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Best Friends
From their first meeting as new roommates at Oberlin College in 1973, the friendship of two very different women--one the daughter of a Protestant working family in Ohio and the other, a wealthy, sheltered Jewish girl from L.A.--spans two decades and endures marriage, motherhood, demanding careers, and family turmoil. A first novel. 15,000 first printing.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 745 reviews
April 8, 2009
OMG! This was the book that wouldn't end. It said some relevant things about male/female relationships as well as relationships between women, but the plot twists were odd and pointless.
June 3, 2008
From the title I thought this would be a really light-weight book, however, the depth and complexities of 2 women and their friendship over time were thoroughly explored. This is an edgy friendship book.
August 12, 2011
I can only give this book three stars and am pissed I have to do so. It started off SOLID. As the plot line progressed, it got darker, more convoluted, and more irritating. I am absolutely one for a dark story. Usually even in darkest character one find a quality that is redeeming enough to continue the read. As much as I loved the girls in the beginning, their life choices continued to spiral out of control, and all you could do was sigh and think "For the love of Pete, will one of you stand up and do one tiny redeeming thing in your life?" It was completely irritating, and I'm only giving it the three stars because the beginning was so promising. I'm not sorry I read it, but I'm left at the end with a very dissatisfied feeling. Maybe that is what the author wanted, but I'm not dissatisfied in a good way that makes my brain tingle, just an irritated one.
March 1, 2012
Based on some of the info in Martha Moody's online bio, I infer that that this book has certain autobiographical elements; like Clare, Moody is (was) a physician, and she has had the same best friend since college. I hope there aren't too many similarities other than that - if you choose to read the novel, you'll see what I mean, but I don't want to give any spoilers.
For the most part, I found this book rather irritating. The writing was pedestrian and I didn't like the characters very much, but the story itself was interesting enough to keep me reading - and that's the annoying part. If it had been duller or more offensive, I could have bailed on it more easily, but I wanted to see how it turned out; and frankly, I kept hoping it would get better and I would like it more. However, it generally didn't resonate with me emotionally, and I didn't get much of a sense that the characters grew or developed; life just kept happening to them, and they kept making questionable choices. The parts I liked best actually had little to do with Clare and Sally's friendship; I was more interested in Clare's medical practice as an AIDS specialist in Ohio, and I sometimes got the sense that Clare was more interested in Sally's Southern California home and life than she was in Sally herself (which was reinforced by Clare's initial reaction to Sally's move to Idaho).
Best Friends seems to be a pretty popular novel, so it clearly appeals to a lot of people, but it just didn't click with me. I think women's long-term friendships can be great frameworks for novels, but to cite one example from my recent reading, I thought it was done better here.
I read this for my book club. I suspect I may have a minority opinion of this one, but no one likes everything - and just because it wasn't my thing doesn't mean someone else won't love it.
For the most part, I found this book rather irritating. The writing was pedestrian and I didn't like the characters very much, but the story itself was interesting enough to keep me reading - and that's the annoying part. If it had been duller or more offensive, I could have bailed on it more easily, but I wanted to see how it turned out; and frankly, I kept hoping it would get better and I would like it more. However, it generally didn't resonate with me emotionally, and I didn't get much of a sense that the characters grew or developed; life just kept happening to them, and they kept making questionable choices. The parts I liked best actually had little to do with Clare and Sally's friendship; I was more interested in Clare's medical practice as an AIDS specialist in Ohio, and I sometimes got the sense that Clare was more interested in Sally's Southern California home and life than she was in Sally herself (which was reinforced by Clare's initial reaction to Sally's move to Idaho).
Best Friends seems to be a pretty popular novel, so it clearly appeals to a lot of people, but it just didn't click with me. I think women's long-term friendships can be great frameworks for novels, but to cite one example from my recent reading, I thought it was done better here.
I read this for my book club. I suspect I may have a minority opinion of this one, but no one likes everything - and just because it wasn't my thing doesn't mean someone else won't love it.
August 26, 2008
One of the most boring, lame ass books ever!
June 3, 2008
Having a group of women friends I call my best friends - women I have known forever - "celebrate a 40th birthday in vegas" best friends, this book was certainly a let-down. It will create some good discussion at my book-club next month, though. It has lots of "themes" woven in and out of the lives of the two main characters (the "best friends"), interesting themes worthy of book club discussions. But I would never suggest any of MY best friends read this, because the way these women treat each other is no way best friends act.
The narrator, Clare, becomes completely absorbed in her best friend's life. She has no control over her own life, consistently lets life happen TO her, and is almost completely without any joy whatsoever. She is a perfectionist and a control freak, yet takes no control, nor responsibility for herself. I get it. That is part of the story. But it is annoying. And it's totally unrealistic that Clare, an AIDS specialist, would sleep around so much without protection. The author does address this at one point. Still...
