Scan barcode
bassoonerd's review
3.0
It was interesting to see different categories of friendship failure emerge- namely "grief" (one person is grieving and the other person wants to be supportive, but the dynamic is ineffective for one of many reasons) and "defining friendship in the context of sameness and then something external shows the two people to be dissimilar".
It wasn't a happy book to read, but it didn't bum me out as much as I expected it to be. The stories/essays were short enough that I didn't feel too much for the characters/people in them, so that probably helped. Plus, you knew going into a new story/essay that the friendship was going to fail, so as a reader I didn't feel blindsided.
The part of me that likes analyzing people and relationships really liked finding the categories and parallels. There's even one set of essays that's told from both sides and the differences are fascinating.
It wasn't a happy book to read, but it didn't bum me out as much as I expected it to be. The stories/essays were short enough that I didn't feel too much for the characters/people in them, so that probably helped. Plus, you knew going into a new story/essay that the friendship was going to fail, so as a reader I didn't feel blindsided.
The part of me that likes analyzing people and relationships really liked finding the categories and parallels. There's even one set of essays that's told from both sides and the differences are fascinating.
itskassywithak's review
5.0
This was hard to read in the sense that a lot of the stories rang really close to me and talked about aspects of friendship I haven’t really seen represented in books or film before.
janelane's review
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
I used these stories for inspiration while writing about my own lost friendship. I really enjoyed the writing styles of these authors.
anrobe's review
3.0
Although I didn't love all the stories in this book of essays, there were a few that really spoke to me. That reminded me of my own 'friends who got away' ... that made me sad, frustrated and nostalgic all at once! Friendships are complicated and I think almost everyone has experienced letting go of a friendship or being let go of ... it's pretty universal. As a result, it was really quite interesting to read about the experiences of other women ... their feelings, their motivations, as well as their justifications. Overall, I'm glad that I read this collection of essays but it wasn't a personal favorite.
apostrophoebe's review against another edition
I have been waiting for this my whole life! Ok since 2013. A lot of these felt strange especially because the authors are older so their values and aesthetics are really unfamiliar (why so critical? what the heck is white lipstick?) But I appreciate the acknowledgement of how sometimes you just start feeling bad and you can't explain it or fix it because you don't really know why or what's going on and then the friendship falls apart. And the emotions that lead to that seem unreasonable and totally useless and yet! you can't get rid of them
satyridae's review
3.0
Wrenching stories of failed friendships. This book brought back some unpleasant memories for me, as well as some that have become bittersweet with time. There are several famous writers sprinkled throughout, including Dorothy Allison and Diana Abu Jaber. Two essays are about the same friendship, told from each woman's side. Uncomfortable and compelling at the same time.
tonianni's review
3.0
You can read my review at http://followthereview.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/1st-completed-book-of-the-year/
melinda's review
4.0
Great book. Subject is something most women can relate to. Well written, touching and funny individual pieces.
More...