The Friend

A Novel

By: Sigrid Nunez

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

WINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION

SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A beautiful book … a world of insight into death, grief, art, and love."—Wall Street Journal

"A penetrating, moving meditation on loss, comfort, memory...Nunez has a wry, withering wit."—NPR

"Dry, allusive and charming…the comedy here writes itself.” The New York Times

A moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog.

When a woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and mentor, she finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. 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.

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. 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. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.

Elegiac and searching, The Friend is both a meditation on loss and a celebration of human-canine devotion.

©2017 Sigrid Nunez (P)2017 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“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. Her confident and direct style uplifts—the music in her sentences, her deep and varied intelligence. 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. But is it dying? Perhaps. But with The Friend, Nunez provides evidence that, for now, it survives.”—The New York Times Book Review

"Charming... the comedy here writes itself... the novel's tone in general, however, is mournful and resonant... The snap of her sentences sometimes puts me in mind of Rachel Cusk."—The New York Times

“In crystalline prose, Nunez creates an impressively controlled portrait of the ‘exhaustion of mourning.’”—The New Yorker

Beautiful

The narrator did an excellent job with this beautiful, thought-provoking book. It’s the first Sigrid Nunez book I’ve read, and I plan to look for more.

thought provoking story

it has a slow start fictional story with grounded in reality plot about depression and suicide oh and a great Dane which I am an owner of.

A dog truly is man's best friend

Good story of saving a dog meant saving herself. Magical bond! True dog lover's story.

Amazing. Subtle. Contemplative.

This book will sit with me for a long time. I felt like its musings were my own.

Sad, but good.

The narrator did an excellent job. The story itself is interesting, but sad. Overall, I would recommend it.

3.97 stars

This year’s National Book Award winner is fiction that reads like memoir. I suspect at least some of this novel is based on the author’s life, though I know nothing about Sigrid Nunez and have no grounds for saying this. The Friend is about love and loss, but more specifically it’s about suicide and writers and dogs. I like this author’s writing style, and I like the narrator of this audiobook. It’s a book of ideas, not a novel in the traditional sense. There’s so many literary prizes these days, and I don’t know the criteria for each. I won’t say The Friend isn’t deserving of The NBA, but I will say I’ve listened to better audiobooks that were released this year. Overall rating: 3.97 stars

put this at the top of your queue.

When I first started listening, with no advance knowledge of the story or the writer, I thought Oh God this is some authorial navel-gazing. But I was hiking so I kept listening, and then...Oh. No it isn't. It's bright, and gently subversive, and not navel-gazing but hugely introspective in a way that pulled me in and held me. The narrator's voice facilitates the whole experience. I'd give more stars if I could.

Great writing

i loved it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. especially if you have a dog.

Funny, sweet, and sad

I loved this book, which touches on grief and the bond between humans and animals. I loved the writing style, dark humor, literary backdrop and attention to detail with the dog and New York City. I wanted to start it over as soon as I finished. Very lovely.

Buy it. Read it. Now.

Excellent book.
Superb performance.
Beautiful story, well written and please have the kleanex box by your side.
Love it.