One redeeming factor is the book does offer a handful of interesting life observations - worthy of an interesting book club discussion, as I've already noted. For instance in one conversation between the friends. "It doesn't seem right that he should make money off people who repel him," says BF1. And BF2 responds, "Who better to make money off of?"
Finally, the book is chock full of great vocabulary - like usage of the word, "swarmy".
All in all, the book is pretty darn depressing. Hey, I like a good tragedy any day, but not like this. I'd recommend it to someone looking for a lighter version of a John Irving novel.
The narrator, Clare, becomes completely absorbed in her best friend's life. She has no control over her own life, consistently lets life happen TO her, and is almost completely without any joy whatsoever. She is a perfectionist and a control freak, yet takes no control, nor responsibility for herself. I get it. That is part of the story. But it is annoying. And it's totally unrealistic that Clare, an AIDS specialist, would sleep around so much without protection. The author does address this at one point. Still...
One redeeming factor is the book does offer a handful of interesting life observations - worthy of an interesting book club discussion, as I've already noted. For instance in one conversation between the friends. "It doesn't seem right that he should make money off people who repel him," says BF1. And BF2 responds, "Who better to make money off of?"
Finally, the book is chock full of great vocabulary - like usage of the word, "swarmy".
All in all, the book is pretty darn depressing. Hey, I like a good tragedy any day, but not like this. I'd recommend it to someone looking for a lighter version of a John Irving novel.
April 26, 2010
I enjoyed this book, I was surprised that so many people didn't like it. Whilst Sally and Clare are deeply flawed characters, I enjoyed the book for its honesty and realistic portrayal of the complexities of life, relationships and friendships, none of which are ever perfect.
June 26, 2025
This book brings me so much joy.
October 6, 2011
Got the book in a big box from a friend, Kay, and wasn't going to read it but then did anyway. The interest to me is its generation -- main characters are my sister's age, and it's a reminder of how things were in the 60s - California was THE place to be/go, it had such a reputation in the rest of the country at that time. Well, it still does, but then it was so clear-cut, California was sun and fun and way-out unconventional behavior where more or less anything goes. You could go to Calif. to start a new life.
And - coincidentally - my sister actually did head for Calif. right after high school and stayed right there on the west coast.
Drugs were new to most of us, and we started hearing about them; birth control was new; homosexuality was starting to be talked about......
The book [2001] reads like a memoir of the author. Most of the brief incidents are anecdotes without any [literary] function. Cannot explain their inclusion unless the author just happened to remember them in her own experience. I would certainly never re-read the book or recommend it to anyone.
Main character is an AIDS medical specialist so you learn something about patients, symptoms, lifestyles, reactions of family members...
And - coincidentally - my sister actually did head for Calif. right after high school and stayed right there on the west coast.
Drugs were new to most of us, and we started hearing about them; birth control was new; homosexuality was starting to be talked about......
The book [2001] reads like a memoir of the author. Most of the brief incidents are anecdotes without any [literary] function. Cannot explain their inclusion unless the author just happened to remember them in her own experience. I would certainly never re-read the book or recommend it to anyone.
Main character is an AIDS medical specialist so you learn something about patients, symptoms, lifestyles, reactions of family members...
July 31, 2011
This is one of those books that you might give up on before it gets good. For me, it took at least 100 pages before I really got into it. And then, all of a sudden, I was flipping through pages like a mad woman, staying up late when I should have been sleeping.
It's the story of two girls who meet in college, and it follows the ebb and flow of their friendship as they become adults. I've read a few reviews and some trash the book because it seems impossible that these women go through so much, and that they don't always seem like that good of friends at all. I didn't get hung up on either point because those details kept the story moving for me. And really, sometimes reading about a wacked-out family is a good reminder that your own family is pretty darn normal.
This is one of those take it or leave it books. Read it, stick with it and I think you'll like it. But you're not going to suffer a huge loss if you don't pick it up either. (I guess the author won't be including me on the back cover of her next memoir, huh.)
It's the story of two girls who meet in college, and it follows the ebb and flow of their friendship as they become adults. I've read a few reviews and some trash the book because it seems impossible that these women go through so much, and that they don't always seem like that good of friends at all. I didn't get hung up on either point because those details kept the story moving for me. And really, sometimes reading about a wacked-out family is a good reminder that your own family is pretty darn normal.
This is one of those take it or leave it books. Read it, stick with it and I think you'll like it. But you're not going to suffer a huge loss if you don't pick it up either. (I guess the author won't be including me on the back cover of her next memoir, huh.)
June 3, 2008
I'd really like to give this 2.5 stars, and then some specific parts 3.5 stars, but I guess I have to be decisive. This is a fast read and was good for my purposes (vacation reading), but I'm not sure I'd recommend it. The one aspect of women's friendship that I think the author did a good job of capturing though, was that even when someone is indisputably your best friend, you can still sense a fragility there. That is, because the loss of the friendship would be so devastating, fear of that loss can make you a less than perfect friend. You have to have a strong sense of self to get past that. I don't know if that message was intentional, but I connected with it. Other than that, I'd give this book a pass.
