Down Time: A Novel

by Andrew Martin

A terribly funny and lovably louche novel about five friends growing older, if not always up, from Andrew Martin, author of Early Work and Cool for America.

Without Cassandra, Aaron would probably be dead. Fortunately, she won’t leave him—despite the drinking, flirting, solipsism, armchair socialism, overspending, infidelity, catastrophic depression, and disparate but increasingly frequent spells of drug- and booze-addled debauchery. Unfortunately, she might be reaching the end of her rope.

Cass and Aaron, like the other neurotic, ambivalent intellectuals in their orbit, are getting older. There’s Malcolm, with his own alcoholism and marginally more successful writing career; his partner, Violet, a doctor with little patience for both; Antonia, a teaching fellow whose book about ecocide may get her tenure at a prestigious university near Harvard Square—yes, that one. When Sam, a charming trust-fund punk at the center of this loose network, dies suddenly, and a global pandemic takes hold, all five must contend with the lives they’ve their desires and disappointments, habits and hang-ups, pathologies and addictions, and the possibilities of making art and being good as the earth whirls to its end.

Down Time marks the delightful return of Andrew Martin, the author of the pitch-perfect slacker classics Early Work and Cool for America. Compulsively readable and contagiously intelligent, this is a wryly comic social novel of settling down, selling out, growing up, and getting out that turns a terribly funny and hyper-literate eye on our most desperately guarded to love and be loved, to know and be known, to stay sane, if only just.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels

305 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 10, 2026

Reviews

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm afraid this book simply wasn't for me. Whilst the premise of a group of people's experience (before, during and after the Covid lockdown) in the US, sounded interesting I am afraid I was quite bored for a substantial part of the novel.

I lost track of the names, the circumstances and locations of all the characters. I didn't find any of them particularly sympathetic. There is some soul searching, some sexuality searching, some career changes, some fooling around but it was far too introspective a novel to keep my interest.

If you enjoy a book where there is little action except within the minds of the characters then you will enjoy this book but I needed a little more plot.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Farrar Strauss and Giroux for the digital review copy.

[Tiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I flew through this and would follow these characters anywhere. Clever, funny, gripping, and refreshing. It's tough to write a compelling "pandemic" book, but Andrew Martin has done it. So perfectly captures the millennial malaise of the early 2020s.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely relatable read for me not just as a millennial but as someone who can relate to parts of every character and obviously the pandemic as a back drop. The characters were great and so many themes hit home. As the characters navigate life, a pandemic, relationships, addictions, careers and losses it’s fascinating to watch it all unfold. I laughed, I cringed, I frowned. What an amazing book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Leanne Shearsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Down time follows a loosely connected group of friends as they try to make sense of early middle age and the years around Covid. It’s a pandemic novel that never feels gimmicky. It captures that strange, foggy period when everything stopped and people were forced to sit with themselves. Ambition and burnout, bad relationships, too much drinking, the sense of wanting to change but not quite managing it. It’s about people who keep messing up but are still, somehow, trying.

The characters feel real and a bit painful at times – funny, frustrating, often selfish but familiar. Martin doesn’t judge them, just shows them as they are. It’s not a book with a big plot, more like snapshots of people drifting through work, love, and loss, trying to figure out what being an adult is supposed to look like.

It’s sharp, funny in places, and sometimes quietly sad. I liked how honest it felt about ageing, friendship and the messiness of trying to get life together. If you like character-driven books that feel true to how people actually are, this one’s worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus & Giroux for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[A Dreaming Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (eARC) and Macmillan Audio (ALC) for providing me with advanced copies.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I suppose I should have read the synopsis more closely. For some reason, in my head I thought this was a group of retirees when I read "growing older". I love books about actual old people. This book is more of a coming of age novel. I almost never click with this genre because the overarching themes typically revolve around sex and drugs. I don't understand why there aren't enough coming of age books with friendship (without sex and drugs), career, family and the like.

