A review by katebelt
The Friend by Joakim Zander

2.0

I normally love books about books, authors, and writing. This was also about authors and their dogs and friendship, but I didn't see that as a major theme in the book. It felt like a heavy handed critique of writers and writing students, yet there were so many layers in the book that maybe it was critiquing heavy handed critiquers. I had a difficult time following when it was the narrator's voice or another character's voice telling the story. This book won the 2018 National Book Award. I had started it then and abandoned it. This time I completed it for a book group. All this being said, I have the author's last book on hold already! Her writing is excellent, but I had difficulty with the structure. I thought maybe my problem was not relating to the sense of place, but I've read and enjoyed many other books with similar settings.