Scan barcode
A review by mcwat
Friendship by Emily Gould
4.0
An honest, poignant, realistic look at female friendship and what happens when it goes wrong. Some reviews I've read have categorized this as chick lit, and while I do think that there are some chick lit-y, contrived elements to the plot, I think it would be a mistake to dismiss this book as frivolous just because it is concerned with women and friendship. (And even if it were genre fiction rather than literary fiction, what would be so bad about that?)
One of the things I liked best about the book was the way Emily Gould seems to know her characters intimately. As a result, when Bev and Amy make the decisions that ultimately bring about the downfall of their friendship, we fully understand why they do what they do. When it comes to character development, nothing is more important than understanding the motivations of one's characters, and Gould definitely does that. Many of the ill-advised decisions Bev and Amy made were decisions I could see myself making, too—but were these decisions really so ill-advised? At times, it's hard to say. There is a great deal of ambiguity in this book. To my mind, there is one character who deserves more blame for what transpires between the women, but perhaps this is more of a reflection of my experiences with women and friendship and the falling apart of friendships than anything else. Regardless of all that, I think that Gould does not mean for us to sit at a remove from the characters and judge them, not at all. Certainly Bev and Amy would cringe to think that we are judging them.
Friendship is a quick read, but not necessarily a light one.
One of the things I liked best about the book was the way Emily Gould seems to know her characters intimately. As a result, when Bev and Amy make the decisions that ultimately bring about the downfall of their friendship, we fully understand why they do what they do. When it comes to character development, nothing is more important than understanding the motivations of one's characters, and Gould definitely does that. Many of the ill-advised decisions Bev and Amy made were decisions I could see myself making, too—but were these decisions really so ill-advised? At times, it's hard to say. There is a great deal of ambiguity in this book. To my mind, there is one character who deserves more blame for what transpires between the women, but perhaps this is more of a reflection of my experiences with women and friendship and the falling apart of friendships than anything else. Regardless of all that, I think that Gould does not mean for us to sit at a remove from the characters and judge them, not at all. Certainly Bev and Amy would cringe to think that we are judging them.
Friendship is a quick read, but not necessarily a light one.