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A review by balletbookworm
Friendship by Emily Gould
4.0
Yes, I put this on the "badass ladies" shelf. And, at first glance, Bev and Amy don't seem very badass. Bev seems depressed and Amy needs a swift kick in the pants. But then the plot kicks in and Bev gets pregnant and Amy really can't get over herself. These are messy characters because real lives are messy and come with zero how-to instructions and in the end not everything gets sorted out and tied with a neat little bow. And that's when you get to be a badass lady - when you have to sort out all your own shit (a lovely pile that you have often made yourself) and be an adult.
I picked up Friendship this summer after reading some article that basically said novels written by thirty-something women about thirty-something women (particularly in New York) were drivel. Or some crap. I made it about three paragraphs into this "article" before I wanted to burn down the Internet on behalf of Emma Straub, Edan Lepucki, Emily St John Mandel, Emily Gould, etc etc etc.
< sarcasm >Because thirty-something male authors writing about thirty-something males navel-gazing or wanking or bemoaning their lack-of-initiative state are sooo much better. *side-eye Franzen, Roth, Updike, blah blah blah*< /sarcasm >
And this is a good novel. Nice and solid with good voices and characterizations and not over-plotted with tidy resolutions for everyone and everything. I liked it. I hope Emily writes a whole bunch more.
Also, I may have tweeted Emily Gould that I wanted to light one of the male characters on fire. Possibly two, since there is a second douchelord later on in the book only he at least doesn't pull a slut-shaming/are you sure it's mine on the female character. (She kind of agreed)
I picked up Friendship this summer after reading some article that basically said novels written by thirty-something women about thirty-something women (particularly in New York) were drivel. Or some crap. I made it about three paragraphs into this "article" before I wanted to burn down the Internet on behalf of Emma Straub, Edan Lepucki, Emily St John Mandel, Emily Gould, etc etc etc.
< sarcasm >Because thirty-something male authors writing about thirty-something males navel-gazing or wanking or bemoaning their lack-of-initiative state are sooo much better. *side-eye Franzen, Roth, Updike, blah blah blah*< /sarcasm >
And this is a good novel. Nice and solid with good voices and characterizations and not over-plotted with tidy resolutions for everyone and everything. I liked it. I hope Emily writes a whole bunch more.
Also, I may have tweeted Emily Gould that I wanted to light one of the male characters on fire. Possibly two, since there is a second douchelord later on in the book only he at least doesn't pull a slut-shaming/are you sure it's mine on the female character. (She kind of agreed)