Scan barcode
A review by gobblebook
A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself by William Boyle
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A mob widow thinks she has murdered one of her husband's former associates when he hits on her and she clunks him on the head with an ashtray. In a panic, she steals his car and flees to her estranged daughter's house. When her daughter refuses to let her in, her daughter's neighbor, a former porn star, takes her in. All sorts of complications ensue, worthy of a Guy Ritchie movie - the daughter's boyfriend steals from the mob and wants to take the daughter and flee, a man who the porn star conned out of a bunch of money tracks her down and wants her to marry him... ultimately the widow, the porn star, and the widow's granddaughter end up on the run together.
It's a mob thriller, so there's a lot of violence and some of it gets pretty gory. The action scenes are well-written and easy to follow.
In principle, the idea of a mob widow and a porn star, both women in their 60s, fleeing bad guys together, sounds like a lot of fun, and it is, but it also feels like Boyle is trying a little too hard. The porn star is always full of zen-like wisdom and always has the right thing to say. The widow's teenage granddaughter is obnoxiously stupid. Boyle clearly wanted to write some bad-ass women, and that's cool, but every single woman is a bad-ass and it's just too much. My eyes just about rolled out of my head when the granddaughter was rescued by a smoking, drinking, cursing nun.
This is a decent beach read if you're looking for something mindless and fun, but don't expect much else from it.
It's a mob thriller, so there's a lot of violence and some of it gets pretty gory. The action scenes are well-written and easy to follow.
In principle, the idea of a mob widow and a porn star, both women in their 60s, fleeing bad guys together, sounds like a lot of fun, and it is, but it also feels like Boyle is trying a little too hard. The porn star is always full of zen-like wisdom and always has the right thing to say. The widow's teenage granddaughter is obnoxiously stupid. Boyle clearly wanted to write some bad-ass women, and that's cool, but every single woman is a bad-ass and it's just too much. My eyes just about rolled out of my head when the granddaughter was rescued by a smoking, drinking, cursing nun.
This is a decent beach read if you're looking for something mindless and fun, but don't expect much else from it.