuggets that immediately ring true yet still manage to be surprising.   Michigan Daily

A slow, poignant meditation on grief, rife with pithy literary myths and quotations Literature nerds, creative writing students, and dog lovers will find this work delightful. Recommended for literary fiction collections.   Library Journal 
 
Nunez s story of a dog and his inadvertent caregiver is a darkly humorous and unsentimental tale of friendship, mourning, and solace. Electric Lit

The intensity and elegance of The Friend mean two things you cannot put it down and you will cry. In a novel about loss and the loneliness of writing and imagination, Sigrid Nunez creates an irresistible tale of love and an unforgettable Great Dane. A beautiful, beautiful book the most original canine love story since My Dog Tulip. Cathleen Schine, bestselling author of They May Not Mean To, But They Do