{"product_id":"the-friend-by-sigrid-nunez","title":"'The Friend' by Sigrid Nunez","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-8 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv dir=\"auto\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eAfter her closest friend and former mentor dies by suicide, an unnamed writer inherits his enormous Great Dane.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe lives in a small New York apartment where dogs are forbidden, and the practical problem of caring for him becomes inseparable from the larger problem of grief. The book is built from memory, literary quotation, argument and digression rather than conventional plot. The narrator thinks through friendship, teaching, suicide, writing, sexual power and the hierarchy of loss. The dog is another grieving creature, unreadable yet insistently present, forcing companionship where language has failed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWinner of the 2018 National Book Award, \u003cem\u003eThe Friend\u003c\/em\u003e is sharp about the vanity and self-deception of literary life while remaining genuinely interested in what books can hold for us when ordinary consolation becomes embarrassing or impossible. It is a novel about mourning, but also about the compromises of intimacy: what we inherit from people, what we excuse in them, and what remains after they have removed themselves from the argument.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVirago Press, 2019 paperback; later printing. Very good condition with light shelf wear.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"bower studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45910491005011,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0689\/0268\/2707\/files\/Untitleddesign-2026-08-05T123207.243.png?v=1785897222","url":"https:\/\/bowerbooks.com\/products\/the-friend-by-sigrid-nunez","provider":"bower books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}