My Friends

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to get to this book, it’s been one of my top recommendations for a while and I am so glad I managed to get around to it. It is a heartwarming tale about friendship, sprinkled liberally with darkness and pain which makes the lightness sparkle all the greater.

The book tells the story of four young friends and how the events of a summer shape them and their lives forever. In order to tell the story, one of the four friends forms a seemingly unlikely bond with a young runaway orphan. This storyteller then becomes his own thread in the tale and we learn how the lives of the children 25 years ago, and the life of the runaway, are intertwined and women together by a painting. 

The painting really is the thread that pulls the characters and their narratives together, my own picture of the painting morphed and transformed as the story went on, and as aspects of the lives are revealed, explaining decisions and foretelling events that will become pivotal in the way their lives play out.

It is a beautifully written book, some of the imagery and language used is spellbinding. I laughed out loud on many occasions, but this is certainly not a comedy! Expect plenty of darkness, hardships and heartache. But also expect to be blown away and to wish you had friends like these.

Read it.