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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I love books about friendship. I felt this was a little slow taking off, but then it brought in a sizzle that carried on throughout the story.
This is not at all the light hearted read it is widely being advertised as. The storylines in this book are heavy. The things these characters struggle through make me sad. And then the ending was wrapped up a bit too neatly. But over all, the writing was good, and I love stories that follow character over decades of time.
Trigger Warnings will be below
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TW - eating disorder, fat shaming, abortion, brief mention of domestic violence, infidelity, infertility, brief mention of childhood sexual abuse, alcoholism.
Trigger Warnings will be below
.
.
.
.
.
TW - eating disorder, fat shaming, abortion, brief mention of domestic violence, infidelity, infertility, brief mention of childhood sexual abuse, alcoholism.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Friends We Keep is a novel spanning the years 1986 to 2019. It's focused on the lives of 3 people - Maggie, Evvie, and Topher - who struck up what developed into a close friendship upon meeting as students during "Freshers Week" at Cambridge in 1986.
After graduation, each had pledged to remain close, come what may. But as often happens, their respective life journeys tended to pull them apart. Neither of them achieved the types of lives each had aspired to have during their university years. Maggie worked for a PR firm in London, where she met her future husband (whom she had fancied from her earliest days in university), and went on to lead a largely barren and cheerless existence. Evvie returned to New York, where she found work with a modelling agency, and eventually became a successful supermodel. But along the way, she developed a knack for getting into relationships with the wrong sorts of men. And yet, along the way, there was a man she - along with Maggie and Topher - had known from Cambridge days, with whom she had an encounter that would later have fateful consequences in the future. As for Topher, like Evvie, he moved to New York, where he carved out a successful career as a soap opera actor. He lived a bit of the wild life with a number of male lovers before striking up a special relationship with a man who gave him much happiness and contentment. And yet -- there was something out of Topher's childhood that hobbled him emotionally.
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher periodically kept in touch. But the closeness they once shared was no longer there. And yet, when they meet at a 30 year reunion at Cambridge, they begin the slow process of reforging what they once had as close friends. What results will lead the reader through a series of emotional ups and downs.
I think any middle-aged person reading this review will find much in this novel that may be relatable to their own lives. Plus, The Friends We Keep is very well-written and comes highly recommend
After graduation, each had pledged to remain close, come what may. But as often happens, their respective life journeys tended to pull them apart. Neither of them achieved the types of lives each had aspired to have during their university years. Maggie worked for a PR firm in London, where she met her future husband (whom she had fancied from her earliest days in university), and went on to lead a largely barren and cheerless existence. Evvie returned to New York, where she found work with a modelling agency, and eventually became a successful supermodel. But along the way, she developed a knack for getting into relationships with the wrong sorts of men. And yet, along the way, there was a man she - along with Maggie and Topher - had known from Cambridge days, with whom she had an encounter that would later have fateful consequences in the future. As for Topher, like Evvie, he moved to New York, where he carved out a successful career as a soap opera actor. He lived a bit of the wild life with a number of male lovers before striking up a special relationship with a man who gave him much happiness and contentment. And yet -- there was something out of Topher's childhood that hobbled him emotionally.
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher periodically kept in touch. But the closeness they once shared was no longer there. And yet, when they meet at a 30 year reunion at Cambridge, they begin the slow process of reforging what they once had as close friends. What results will lead the reader through a series of emotional ups and downs.
I think any middle-aged person reading this review will find much in this novel that may be relatable to their own lives. Plus, The Friends We Keep is very well-written and comes highly recommend
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bestselling author Jane Green returns with an ambitious saga about three friends who meet in college, the far-reaching directions their lives take them, and how they come back together years later.
Evvie, Maggie, and Topher were devoted to each other during college and convinced that they would always be friends. But as often happens, once they graduated, and embarked upon careers and relationships, they drifted apart. Green details what happens to each of the three friends.
Evvie learned in college to use medications to stay thin and attractive, and parlayed that knowledge into a highly successful career as a model. However, beauty fades and so did Evvie’s career as she allowed emotional eating to take over. She had a brief, but momentous affair with a married man and bore his son. A son that she has steadfastly kept away from Maggie and Topher.
Maggie had a crush on Ben when they were in college. In fact, they called him “Evil Ben” because he was a grumpy bartender in the same local pub where Evvie worked. Even back in college, Ben’s drinking was problematic. A chance meeting several years after graduation brought Maggie and Ben back together and they married, intending to start a family. Through Maggie, Green illustrates that life doesn’t always work out according to plan, especially when one is either too naive or chooses not to appreciate the significance of obstacles that present themselves.
