She addresses important ideas unpretentiously and offers wisdom for any aspiring writer who, as the narrator fears, may never know this dear, intelligent friend-or this world that is dying. Her confident and direct style uplifts-the music in her sentences, her deep and varied intelligence. “The contemplation of writing and the loss of integrity in our literary life form the heart of the novel.Nunez’s prose itself comforts us. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.Įlegiac and searching, The Friend is both a meditation on loss and a celebration of human-canine devotion. Isolated from the rest of the world, increasingly obsessed with the dog's care, determined to read its mind and fathom its heart, she comes dangerously close to unraveling. While others worry that grief has made her a victim of magical thinking, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog except for brief periods of time. Her own battle against grief is intensified by the mute suffering of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by the inexplicable disappearance of its master, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building. When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. "Dry, allusive and charming…the comedy here writes itself.” The New York TimesĪ moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog. "A penetrating, moving meditation on loss, comfort, memory.Nunez has a wry, withering wit." -NPR "A beautiful book … a world of insight into death, grief, art, and love." -Wall Street Journal SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
WINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION
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