sarahelizab's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jj_c's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kimmeyer's review against another edition
2.0
This book reminds me of Emma Straub in the sense of not being able to quite put my finger on why it doesn't work for me. It reminds me of titles by Meg Wolitzer and J Courtney Sulivan that I like very much. But I just did. not. care. I didn't have an emotional connection to these characters.
melissatrew's review against another edition
4.0
”The people closest to you surprised you in the most disappointing ways.”
Good Company is an up-close-and-personal, introspective look at a group of friends and their lives, choices, and relationships over many years. The story follows Flora, Julian, Margot, and David - two couples who have been friends for decades - and the joys, sorrows, betrayals, challenges, and celebrations they’ve experienced along the way.
”She vacillated between sorrow and fury and seemed incapable of finding some middle ground.”
Like the entire series of Friends condensed into 300 pages, Good Company is heavily character-driven and relies very little on linear plot development. The narrative bobs and weaves, folding over and back in on itself again, jumping from college days to present day, to the early days of their marriages and careers, to what happened 5 years ago. Each chapter presents a collection of memories and how the characters were impacted by those experiences.
”Too often, she looked forward to the end of something—to beginning the remembering—more than the thing itself.”
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney does an incredible job of bringing her characters to life through deep, thorough character development and backstories. You get to know each of them intimately, for better or for worse. They’re not exactly the most likeable bunch, and some of them make some really poor choices, but Sweeney offsets this to an extent, by offering vulnerable, revealing insights into their inner workings. The dialogue is well-written, engaging, and believable.
”They had drifted because Margot and David’s lives were progressing in a way that made Flora feel resentful, left behind.”
Plot-driven readers may struggle with this one, as well as readers who find non-linear timelines challenging. It was hard for me to follow the constant flashbacks and the jumping around between decades & events. It is a relatively light read, which could be a good thing for those seeking something short & sweet, or could be a bit of a bummer for those who prefer a deep, moving read.
”Desire was nothing more than impulse and possibility, with paths leading off into separate but possibly equally satisfying destinations.”
Marin Ireland freaking killed it on the audiobook narration of Good Company. I can't remember the last time I heard a narrator voice the distinctions between varying emotions and moods with such nuanced brilliance. From hesitancy to sarcasm to deliberate cattiness, Ireland absolutely nailed every line, and totally enhanced the reading experience for me. Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
——
A huge thank-you to Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, Ecco, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
——
Follow @letteredlibrary on Instagram!
Good Company is an up-close-and-personal, introspective look at a group of friends and their lives, choices, and relationships over many years. The story follows Flora, Julian, Margot, and David - two couples who have been friends for decades - and the joys, sorrows, betrayals, challenges, and celebrations they’ve experienced along the way.
”She vacillated between sorrow and fury and seemed incapable of finding some middle ground.”
Like the entire series of Friends condensed into 300 pages, Good Company is heavily character-driven and relies very little on linear plot development. The narrative bobs and weaves, folding over and back in on itself again, jumping from college days to present day, to the early days of their marriages and careers, to what happened 5 years ago. Each chapter presents a collection of memories and how the characters were impacted by those experiences.
”Too often, she looked forward to the end of something—to beginning the remembering—more than the thing itself.”
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney does an incredible job of bringing her characters to life through deep, thorough character development and backstories. You get to know each of them intimately, for better or for worse. They’re not exactly the most likeable bunch, and some of them make some really poor choices, but Sweeney offsets this to an extent, by offering vulnerable, revealing insights into their inner workings. The dialogue is well-written, engaging, and believable.
”They had drifted because Margot and David’s lives were progressing in a way that made Flora feel resentful, left behind.”
Plot-driven readers may struggle with this one, as well as readers who find non-linear timelines challenging. It was hard for me to follow the constant flashbacks and the jumping around between decades & events. It is a relatively light read, which could be a good thing for those seeking something short & sweet, or could be a bit of a bummer for those who prefer a deep, moving read.
”Desire was nothing more than impulse and possibility, with paths leading off into separate but possibly equally satisfying destinations.”