April 25, 2016
I put this on my "read" list because, technically, I did read almost 50% of it. After 208 pages, I just had to stop. This story has no plot, no storyline and utterly uninteresting characters. After the first 100 pages, I thought, "Maybe if I keep reading, I'll see where this is going." Nope, because as far as I can tell, it's going nowhere. If it does somehow manage to pick up after page 208, then shame on the author for wasting 200 pages of drivel to get the reader to the point. The book is 483 pages. If you can't grab me before I'm almost 50% done with the book, then you've failed mightily.
Best Friends by Jennifer Weiner is much, much better. Try that one instead.
Best Friends by Jennifer Weiner is much, much better. Try that one instead.
June 3, 2008
Great book. It reminds me of "Summer Sisters" only it follows the friends much further in life.
September 6, 2024
Nice story about 2 friends but repetitive theme —no great twists—had hoped for more
May 19, 2010
This book is two hundred pages too long. I appreciate that it takes place over the span of twenty odd years, but the entire novel would have been more interesting if it did not minutely detail every single interaction in the long and complex friendship between the two main characters.
Also, when reading a novel that covers such a broad expanse of time, the narrator jumps around too much with foreshadowing some things and back filling plot holes as she sees fit. It makes you feel that, although you are reading the book and time is moving forward in a linear fashion, what you know or think you know never quite matches up with what the characters know, or what the characters are doing. You are never sure exactly how much time has passed, how old everyone is, etc. The fact that the book is divided up into three large chunks, it would have been easy to attach a timeline of years or something to really help with that.
The characters are by and large unsympathetic. The narrator is a hard edged doctor who has a variety of adulterous affairs with few moral compunctions, forgets her seven year old daughter's birthday, and is too self-absorbed to notice much of what goes on around her. Her best friend is an intelligent and driven lawyer who nonetheless makes horrendous decisions (buying heroin for her druggie brother at a Chinese restaurant, trying to manage her father's pornography empire, having six children, moving to Idaho) as the novel progresses. The narrator is also a terrible hypocrite - hugely judgemental when she discovers that the porn industry is the source of the Rose family money, yet she only discovers this information because of her own personal enjoyment of pornographic magazines. She is a largely absent mother, but acts as if taking her daughter to visit the Rose family while Sally is maintaining the porn empire would be unthinkably irresponsible.
Large sections of the book are overwritten and tedious, but then again there are random lines of stunning simplicity that elevate the whole enterprise and demonstrate that the book as a whole is sometimes harbors aspirations to be better than it knows.
The best parts, and the most engaging section, are at the start of the book - Oberlin College in the 1970s. A bit of a period piece, but one that is engaging and fun. Perhaps the characters are more likeable as well, before you tire of them over the course of 500 long pages.
The one bright spot of the book is the fact that it showcases female friendship as a primary and enduring force in the lives of these women. And the story of the narrator's medical practice in the early days of the AIDS epidemic is one of the most interesting aspects of the book as a whole. But the ending, after so much detail, so much prose, so many pages - remains inconclusive. No one seems to be in a better place. Nothing seems really resolved. The two main characters share a Hallmark moment of realizing how important their friendship is, the end.
It is a 500 page printed version of a Lifetime Original movie. Except that that the movie would be over sooner.
Also, when reading a novel that covers such a broad expanse of time, the narrator jumps around too much with foreshadowing some things and back filling plot holes as she sees fit. It makes you feel that, although you are reading the book and time is moving forward in a linear fashion, what you know or think you know never quite matches up with what the characters know, or what the characters are doing. You are never sure exactly how much time has passed, how old everyone is, etc. The fact that the book is divided up into three large chunks, it would have been easy to attach a timeline of years or something to really help with that.
The characters are by and large unsympathetic. The narrator is a hard edged doctor who has a variety of adulterous affairs with few moral compunctions, forgets her seven year old daughter's birthday, and is too self-absorbed to notice much of what goes on around her. Her best friend is an intelligent and driven lawyer who nonetheless makes horrendous decisions (buying heroin for her druggie brother at a Chinese restaurant, trying to manage her father's pornography empire, having six children, moving to Idaho) as the novel progresses. The narrator is also a terrible hypocrite - hugely judgemental when she discovers that the porn industry is the source of the Rose family money, yet she only discovers this information because of her own personal enjoyment of pornographic magazines. She is a largely absent mother, but acts as if taking her daughter to visit the Rose family while Sally is maintaining the porn empire would be unthinkably irresponsible.
Large sections of the book are overwritten and tedious, but then again there are random lines of stunning simplicity that elevate the whole enterprise and demonstrate that the book as a whole is sometimes harbors aspirations to be better than it knows.
