Benji’s Book Review: Sigrid Nunez, The Friend

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

Not going to lie- totally judged this book by it’s cover. Spotted it in the cutest book store – Peach Street Book Store in Cape Charles, VA.

I mean, how could there not be great books in a store this appealing?

 

Can you spot The Friend in the photo on the left?

 

Actually, I picked The Friend up and then put it down, in part, I was distracted by all the other gorgeous books, but I also had a twinge of protectiveness around my heart.  My sister took one look at the cover and said, “I’m buying this for you!” I had recently lost Cooper and Molly, but also invited Benji to become part of the family. After I read the back cover, it seemed like this book, about the special bonds between human and canine was placed there just for me.

 

From the Back Cover:

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

(They had me at magical bond!)

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

Three things I loved about The Friend (besides the cover)

1. The perspective of the dog’s (Apollo) grief: Most stories I’ve read of this nature center around a human’s grief over the loss of their dog. I’ve never read a work of fiction about a dog’s grief over the loss of their human. Of course, I’ve heard many anecdotes about loyal, grief-stricken pets, and Ms. Nunez sprinkles many non-fiction, canine-grief related stories in the narrative- which I really enjoyed. I love the depth and complexity given to Apollo’s emotions. I once I had a friend who wasn’t a good dog owner. She was neglectful and dismissive. Every time she’d do something shitty to her dog,  she’d say – “Oh, it’s just a dog,” – as if her dog had no feelings whatsoever, and just went into some kind of sleep-mode when she wasn’t engaging with it. I don’t know if she truly believed her dog had no feelings, or if she just told herself that so she wouldn’t feel guilty about being shitty. Oh and speaking of shitty- she was one of those people who flung poop bags into the woods. Yep. Did that. Our friendship didn’t last.
2. Pulling back the Writer’s Curtain: Both the MC and her departed mentor are successful writers. I love that glimpse into the world of writers and writing. What goes hand in paw with writing? Reading! There’s a point in the book where the MC is trying everything she can think of to cheer Apollo up; walks, treats, games, even music. As it turns out, Apollo wants to be read to. Once she figures out that Apollo loves the sound of her voice when she’s reading, their bond really starts to solidify.
3. The Ending: The whole time I’m reading this book, I am thinking how the hell is it going to end? I love a happy ending and having just lost my two dogs, I did not want to read about the death of another. However, there’s an indisputable fact looming… Apollo is getting up there in years and Great Danes have a notoriously short life span. Ugh. The tension this created had me racing to the end. I am not going to spoil it of course, but I do want to say that the author did a beautiful job handling the ending. It left my heart full and happy.

Things you should know about Sigrid Nunez: She’s 70 years old. #badass In 2018 she won the National Book Award for her seventh novel, you guessed it – The Friend. It’s that good. Read it now!

My Friend Benji adored this book too, as you can tell.

XO

Mariah