Talking about the actual book now, I couldn't relate to or bring myself to like a single character. Honestly, at some point they all felt the same to me and I could barely differentiate them. The entire book just felt like the author was trying to push his political views onto the reader. I'm not someone who says books are not political but to me it should either be subtle or actually be the main focus of the plot. In this case, it just kept coming with no break. I also feel like the pandemic part wasn't explored well enough despite that being one of the main themes of the book. It felt like it was glossed over. Despite all of this, there weren't any graphic sex scenes which I do appreciate. I didn't feel like a lot was going on in the book in general but that's probably just me. I see a lot of people have enjoyed this book and I'm glad. I think people who like coming of age novels will enjoy it.

The narrators did a great job of bringing out the characters' personalities. I did notice a speed difference between the different narrators which took me a while to get used to. But it wasn't bad enough for me to keep switching speeds between chapters.

[sully · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

well written but i just don't think i want to read about the pandemic, ever.

edit: i did enjoy discussing it and i think it gave me a better appreciation for the parts that weren't during the pandemic, and the unique perspective of before/"after" and for this age in particular, but still i DON'T want to read about the pandemic. i do recommend the book tho. want to convey that for sure.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. A very sharp and funny novel. After spending time with interesting young people, Cassandra and Aaron, Malcolm and Violet and Antonia, you begin to see why this intellectual generation never gets married, much less pulls it together enough to think about kids. Even as you laugh at the messes that they twist themselves into, you do want to reach into the pages and shake some common sense into most of them. When an old friend, Sam, suddenly dies it does make a few of them wonder how they’re living, it really takes a world wide shutdown to really make them face who they really are and try and change. Such a clear eyed book about who we are.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-observed set of character studies, but not one that ever really came together as an overarching story. 3/5.

Down Time by Andrew Martin is about a loosely-connected group of adults dealing with the challenges of early middle-age: career success (or not), addiction, owning their true sexual identities and their relationships with those around them.

On the main it does this ... fairly well. The prose is elegant and flows nicely, and the characters *feel* believable: you could imagine real people making these mistakes, having their lives run on (or off) course in this way, facing these problems and having them pervade their whole lives. There's also the occasional very sharp, on-point observation about human nature, as well as moments where characters do something that reminds you of people you know (or of yourself). These features are Down Time's greatest strengths.

However, as a novel... I'm not sure it really works. While character study works don't promise a lot in terms of plot, Martin's novel has next to none. To exacerbate things, the characters are, in the main, extremely loosely connected - so rather than feeling like a whole novel, it feels more like three novelettes (Cass/Aaron, Malcolm/Violet and Antonia) told in sequential instalments where these people's lives roll onwards. These factors together mean you don't get to see the characters interact with each other all that much, so a lot of the sense of character comes from description and narrative: 'tell' rather than 'show'. This feeling is exacerbated by the large time chunks between each character's instalment - often a good portion is taken up with telling you what happened since you last saw them.

On the whole, Down Time's cast feel like real people, but that's not quite enough to make this a successful, cohesive reading experience.

I'd cautiously recommended Down Time for those who want a little look at some of the struggles of middle age, less so for those who prefer a tighter, more driven story.

Finally, thank you to Adrew Martin, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of Down Time, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Chelsea Knowles · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.*

Down Time follows Cassandra, Aaron, Antonia and Malcolm as they navigate their lives including the Covid pandemic. Aaron is an alcoholic and relies on his girlfriend Cassandra to keep him alive. He cheats on her, embarrasses her with his drinking and expects Cassandra to pay for everything. She hasn’t left him but she is more like his mother than a girlfriend. Cassandra and Aaron are friends with Malcolm who has his own issues with alcoholism and depression. His girlfriend Violet is a doctor who doesn’t have much patience for Malcolm and struggles during the pandemic. Antonia wrote a book about ecocide and hopes it will get her tenure at a prestigious university near Harvard Square. Their friend Sam dies and then the Covid pandemic makes them contend with their lives.

This is such an excellent book and it is like it was written for me. I loved it and connected to each character. Each character had issues and it was easy to relate to how messy they were. None of these characters really know what they are doing with their lives and I just found that so relatable and realistic. It has the vibe of just living life day by day and seeing what happens. I didn’t think I would enjoy novels about Covid but I found this to be very cathartic. The writing was brilliant and I found this to be such a compelling read. This was told from the POV of each character and I found the character voices to be distinct and real. I will be recommending this and I think it should be on everyone’s anticipated books for 2026. I loved this so much and I cannot stop thinking about how good this was.