The best parts, and the most engaging section, are at the start of the book - Oberlin College in the 1970s. A bit of a period piece, but one that is engaging and fun. Perhaps the characters are more likeable as well, before you tire of them over the course of 500 long pages.
The one bright spot of the book is the fact that it showcases female friendship as a primary and enduring force in the lives of these women. And the story of the narrator's medical practice in the early days of the AIDS epidemic is one of the most interesting aspects of the book as a whole. But the ending, after so much detail, so much prose, so many pages - remains inconclusive. No one seems to be in a better place. Nothing seems really resolved. The two main characters share a Hallmark moment of realizing how important their friendship is, the end.
It is a 500 page printed version of a Lifetime Original movie. Except that that the movie would be over sooner.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2022
I picked this book up at a thrift store thinking it would be an overall light story with the classic twists and turns of a novel but I was so wrong. Getting into when the girls are out of college or even when Clare visits Sally for the first time the plot eventually begins to make its path and there is really no telling what will come next.
Some things I loved about this book was the many layers that came with it. Many reviews said it was boring or too long but you have to keep in mind it was set over a period of 20+ years to which several milestones happened to the main characters before they were even 30! Clare’s character was not my favorite choice as a narrator and sometimes her actions make her insufferable but she can be really funny and a great friend. I think Moody did a great job making both Clare and Sally such complex individuals throughout the duration of the novel’s timespan.
While, yes, the plot twists of the story were not necessarily realistic I think that’s something that makes this such an interesting read in that you truly don’t know what will happen next. In no way do I relate to any of these characters but I found myself thinking of their relationships with one another when I was not even reading. I think the book does a great job of capturing the complexities of the different relationships we create in life and makes you decipher whether past experiences are considered secrets or noise.
Some things I loved about this book was the many layers that came with it. Many reviews said it was boring or too long but you have to keep in mind it was set over a period of 20+ years to which several milestones happened to the main characters before they were even 30! Clare’s character was not my favorite choice as a narrator and sometimes her actions make her insufferable but she can be really funny and a great friend. I think Moody did a great job making both Clare and Sally such complex individuals throughout the duration of the novel’s timespan.
While, yes, the plot twists of the story were not necessarily realistic I think that’s something that makes this such an interesting read in that you truly don’t know what will happen next. In no way do I relate to any of these characters but I found myself thinking of their relationships with one another when I was not even reading. I think the book does a great job of capturing the complexities of the different relationships we create in life and makes you decipher whether past experiences are considered secrets or noise.
August 2, 2011
Come on! To begin with, this was the author's first book. I can think of many authors who have made less credible attempts at first novels and have gone on to become well read and respected novelists.
Who ever said protagonists had to be likeable? Both Clare and Sally were multi-dimensional characters, and that's what you want in a good book. I agree that at different times while reading this I found it difficult to like either Clare or Sally. Clare seemed self-absorbed and egotistical for much of the time, only to unexpectedly show us her softer, caring side . I frequently perceived Sally as immature, and for someone who opened a law firm for women, remarkably uninformed of women's issues such as pornography. There are many redeeming qualities in this book, the writer touches on relevant social issues with a great deal of honesty and sensitivity. I would not call this a flimsy book, so if you expected a light hearted beach novel I can see why you would feel disappointed after reading this book.
Who ever said protagonists had to be likeable? Both Clare and Sally were multi-dimensional characters, and that's what you want in a good book. I agree that at different times while reading this I found it difficult to like either Clare or Sally. Clare seemed self-absorbed and egotistical for much of the time, only to unexpectedly show us her softer, caring side . I frequently perceived Sally as immature, and for someone who opened a law firm for women, remarkably uninformed of women's issues such as pornography. There are many redeeming qualities in this book, the writer touches on relevant social issues with a great deal of honesty and sensitivity. I would not call this a flimsy book, so if you expected a light hearted beach novel I can see why you would feel disappointed after reading this book.
January 8, 2023
⭐️⭐️
There were so many times I put this book down and had zero interest in picking it back. It was written very well. It just did not have enough substance. Also, the characters annoyed me. The amount of times I rolled my eyes at the characters was a bit much. They were all hypocrites. Holier than thou hypocrites. At times there were parts I really enjoyed, I just wish they would have had more of a spotlight. Like Bens death. I just felt like that could have been given more depth. But rather the characters just live in la-la-land.
There were so many times I put this book down and had zero interest in picking it back. It was written very well. It just did not have enough substance. Also, the characters annoyed me. The amount of times I rolled my eyes at the characters was a bit much. They were all hypocrites. Holier than thou hypocrites. At times there were parts I really enjoyed, I just wish they would have had more of a spotlight. Like Bens death. I just felt like that could have been given more depth. But rather the characters just live in la-la-land.
July 20, 2010
Read this book years ago, and I remember it being thoroughly depressing. Not worth a read, in my opinion.
