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The Friend

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The Friend

By: Sigrid Nunez
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
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About this listen

 A moving story of love, friendship, grief, healing, and the magical bond between a woman and her dog - NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING NAOMI WATTS AND BILL MURRAY

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST 100 BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
WINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

'A true delight: I genuinely fear I won't read a better novel this year' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Loved this. A funny, moving examination of love, grief, and the uniqueness of dogs' GRAHAM NORTON

'Delicious' SUNDAY TIMES 100 BEST SUMMER READS
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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, and by the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building.

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 unravelling. But while troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards lie in store for both of them.
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'Very, very clever. Mature. Entertaining. Eminently readable and re-readable. Absolutely delightful' IRISH TIMES

'I loved it . . . It's one of my favourite books and it moved me' WHOOPI GOLDBERG

'A perfect novel . . . It's my favorite kind of masterpiece - one you can put into anyone's hand' EMMA STRAUB

A New York Times Notable Book of 2018 * A Financial Times 2018 Best Book: Critics Pick * A Buzzfeed Best Book of 2018 * A Bustle Best Fiction Book of 2018 * An NPR Best Book of 2018©2018 Sigrid Nunez (P)2018 Hachette Audio UK Animals Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt

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All stars
Most relevant  
I would generally have avoided this because of the narrators accent but the reviews on audible and elsewhere made me want to persevere… however it was a disappointing listen on both counts. I think there was a good framework for the plot but the writing lacked momentum and whilst they were eloquent words more than once I had to remind myself what I was listening to and got lost in the context of some diverting chapters.

Not for me

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a beautiful book… made me cry. Especially the last chapter. But I loved every second of it! thank you Sigrid 💝

a beautiful book…

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i have listened to the book twice and enjoyed it both times. its subject matter is surprising, and its exploration of literature and writing intriguing. i do not know if I. understand it, but the play on fiction and nonfiction fascinated me. i thoroughly enjoyed the book.

Thoughtful and unexpected

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Really enjoyed it! Short and heartfelt, perfect listen for train journeys, also whenever there is a dog involved!!!

The narrator is one of the best!

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A beautiful lyrical book which captures the essence of love and loss. Once finished i wanted to re-read it immediately to recapture the emotions.

Breathtakingly beautiful

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Interesting conceit of talking to dead friend to go on riffs about friendships with humans and animals; writing; teaching; publishing but the slightly cynical weary tone (of the reader voice perhaps?) of the East Coast (?) set got to to me in the end and I didn’t finish it.

Repetitive nature of story

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I don’t like to leave bad reviews but I thought this was a story about a dog. It’s not at all about a dog. It’s just terrible waffling from the author and even the waffling feels more like ramblings than a cohesive story.

Terrible.

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