[ROLLAND Florence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel takes millenial existential angst, dumps it with ice in a cocktail shaker, and serves it in design glasses in a hotel lobby.

It's fun, relatable, easy to read. Sometimes profound and sad. Doomed relationships that somehow survive "the test of time" because none of the characters finds the courage to leave... Instead, they cheat on each other. Lots of sex scenes, but here sex is another addition, a broken promise, and a desperate attempt to connect to people. It just makes sense, it goes with the flow of their lives. A lot of the novel revolves around New York and the cultural life of New York. The city has its own language and its own way of chewing out people, with its unaffordable real estate, easy access to drugs, and the pressure to make money in order to afford both.

And yet... Andrew Martin describes this network of friends (and all their problems) with tenderness. There is no judgement in this novel. He lets them fail, repeatedly, and picks them up along the way. They are millenials reaching their midlife crisis, and they definitely haven't got their lives together. But they have careers, and sometimes success even. What does it mean to age when you refuse to grow up? And what does growing up even mean, for a generation that collectively feels betrayed by their parents?

Add to that mix the sudden death of a friend, and a global pandemic. You will get a novel that is easy to read, fun, entertaining. I liked it. This is exactly the type of "easy read" that is perfect in between two more difficult books.

Thank you Andrew Martin, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and #NetGalley for a very nice ARC.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up for being pandemic fiction.

I seem to be one of the few people who desperately wants more Covid-19 era fiction, so I obviously requested this one as soon as it popped up on my NetGalley dashboard!

Premise - The story follows five friends, all intellectuals, over the course of their adult lives. There's Cassandra, the all-obliging partner of Aaron, an absolute disaster. There's Malcolm, an alcoholic writer. There's Antonia, a teaching fellow up for tenureship at a prestigious university in Cambridge (summon the smelling salts). Finally, there's Sam, a trust-fund punk who holds the group together.

But then Sam suddenly dies. The pandemic sweeps the world. And the four remaining friends? Well, they're going to have to figure out how to deal.

WOW did Aaron absolutely enrage me. They were all pretty navel-gazing, which is to be expected, and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters... it's a slow-moving, small stakes (within huge global pandemic stakes) story and I didn't realize how much I'd hate having to relieve all the election discussion, but I guess that's part and parcel if you're writing from the viewpoint of a group of coastal intellectuals in 2020.g Overall, I enjoyed the read but wouldn't jump to shout about it from the rooftops.

... I think what I really want is a pandemic thriller, like a Yellowface but set during peak covid.

I listened to the audio ARC, narrated by Abigail Reno, Gail Shalan, Major Curda, and Patrick Harrison. They did a great job and made me enjoy the slow-moving story more than I like would have otherwise.

Thanks, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternating between the perspectives of Cassandra, Aaron, Malcolm and Antonia, Down Time grapples with trying to find meaning to outweigh the struggles of life. It has that very specific Brooklyn-writer-centric thing going on (even when they’re in Boston), striking a great balance between self-centered and self-mockery.

I generally don’t have a high tolerance for pandemic novels, but I really liked the author’s debut novel (Early Work) & story collection and knew I’d like this one too (I did!) because the writing is just so good. The novel starts out as Cassandra picks Aaron up from his latest stint in rehab and takes them on a well-intentioned but ill-advised trip to New York City, where he quickly relapses into a multi-day bender with Xavier. Malcom is working through his own addictions and dissatisfaction with his normcore life with his girlfriend Violet, who is working on the frontlines of COVID as a doctor (and whom, he thinks, is a bit too satisfied with herself for doing so). Antonia, a tenured-track professor specializing in ecocide, seems to have her life together on the surface, yet she too feels lost.

The novels treatment of alcoholism/addiction is especially well done, both when the characters are in the depths of it and when they’re on the other side, doubting their sobriety and unenthusiastically searching for new ways to confront the oblivion. It was also interesting to enter the mind of their partners, to see how they look the other way and end up enabling them—and how everyone is constantly resenting each other (often while doing the exact same thing to someone else).

[LLJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to #NetGalley and #FSG Publishers for the opportunity to read and review #DownTime by Andrew Martin (pub date 3.10.2026).

