【英語で読書感想文】The Friend by Sigrid Nunez シーグリッド・ヌーネス『友だち』
Title: The Friend
Author: Sigrid Nunez
At the end of last year, I decided on the 10 best books of 2020 and undoubtedly included The Friend by Sigrid Nunez in the list. But I didn’t write a review since it was hard to explain why I loved it at that time. This story is such a unique and thought-provoking craft that still stays with me in 2021 so I’m challenging myself to write the review!
The story is narrated by an unnamed author. She hears that her best friend committed suicide for unknown reason and his third wife asks her to take care of his (huge) dog despite her not liking dogs at all and her apartment not allowing her to have animals.
It follows the protagonist’s life with the dog and her reminiscence of her late friend with the back-and-forth timeline. I like how the protagonist is getting closer to the dog. And her thoughts and words implying that she really loved the late friend are beautiful.
The protagonist also teaches writing in a university so there are many observations on creative writing and other art forms. Nunez refers numerous anecdotes and quotes from real authors and artists including Virginia Woolf, Patti Smith,Toni Morrison, and so on. In my opinion, sometimes a book using so many references seems a little pretentious. I’ve read a couple of books in which the most references are just unnecessary show-off parts and I got fed -up with them in the end. But for this book, everything worked so well.
I know this is not the book for everyone because there is no elaborate plot nor dramatic spectacles. To me, however, this is a gem. I’m sure every time I read the story, I will find something new.
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2021年個人的ベスト小説のひとつだった『友だち』
元の投稿はコチラ↓です。
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