April 30, 2020
So I read the whole thing, so I guess I it deserves 2 stars...but what did I just read? Every nonsensical plot twist possible in 400 pages. If you want to feel better about any bad decisions you may have made in your life, read this bc the protagonists go on a spree on stupidity starting on pg 50 and the Rose family is seriously messed up.
June 11, 2024
I think I enjoyed this book because the main character is from NE Ohio and while she is older than me, it is set in a time period I well remember. Obviously a story of friendship and the ups and downs.
July 9, 2025
I feel like this is a book that you read as you get older and it means something different every time
October 29, 2020
***SPOILERS***
1. I actually liked the meandering minutia of Clare and Sally’s lives. Some reviews called it sort of boring, but I found it relatable.
2. I learned that a footlocker was another name for a trunk.
3. Quotes I liked:
“You can gussy them up with all the pretty rationales you want, but most major life decisions are whims.”
“Maybe the ribbon was less an impediment than a scruple.”
“A closed mind is worse than a stupid one.”
“I can see now that in this interchange the seeds to the destruction of my marriage were already being sown.”
“In a restaurant near the zoo in Columbus, Ted and I sat near a baby with a mother so simpery and self-satisfied that I had to leave the table...My little darling, my bonito baby, Mommy’s sweet mushroom. Mommy’s sweet mushroom: really. I wasn’t even sure I wanted a baby anymore, but now I wanted one more than ever, just so I could be better than that moony woman. My baby would be better looking too.”
“You can divide your life by decades, by duties, by passions, by fortunes, by griefs. Especially by griefs.”
“Oh, the sound of the dirt hitting wood. I can still hear it years later. I think it’s the saddest sound I’ve ever heard.”
4. I really like that Sally tried a variety of classes in college and that her dad learned with her. I think that’s a good way to figure out if you are picking the right major.
5. I learned the word obsequious means obedient or attentive in an excessive way.
6. I liked the symbol of the espalier. Thriving when Clare thought things were normal and okay, but not being there in the end. Like her reality was warped and she saw things for what they were. “Years later, when Sally had pruned Aunt Ruby and Daphne like limbs from her family tree…”
“The doctor had replaced the driveway’s vegetation with rows of topiaries and decorated the balconies with minarets painted gold and aqua. ‘Like little colorful penises,’ Sally said. The espalier, she’d heard, was dying or dead; Carlos had retired.” I like that penises have always been a part of that house. Porn and plants.
7. From Timbo having his car accident, I learned the word onanist means masturbation.
8. I learned the word onus means one’s duty or responsibility.
9. I learned verboten means forbidden.
10. I learned that aggrandizement means to make something or someone more important than they really are.
11. I learned that venality means open to bribery and overly motivated by money.
12. I like the symbolism in this passage: “She was wearing a straw hat with feathers sticking over its brim.” “‘I guess that’s where the money is!” she said cheerfully, her immense head bobbing. Her nose resembled a beak. I was tempted to reach up and dislodge a feather.”
13. I learned that the word perspicacity means having good insight.
14. I learned that the world puerile means childish.
15. I learned that chi-chi means pretentious.
16. I learned that the word frisson means a sudden feeling of excitement or fear.
17. I learned that “mort” means death as in rigor mortis or mortified.
18. I learned that bedfellow means an ally.
19. I completely understand the hold Sally’s dad has on her. Her relationship with her dad is almost identical to mine. My dad did shady things when I was growing up, but I could never turn on him or let him go. We are still super close and I’ll take up for him until the day he dies.
20. I almost feel like Sally’s mom committed suicide.
21. I learned that the word morass means a confusing or complicated situation.
22. I feel like I’m Sally here: “Could she love him? Who was I to say she shouldn’t. Maybe he was perfect for her; maybe being perfect didn’t matter, and all that mattered was Sally’s having another of her definite feelings: a woman who loves not wisely but well.”
23. I learned that miser can mean a hoarder of something, like love.
24. I learned that the word ashram was a monastery or hermitage.
25. When Clare did CPR on Sid and he vomited in her mouth she said, “His vomit in my mouth. Tasting familiar, normal, like my own vomit.” I feel like she was saying that although Sid wasn’t a role model of a human, she felt a kinship with him in that way even though she thought she was better than him at times.
26. I learned that primip means a woman who is pregnant for the first time and is short for primipara.
27. I learned that hoi polloi means the masses or common people.
28. I learned that eminence grise means a person who holds power.
29. DANGGG bombshell with Sid killing Ben. Yikes.
30. I wonder if Clare’s daughter is OCD because of her mother’s neglect.
31. I liked the symbolism of this, “So Sid was living in a house sliding down the hill into the sea. How appropriate.”
32. “Clare. I thought I’d gotten rid of you.” said Sid. This was after he told her about killing Ben. It almost feels like he wishes he would have killed Clare instead. Like he couldn’t completely control Sally because Clare was around.
33. “The photographs were happy and glamorous-Esther standing in front of the espalier near the pool, Esther in the kitchen, glancing up from a pot. I recognized the kitchen photo: I had taken it on one of my first trips to Los Angeles, in the first flush of excitement with the Roses. Where had Sid gotten it? Sally must have passed it on. Esther looked shockingly young to me, not far from my own age now, and not passive, as I remembered her, but pixie-ish, mischievous. Her lips were set in a half smile, ready to bubble into a laugh. She was adorable.” This makes me wonder how Clare’s memory was about Esther. Was Esther always great, but Sid had her hero worship early on? Or did she see Esther differently after Sif fell from her graces? How much did Esther have to put up with and how many secrets did she have of her own?
34. I like the symbolism here. The opposite of the espalier tree. “I’d had poison ivy climbing up the back wall in my backyard, and a neighbor told me-so logical! why hadn’t I thought of it!-to simply cut off its stem at the root. What took Sid so long to think of it?”
35. I learned that cachexic means a weight loss disorder.
36. I like this symbolism: “A week ago, I was worrying over whether to bring Aury’s winter coat to the conference. Now that memory bespoke such stunning triviality that the winter coat itself (which I had brought, and she hadn’t used) seemed to be bursting in the air above us, its down feathers drifting over us like snow or wedding rice, or the confetti that rains down on a cavalcade of heroes.”
37. I love how everything with Virginia went down.
38. Love this burn: “I was startled to hear that Peter had once taken a class, and that he’s learned anything in it.”
39. More quotes I liked:
“”How the follies of the people closest to you can be used as a kind of currency to buy your own allure.”
“...she said she thought the label of pornography is a class thing. Cultivated people read erotica, not porn. It’s the hoi polloi that look at dirty magazines.”
“And I always had this underlying optimism. Even when it drove me crazy that people asked me how my day was, I had a certain optimism. I don’t know why. It was just there.”
Clare talking about college: “and I think the first year I learned about independence, the second year I learned about religion, the third year I learned about Los Angeles, and this year I’m learning about sex.”
“...you don’t have to like everyone with AIDS. A lot of them, frankly, are creeps. But they deserve basic human decency and respect, which is really all you need to offer.”
“What bigger act of faith is there than bringing a new child into the world? And motherhood is an amazing job because you can use everything-your intelligence, compassion, imagination, endurance, strength-everything, every resource you have. It’s incredibly challenging.”
“And maybe Ben’s murder was the act that opened Sid’s mind to deterioration. Come on in, Sid’s mind said, destroy me too.”
“Aury lost one tooth, then another. I called up the Tooth Fairy Hotline while Aury was in the room, requested a gift rather than money under the pillow. ‘What does the Tooth Fairy do with all the teeth she collects?’ Aury worried. I talked about the great Tooth Pit in Iowa, how corn grew beautifully over the layer of fertilizing teeth. Aury nodded sagely. ‘That’s because teeth have roots.’ she said.”
“And that’s the problem with TV, it’s not honest. TV takes everything-death, passion, perversion-and turns it into a show. It turns pain into entertainment.”
“But our smiles are masks. Who knows what risk and joy and madness lie ahead…”
40. I learned that an assignation is a secret meeting typically made by lovers.
41. I learned that rakish means dashing or debonair.
42. I really thought Sally’s daughter Linnea was going to die after the sentence, “If a chest of drawers fell over, it would kill her.”
43. Sally is pretty freaking rude. “‘Come on Clare. That’s not me. I wouldn’t be myself going somewhere without my children. I’d feel empty.’”
1. I actually liked the meandering minutia of Clare and Sally’s lives. Some reviews called it sort of boring, but I found it relatable.
2. I learned that a footlocker was another name for a trunk.
3. Quotes I liked:
“You can gussy them up with all the pretty rationales you want, but most major life decisions are whims.”
“Maybe the ribbon was less an impediment than a scruple.”
“A closed mind is worse than a stupid one.”
“I can see now that in this interchange the seeds to the destruction of my marriage were already being sown.”
“In a restaurant near the zoo in Columbus, Ted and I sat near a baby with a mother so simpery and self-satisfied that I had to leave the table...My little darling, my bonito baby, Mommy’s sweet mushroom. Mommy’s sweet mushroom: really. I wasn’t even sure I wanted a baby anymore, but now I wanted one more than ever, just so I could be better than that moony woman. My baby would be better looking too.”
“You can divide your life by decades, by duties, by passions, by fortunes, by griefs. Especially by griefs.”
“Oh, the sound of the dirt hitting wood. I can still hear it years later. I think it’s the saddest sound I’ve ever heard.”
4. I really like that Sally tried a variety of classes in college and that her dad learned with her. I think that’s a good way to figure out if you are picking the right major.
5. I learned the word obsequious means obedient or attentive in an excessive way.
6. I liked the symbol of the espalier. Thriving when Clare thought things were normal and okay, but not being there in the end. Like her reality was warped and she saw things for what they were. “Years later, when Sally had pruned Aunt Ruby and Daphne like limbs from her family tree…”
“The doctor had replaced the driveway’s vegetation with rows of topiaries and decorated the balconies with minarets painted gold and aqua. ‘Like little colorful penises,’ Sally said. The espalier, she’d heard, was dying or dead; Carlos had retired.” I like that penises have always been a part of that house. Porn and plants.
7. From Timbo having his car accident, I learned the word onanist means masturbation.
8. I learned the word onus means one’s duty or responsibility.
9. I learned verboten means forbidden.
10. I learned that aggrandizement means to make something or someone more important than they really are.
11. I learned that venality means open to bribery and overly motivated by money.
12. I like the symbolism in this passage: “She was wearing a straw hat with feathers sticking over its brim.” “‘I guess that’s where the money is!” she said cheerfully, her immense head bobbing. Her nose resembled a beak. I was tempted to reach up and dislodge a feather.”
13. I learned that the word perspicacity means having good insight.
14. I learned that the world puerile means childish.
15. I learned that chi-chi means pretentious.
16. I learned that the word frisson means a sudden feeling of excitement or fear.
17. I learned that “mort” means death as in rigor mortis or mortified.
18. I learned that bedfellow means an ally.
19. I completely understand the hold Sally’s dad has on her. Her relationship with her dad is almost identical to mine. My dad did shady things when I was growing up, but I could never turn on him or let him go. We are still super close and I’ll take up for him until the day he dies.
20. I almost feel like Sally’s mom committed suicide.
21. I learned that the word morass means a confusing or complicated situation.
22. I feel like I’m Sally here: “Could she love him? Who was I to say she shouldn’t. Maybe he was perfect for her; maybe being perfect didn’t matter, and all that mattered was Sally’s having another of her definite feelings: a woman who loves not wisely but well.”
23. I learned that miser can mean a hoarder of something, like love.
24. I learned that the word ashram was a monastery or hermitage.
25. When Clare did CPR on Sid and he vomited in her mouth she said, “His vomit in my mouth. Tasting familiar, normal, like my own vomit.” I feel like she was saying that although Sid wasn’t a role model of a human, she felt a kinship with him in that way even though she thought she was better than him at times.
26. I learned that primip means a woman who is pregnant for the first time and is short for primipara.
27. I learned that hoi polloi means the masses or common people.
28. I learned that eminence grise means a person who holds power.
29. DANGGG bombshell with Sid killing Ben. Yikes.
30. I wonder if Clare’s daughter is OCD because of her mother’s neglect.
31. I liked the symbolism of this, “So Sid was living in a house sliding down the hill into the sea. How appropriate.”
32. “Clare. I thought I’d gotten rid of you.” said Sid. This was after he told her about killing Ben. It almost feels like he wishes he would have killed Clare instead. Like he couldn’t completely control Sally because Clare was around.
33. “The photographs were happy and glamorous-Esther standing in front of the espalier near the pool, Esther in the kitchen, glancing up from a pot. I recognized the kitchen photo: I had taken it on one of my first trips to Los Angeles, in the first flush of excitement with the Roses. Where had Sid gotten it? Sally must have passed it on. Esther looked shockingly young to me, not far from my own age now, and not passive, as I remembered her, but pixie-ish, mischievous. Her lips were set in a half smile, ready to bubble into a laugh. She was adorable.” This makes me wonder how Clare’s memory was about Esther. Was Esther always great, but Sid had her hero worship early on? Or did she see Esther differently after Sif fell from her graces? How much did Esther have to put up with and how many secrets did she have of her own?
34. I like the symbolism here. The opposite of the espalier tree. “I’d had poison ivy climbing up the back wall in my backyard, and a neighbor told me-so logical! why hadn’t I thought of it!-to simply cut off its stem at the root. What took Sid so long to think of it?”
35. I learned that cachexic means a weight loss disorder.
36. I like this symbolism: “A week ago, I was worrying over whether to bring Aury’s winter coat to the conference. Now that memory bespoke such stunning triviality that the winter coat itself (which I had brought, and she hadn’t used) seemed to be bursting in the air above us, its down feathers drifting over us like snow or wedding rice, or the confetti that rains down on a cavalcade of heroes.”
37. I love how everything with Virginia went down.
38. Love this burn: “I was startled to hear that Peter had once taken a class, and that he’s learned anything in it.”
39. More quotes I liked:
“”How the follies of the people closest to you can be used as a kind of currency to buy your own allure.”
“...she said she thought the label of pornography is a class thing. Cultivated people read erotica, not porn. It’s the hoi polloi that look at dirty magazines.”