I was pulled into the book immediately through the story of Cass and Aaron, a tumultuous relationship steeped in addiction and codependency, duplicity and secret desires. From that point of entry Martin continues to do a wonderful job creating additional core characters through multi POV, alternating chapters. Each character presents with unique dialogue, tension, stakes, and inner vs. outer lives. Malcolm, Violet, Antonia, and other more peripheral, though still important, characters populate the book and much of it takes place during the Covid pandemic shutdown. This carried an inherent angst and bittersweet nostalgia in itself.

While I really enjoyed Martin's writing and character creation, the storylines did not keep me consistently invested nor connected to the overall book. I ordered Martin's "Early Work" along with his story collection - "Cool for America" - because of how much I enjoyed his writing. Honestly, my inability to connect with the characters all the way through may have had more to do with where my mind was while reading it (over the winter holidays) than the quality of the book.

Martin's writing is sharp, funny, and compelling, I just had trouble relating to the "problems" of these millennial characters and, again, that may have been more about the timeframe in which I read the book than the book itself. Thank you again for the loan of this book and I wish everyone the best of success.

[Olivia Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"the world's density - the continued presence of people who mattered to you - was a beautiful thing."

down time is, without a doubt, compulsively readable. it was so easy for me to breeze through large chunks of this in one sitting. andrew martin's writing flowed in a way that made it so easy to get into a groove and just let it carry you until next thing you know you've devoured 50 pages without blinking.

the concept, and much of the book itself, reminded me a lot of my favorite book of all time beautiful world, where are you by sally rooney. as much as i wanted to love this in theory, it fell just a bit flat for me. i had thought the characters of this book would be much more intertwined, but they're just very (very) loosely connected and you never see them all interact. this is fine, it just felt more like i was reading three separate stories (malcolm + violet, cassandra + aaron, and antonia).

overall i did really enjoy my time with the novel. i'll always be a fan of a book that reminds us that despite it all we keep living and loving - and the world moving forward can be enough

3.5 stars
thank you so much to fsg for the gifted ARC!

[Swapna Peri ( Book Reviews Cafe ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Down Time" by Andrew Martin is a funny and smart novel about five friends in their late twenties and early thirties trying to figure out their lives. After their friend Sam suddenly dies and the COVID-19 pandemic hits, they all start thinking deeply about their choices, relationships, and what they want from life. The book looks at their struggles with love, work, addictions, and the pressure to grow up while still feeling lost. I found the characters real and relatable, and the mix of humor and emotion made the story very engaging.

The novel also captures the feeling of being young adults on the edge of midlife during a strange time in history. Each character faces their own problems and tries to make sense of their lives in different ways. The story is sharp and sometimes sad, but also funny and full of honest moments. It’s a good read if you want a book that shows how complex and confusing growing older can be, especially with the world changing around us.

[g.m. · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Somehow knowing that you would get it wrong didn’t absolve you from worrying. It just made you feel worse for having wasted your time.”

Structurally this was not a novel that would keep me interested. I prefer sole, maybe dual, narratives but never anything more. But if you like multiple character third person POVs then this might be your thing.

Inside the structure, however, there were some interesting relationships going on. Martin's observational narrative voice captured something about what it means to be a good person or citizen in a time of difficulty — pandemic, grief, suffering and addiction. There's this millennial tiring optimism that runs through it all.


What I found interesting was the way the novel grapples with contemporary malaise. The characters aren't particularly likeable, but they're realistic. They're trying to exist in a world that feels increasingly difficult to navigate, and Martin doesn't offer easy answers or redemptive arcs. It’s real life.

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar Strauss and Giroux for the digital review copy.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5? maybe 4?

This book started out really strong, and I was completely hooked at first. But somewhere in the middle, I got lost and found myself constantly rewinding and going back to figure out what was happening. I listened to the audio version, so maybe a physical copy would have been easier to follow, but the middle section felt confusing and disorienting.

It did rally toward the end. I usually love unlikeable, self-sabotaging characters with strong arcs, and I don’t mind messy, arrest-development energy. But these characters didn’t feel especially redeemable, and I never fully understood them. I wanted more clarity or payoff. I got through the first half and the end quickly; I just wish the middle tied it together better.

