Among Friends

I just finished Among Friends by Hal Ebbott. I fell for the novel's gorgeous cover and intriguing blurb. The book centers on two middle-aged couples and their teenage daughters, who convene in upstate New York every autumn. Love the premise! Hated the pompous, self-indulgent writing. I felt so strongly after wrapping this book, I needed to see if anyone else felt my pain. Indeed, many on Goodreads also detested the bloated prose. Some, however, enjoyed it! So you never know.. Among Friends is polarizing, for sure.

Coming up as an English nerd and Journalism School gal, I was always taught to pare down writing, to "kill your darlings." Ebbott did the opposite with Among Friends. He seemed to be trying quite hard to sound "literary," or even poetic. Unfortunately a lot of the writing is just insufferable. It's wordy, choppy, not at all pleasing or smooth. I could go on and on, but I don't want to be hypocritical. Also, it peeved me that the storyline has an unclear time period. A flashback included the word "aye" instead of yes. Huh? And the characters don't have cell phones or any devices at all. It's all a bit confusing. Superfluous writing without revealing key plot points drives me a bit mad.

I did stick it out and read the whole book. I wanted to find redeeming parts. I wanted to know the ending. Unfortunately, there were no satisfying bits. None of the characters are likeable, nor are they realistic. The author attempted to show a parent's POV, as well as a young girl's perspective. I just don’t think he has the life experience or shape shifting skills to get there in this debut book. Ebbott even features a therapist character who doesn't have any therapist skills. It's odd.

Proceed with caution, or not at all. Eek!

AES