“And I always had this underlying optimism. Even when it drove me crazy that people asked me how my day was, I had a certain optimism. I don’t know why. It was just there.”
Clare talking about college: “and I think the first year I learned about independence, the second year I learned about religion, the third year I learned about Los Angeles, and this year I’m learning about sex.”
“...you don’t have to like everyone with AIDS. A lot of them, frankly, are creeps. But they deserve basic human decency and respect, which is really all you need to offer.”
“What bigger act of faith is there than bringing a new child into the world? And motherhood is an amazing job because you can use everything-your intelligence, compassion, imagination, endurance, strength-everything, every resource you have. It’s incredibly challenging.”
“And maybe Ben’s murder was the act that opened Sid’s mind to deterioration. Come on in, Sid’s mind said, destroy me too.”
“Aury lost one tooth, then another. I called up the Tooth Fairy Hotline while Aury was in the room, requested a gift rather than money under the pillow. ‘What does the Tooth Fairy do with all the teeth she collects?’ Aury worried. I talked about the great Tooth Pit in Iowa, how corn grew beautifully over the layer of fertilizing teeth. Aury nodded sagely. ‘That’s because teeth have roots.’ she said.”
“And that’s the problem with TV, it’s not honest. TV takes everything-death, passion, perversion-and turns it into a show. It turns pain into entertainment.”
“But our smiles are masks. Who knows what risk and joy and madness lie ahead…”
40. I learned that an assignation is a secret meeting typically made by lovers.
41. I learned that rakish means dashing or debonair.
42. I really thought Sally’s daughter Linnea was going to die after the sentence, “If a chest of drawers fell over, it would kill her.”
43. Sally is pretty freaking rude. “‘Come on Clare. That’s not me. I wouldn’t be myself going somewhere without my children. I’d feel empty.’”
September 26, 2022
This was a book that felt like it was never going to end. The story itself was fine/easy enough to read and follow - but it could’ve accomplished everything in half the length.
December 14, 2023
not spoiler-free.
this book was alright. my aunt read it and gave it to my mom and i found it one day and decided to read it. it didn't suck. can you tell that i don't really know what to say about it?
it didn't really have a plot. it was just about these two best friends throughout like 20/30 years of their lives together. the protagonist wasn't very good, like as a person. it read well. i got through it quick and i understood everything.
things i liked: clare was an aids specialist in a time when aids was scary and mostly unknown. clare finally had a daughter. clare never lost sally as a friend. it was half set in ohio, so i got most of the references to places so that was pretty cool (i even toured oberlin, didn't apply).
things i didn't like: sid. peter. sally having six kids. clare not getting ted in the end. the name of clare's daughter (aurelia). sally selling her law practice to run pornography distribution. ben. mark petrello. clare's dad dying. sally never letting her dad go. clare always running to LA for sally (just move there babe). sally moving to idaho. sally getting a millionaire's house and running out of money.
it was all just kind of plain.
this book was alright. my aunt read it and gave it to my mom and i found it one day and decided to read it. it didn't suck. can you tell that i don't really know what to say about it?
it didn't really have a plot. it was just about these two best friends throughout like 20/30 years of their lives together. the protagonist wasn't very good, like as a person. it read well. i got through it quick and i understood everything.
things i liked: clare was an aids specialist in a time when aids was scary and mostly unknown. clare finally had a daughter. clare never lost sally as a friend. it was half set in ohio, so i got most of the references to places so that was pretty cool (i even toured oberlin, didn't apply).
things i didn't like: sid. peter. sally having six kids. clare not getting ted in the end. the name of clare's daughter (aurelia). sally selling her law practice to run pornography distribution. ben. mark petrello. clare's dad dying. sally never letting her dad go. clare always running to LA for sally (just move there babe). sally moving to idaho. sally getting a millionaire's house and running out of money.
it was all just kind of plain.
January 6, 2010
At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into a book that was 483 pages, but once I did, I really liked it. Martha Moody is an excellent writer, she has the kind of phrasing that makes you pause every so often and appreciate her way with words. I really looked forward to reading Best Friends every day for a while now and I have a feeling I will miss Clare and Sally.
May 12, 2011
There are a lot of aspects that I like about this book. It's realism in terms of two women being friends is great. Even the way Moody deals with the longevity of time and its evolution between these two women is satisfying. I probably just didn't like the ending as much and the story may have gone on a little too long.
November 28, 2012
I listened to the audiobook and cannot believe that I finished this --all 14 discs-- considering how incredibly shallow, insipid and unsympathetic the characters were. I'd recently read a glowing review of some other Martha Moody book and, unfamiliar with the author, I sought out her work.
September 29, 2013
I even LIKE books that are about nothing and having you be the fly on he wall as someone drips coffee into their cracked mug and ponders their morning and I STILL could not read this. I tried and tried but these characters find themselves way more interesting than I ever will.
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