I think if you like a lot of character-driven, existential dread, you would probably like this, and I might try to reread it later in physical form.

Thanks netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc!

[Paloma · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a phenomenal and relatable read!
The global pandemic was a horrible time for all of us. Reading about it now feels like a type of healing and a reminder of what we went through. Through its characters, this novel portrays the lives and changes that we all had to adhere to in order to survive mentally and physically. This novel isn't just about the pandemic, it is about mental health, life, friendships, relationships, life choices ,careers and so much more. The pandemic made us all see how we would reacted in an enclosed environment with a impending virus looming around everyone. It was hard time and we all navigated it as best as we could and the author doesn't judge us for it or question our actions. A heartfelt read that will leave you feeling some type of way that you may not be able to describe.

Thank you Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

[Linnéa Lange · Rating 3 out of 5]

Down Time follows a group of people who are loosely connected through a shared young adulthood. Many of them have full-blown or budding addictions, and turbulent inner lives.

I don’t think the book is bad, but I don’t think it’s good either? There’s definitely potential, it’s messy and it’s honest. But it just never really takes off. That leads it to fizzle out in the end, the impact the novel could have had is just not there.

I think you might enjoy this if you’re a fan of introspective human emotion centric novels like Sally Rooney. It’s an easy read, and it’s not bad. If there’s a particular theme you connect to, or if you’re currently searching for something in your life, this might be better for you than it was for me.

I received this as an ARC. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the opportunity to review it!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Andrew Martin writes about flawed, restless people with such precision that it almost hurts. Down Time is a novel about aging without really growing up, about clinging to bad habits and old identities even as life insists on moving forward. The book is funny—sometimes painfully so—but underneath the wit there’s real tenderness for these characters, even when they’re at their worst. What struck me most was how Martin balances satire with empathy; I found myself laughing one page and then quietly gutted the next. It’s a sharp, humane novel about friendship, failure, and the messy search for meaning.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an eARC of Down Time prior to publication.

[Gergely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Down Time by Andrew Martin ☁️

Martin offers intimate portraits of a group of adults stumbling through the messiness of midlife - shifting careers, addictions, relationships, and long-avoided truths.

Many moments feel drawn straight from real experience and the characters are really believable, although ultimately forgettable and uninteresting. But the book’s fragmented structure (each characters's POV doesn't connect to other much) and minimal plot/lack of character development keep the novel from fully coming together. At times insightful, but didn't really work for me.

3⭐️

Thank you to Andrew Martin, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Debumere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set before, during and after the Covid pandemic, we follow a set of millennial friends as they grapple with what seems like perpetual discontent.

I read this in fits and starts and I believe this is the wrong way to do it. I couldn’t remember who was who and how they were connected to X, Y and Z.

The main male characters were miserable while the female characters (most) had a bit of get up and go about them.

I did lose the plot (literally) when switching between couples, trying to remember the connections and their stories

An unremarkable, unassuming read but intriguing in equal measures.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Strauss and Giroux for this ARC.

[Justyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A well-narrated and atmospheric look at complicated relationships that ultimately fell a bit flat. I loved the voyeuristic feel of the early chapters, but the major catalysts—a friend’s death and a global pandemic—didn't spark the character development I was hoping for. The prose is good, but the lack of growth made the ending feel more 'lost' than 'profound.' A solid read if you enjoy character studies, but skip it if you're looking for an emotional payoff.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

[Melissa Levis]

Thank you Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the gifted early copy of this book.

This novel wasn't for me. I do like a lot of literary fiction but this one just didn't do it for me. It was the fact that I just couldn't get into it about 25% in. The book had just started to foreshadow that the characters were doing to endure the pandemic, but it wasn't enough to keep me pulled in.

The writing style was good and enjoyable to take in, but I found the characters unrelatable. They're in their 30s, in reality they should work working more and not having so much downtime.

[Ioana]

Read an excerpt here : https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

4/5

[Maddie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Andrew Martin and this is no exception :)

[Sir John Feelgood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had that melancholy feeling, finishing this, knowing it’ll be a long time until I read something so funny, perceptive, and well-written again.