In college, Topher thought he was just not a sexual being. He didn’t like to be touched by anyone, male or female. After college he pursued and enjoyed a career as an actor, scoring a steady gig on a popular daytime drama. And he discovered his sexual orientation and found love within a committed, if not passionate, relationship, as well as from supportive friends. After the death of his beloved partner, Topher enjoys a platonic relationship with an older gentleman and moves in with him. An inadvertent but irresponsible lapse in judgment derails his career and tarnishes his reputation, so he is eventually forced to confront the horror he endured as a child. That trauma explains fully why true emotional intimacy has always evaded him.
The three friends are reunited at their thirtieth college reunion, and they realize how deeply they all still care about each other. They fall right back into their old patterns — laughing, talking, drinking. Each of them has reached a crossroads in his/her life, and they realize that they not only like each other. They also need each other. Maggie has the perfect solution! And all is again well, despite the fact that Evvie has been keeping an explosive secret that, if revealed, will destroy the relationship that she has re-established with Maggie and Topher.
In true Green fashion, that secret has far-reaching ramifications for her three characters. She capably explores its impact upon each of them as they grapple with information that changes the basic facts they have assumed about each other. Green focuses on themes including taking responsibility for one’s own actions and choices; the consequences of an inability to appreciate the gravity of evidence of trouble; forgiveness; and what it means to be a family. Through her three characters, she also examines how destructive disappointment can be and the importance of being able to move past it in order to find a new, if not predicted or foreseen, normal.
The fact that the ending of The Friends We Keep is thoroughly predictable does not detract from the enjoyment of sharing the journeys of Green’s three characters. Each of them is highly flawed, but so thoroughly human that they are empathetic and likable in spite of their shortcomings. Each of them makes terrible choices and is required to confront the fall-out from their own behavior. Green never lets the book’s pace drag as she deftly navigates between the perspectives of each character over the course of more than three decades.
The Friends We Keep is engrossing and her characters are endearing. It’s precisely the kind of book to throw in one’s beach bag and enjoy while lounging by a pool or on the shore.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
My Review Of
The Friends We Keep
We meet Ben in the first chapter of this book, he is battling his demons when he receives a life changing text.
In the following chapters we go back in time to when Evvie, Maggie, and Topher became fast friends in college, forming a pact and a bond that they swore was never going to break.
Of course life happens, friends keep secrets form each other and Evvie, Maggie, and Topher do drift apart but manage to keep in touch over the years now and again.
These 3 characters were easy for me to relate to and I quickly immersed myself in their worlds. To me Evvie was the character that I bonded with the most. Evvie was a successful model until an unhappy marriage and weight gain
threw her modeling career off track. Having always struggling with that image of a perfect body/weight myself I could relate to Evvie's feelings about her body and self worth that was tied into how thin she was and how that impacted her self esteem.
When the all decide to meet again at a college reunion they bond like never before.
This is when things get interesting and a shocking secret is revealed. Each of these characters have their own secrets and demons that they have had to battle with through the years. Jane Green does an awesome job of telling their stories separately then seamlessly weaving it all together.
This book is the perfect summer read.This review was originally posted on Fictional Reviewer
Wasn't a huge fan of this book. Found it a bit of a stretch at times, and somewhat unrealistic in places. Had trouble connecting with it at times. Little disappointing because I was really looking forward to it.
Waited so long for Jane!!! Love her and loved this book.
Maggie, Evvie, and Topher became inseparable during their time at University. Upon graduating, they promised that they would remain close; however, life got busy and they slowly drifted apart. Now, years later, they are finally catching back up but they each have some secrets they have kept from one another. Will their secrets be too much to handle? Can friends truly forgive each other?
Jane Green explores what friendship looks like throughout life. She develops characters that are realistic and flawed. Maggie, Evvie, and Topher all have to battle struggles and triumphs throughout the book just as everyone does throughout life. This is what makes the story so relatable – you understand that the characters have tough patches, just like anyone in life. Nonetheless, I did feel like the story dragged a little bit in a few places. This was my first novel by Jane Green, and I enjoyed how she dug into friendships, love, and loss. A heartfelt read that will leave you thinking about Maggie, Evvie, and Topher past the last page.
Jane Green explores what friendship looks like throughout life. She develops characters that are realistic and flawed. Maggie, Evvie, and Topher all have to battle struggles and triumphs throughout the book just as everyone does throughout life. This is what makes the story so relatable – you understand that the characters have tough patches, just like anyone in life. Nonetheless, I did feel like the story dragged a little bit in a few places. This was my first novel by Jane Green, and I enjoyed how she dug into friendships, love, and loss. A heartfelt read that will leave you thinking about Maggie, Evvie, and Topher past the last page.