Marin Ireland freaking killed it on the audiobook narration of Good Company. I can't remember the last time I heard a narrator voice the distinctions between varying emotions and moods with such nuanced brilliance. From hesitancy to sarcasm to deliberate cattiness, Ireland absolutely nailed every line, and totally enhanced the reading experience for me. Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
——
A huge thank-you to Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, Ecco, HarperAudio, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
——
Follow @letteredlibrary on Instagram!
sheebs15's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
elysahenegar's review against another edition
4.0
Cynthia Sweeney's skill with writing characters makes this novel a character-driven page-turner! Much of this book happens in the past, from the perspectives of multiple characters. There's an element of suspense as Sweeney traces present day relational complexity all the back to choices in the past. I was absorbed, heartened, thoughtful, disappointed. I was completely entranced by the characters and Sweeney's writing, which holds on from the very beginning.
alyssareadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
brooke_review's review against another edition
3.0
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of the 2016 bestseller The Nest, returns with her sophomore novel, Good Company, a book about marital issues among acting couples. Having not read The Nest, I primarily picked up Good Company because I was seeing this book everywhere and wanted to discover why everyone was so buzzy about this novel and author. Honestly, I was also attracted to Good Company's vibrant and beautiful cover, which interestingly enough, doesn't have any meaningful connection to the novel's content.
The premise of Good Company is entirely spun around wife and voice actress Flora Mancini finding her husband Julian's wedding ring that he supposedly lost over a decade ago hidden away in a drawer. What is his wedding ring doing in an envelope and not on his finger? While you may assume that Good Company fast forwards from this pivotal point, it doesn't. Rather the past and present swirl around this discovery of the wedding ring, and readers learn about Flora and Julian's marriage in the early days and how it is affected after the truth comes out.
I personally expected there to be something more gripping and startling about this novel, but rather, it is standard marital fare. Couples come together, couples fall apart ... usually for the expected reasons. So anyone going into this novel should view it mostly as a study of a failing marriage set against the backdrop of the New York and Los Angeles acting scenes. Julian's acting company, aptly titled Good Company, is a focus of the book, and Flora's best friend Margot is also a major interest point, as she is a star on a hit hospital television series. Told from multiple POVs, Good Company's biggest draw for me was Margot and her life as a celebrity, and how that changes the ways she relates to the people in her life. I personally didn't get much from the marital bits, although I did find Flora and Julian's teenager daughter Ruby to also be of some interest.
In all, Good Company is a solidly average novel. It is not bad, but it's not great either. Instead, it kind of just wades there in the middle with nothing entirely unique or outstanding about it.
I received a Libro.fm complimentary audiobook of Good Company narrated by Marin Ireland, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite readers for adult literary fiction. I previously listened to her work on The Push, and she sold that novel for me, much like she also does on Good Company. I do not think I would have liked this novel as much if I had read it as a physical book. Ireland adds a little something to the story and makes it more interesting than it is.
The premise of Good Company is entirely spun around wife and voice actress Flora Mancini finding her husband Julian's wedding ring that he supposedly lost over a decade ago hidden away in a drawer. What is his wedding ring doing in an envelope and not on his finger? While you may assume that Good Company fast forwards from this pivotal point, it doesn't. Rather the past and present swirl around this discovery of the wedding ring, and readers learn about Flora and Julian's marriage in the early days and how it is affected after the truth comes out.
I personally expected there to be something more gripping and startling about this novel, but rather, it is standard marital fare. Couples come together, couples fall apart ... usually for the expected reasons. So anyone going into this novel should view it mostly as a study of a failing marriage set against the backdrop of the New York and Los Angeles acting scenes. Julian's acting company, aptly titled Good Company, is a focus of the book, and Flora's best friend Margot is also a major interest point, as she is a star on a hit hospital television series. Told from multiple POVs, Good Company's biggest draw for me was Margot and her life as a celebrity, and how that changes the ways she relates to the people in her life. I personally didn't get much from the marital bits, although I did find Flora and Julian's teenager daughter Ruby to also be of some interest.
In all, Good Company is a solidly average novel. It is not bad, but it's not great either. Instead, it kind of just wades there in the middle with nothing entirely unique or outstanding about it.
I received a Libro.fm complimentary audiobook of Good Company narrated by Marin Ireland, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite readers for adult literary fiction. I previously listened to her work on The Push, and she sold that novel for me, much like she also does on Good Company. I do not think I would have liked this novel as much if I had read it as a physical book. Ireland adds a little something to the story and makes it more interesting than it is.
lindsaysmeldrum's review against another edition
3.0
Quick, easy read. It didn’t feel like a chore to read, but it didn’t have a lot of depth. It was a tale as old as time… someone has an affair, some tried to hide it, someone is upset…
knitwgrace's review against another edition
3.0
Character driven. Mainly a story about the evolution of marriages and friendships.