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On Friendship
Not yet published
Expected 12 May 26** AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW **
From the bestselling author of Mayflies and Caledonian Road, a heart-enriching celebration of what makes us our friends.
If we are lucky in our lives, our friendships will be rich and varied. They will be shared with those with two legs, with four legs, with whiskers or clean faces; they will come dressed in the simplicity of childhood or the professional attire of adult life; some will span decades, and some will be only fleeting. But the thing they will all have in common is that life is not only unimaginable - but unimagined - without them.
In these gorgeous personal reflections, Andrew O'Hagan explores friendship through music and poetry, memory and history, illuminating the many ways and reasons that people come together, and how our lives are all the better because we do.
Andrew O'Hagan's novel Caledonian Road was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 31/03/2024
From the bestselling author of Mayflies and Caledonian Road, a heart-enriching celebration of what makes us our friends.
If we are lucky in our lives, our friendships will be rich and varied. They will be shared with those with two legs, with four legs, with whiskers or clean faces; they will come dressed in the simplicity of childhood or the professional attire of adult life; some will span decades, and some will be only fleeting. But the thing they will all have in common is that life is not only unimaginable - but unimagined - without them.
In these gorgeous personal reflections, Andrew O'Hagan explores friendship through music and poetry, memory and history, illuminating the many ways and reasons that people come together, and how our lives are all the better because we do.
Andrew O'Hagan's novel Caledonian Road was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 31/03/2024
- GenresNonfiction
144 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication May 12, 2026
11 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Andrew O'Hagan
56 books750 followersAndrew O'Hagan, FRSL (born 1968) is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author.
He is the author of the novels Our Fathers, Personality, and Be Near Me, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and The Guardian (UK). In 2003, O’Hagan was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. He lives in London, England.
He is the author of the novels Our Fathers, Personality, and Be Near Me, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His work has appeared in the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and The Guardian (UK). In 2003, O’Hagan was named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists. He lives in London, England.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 9, 2025
A quietly powerful essay that speaks to the complicated, beautiful, and sometimes bruising nature of long term friendship. What stood out most to me was how O’Hagan writes with tenderness and intellectual sharpness, reflecting on decades of shared experiences.
The writing is elegant without being showy, and the emotional core sneaks up on you. It's not a sentimental piece, but it's deeply felt, especially when he touches on how friendships evolve over time how they stretch, fade, endure, and surprise us. He captures something rare: the dignity of friendship, even when it's strained.
Why 4 stars? For me, some parts meandered a bit, and if you're not already familiar with the literary circles he moves in, a few references can feel distant. But overall, it’s a rewarding, heartfelt read that lingers afterward.
A beautiful reminder that friendship, like literature, is built on time, trust, and the willingness to keep turning up.
The writing is elegant without being showy, and the emotional core sneaks up on you. It's not a sentimental piece, but it's deeply felt, especially when he touches on how friendships evolve over time how they stretch, fade, endure, and surprise us. He captures something rare: the dignity of friendship, even when it's strained.
Why 4 stars? For me, some parts meandered a bit, and if you're not already familiar with the literary circles he moves in, a few references can feel distant. But overall, it’s a rewarding, heartfelt read that lingers afterward.
A beautiful reminder that friendship, like literature, is built on time, trust, and the willingness to keep turning up.
October 20, 2025
such carefully crafted prose as per usual! some heartwarming insights - wish he delved a little deeper at times, and wish the essays were ordered more fluidly. still such a delight to hear from him!
December 4, 2025
Just a very nice book - nice one Andrew mate
December 4, 2025
really just quite lovely (even if i could have done without the chapter on the internet)
October 11, 2025
A loving and reassuring tribute to friendship.
‘On Friendship’ is profound in a way that I perhaps I wasn’t prepared for. Life is quite a tragic journey, really. But this is a joyous reminder of the fun to be had along the way. It’s a wonderful book to dip into and become utterly absorbed by. The writing is exceptional, meticulous in its diction, allowing Andrew’s recollections and anecdotes to unfurl with excellently entertaining, and occasionally emotional, results. After all, you can’t choose your family, but the friends we make can define us. This is one of the rarest books: one to which we can all relate.
‘On Friendship’ is profound in a way that I perhaps I wasn’t prepared for. Life is quite a tragic journey, really. But this is a joyous reminder of the fun to be had along the way. It’s a wonderful book to dip into and become utterly absorbed by. The writing is exceptional, meticulous in its diction, allowing Andrew’s recollections and anecdotes to unfurl with excellently entertaining, and occasionally emotional, results. After all, you can’t choose your family, but the friends we make can define us. This is one of the rarest books: one to which we can all relate.
October 29, 2025
A powerful essay about friendship. Bringing you back to the core foundation of friendship and companionship. It made me think about how friendship used to be when I was young and how it is becoming now.
December 8, 2025
A very nice extended essay. It's a deft and surprisingly tender exploration of the topic. The anecdoetes and personal reminiscences lift the slender volume. There's a nice Irish tinge with much of the writing devoted to Seamus Heaney and Edna O'Brien.
October 8, 2025
The first book I've read this year that I've finished and then immediately started again. A sort of meditation on the ideas of friendship raised in Mayflies. Brilliant.
Want to read
October 17, 2025Recommended by Meech.
November 11, 2025
A beautiful gem.
August 16, 2025
a cute meditation on friendship and the different ways it appears/importance of it. it didn’t change my life but it did have a chapter dedicated to edna o’brien which i loved so much.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews