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The Mutual Friend
"This is a rare thing: an original, intelligent novel that's not just a perfect summer beach read, but one that deserves serious awards consideration as well. Put down your phone and pick it up. . . . A major accomplishment."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
From the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, a hilarious and thought-provoking debut novel set in New York City, following an unforgettable cast of characters as they navigate life, love, loss, ambition, and spirituality--without ever looking up from their phones
It's the summer of 2015, and Alice Quick needs to get to work. She's twenty-eight years old, grieving her mother, barely scraping by as a nanny, and freshly kicked out of her apartment. If she can just get her act together and sign up for the MCAT, she can start chasing her dream of becoming a doctor . . . but in the Age of Distraction, the distractions are so distracting. There's her tech millionaire brother's religious awakening. His picture-perfect wife's emotional breakdown. Her chaotic new roommate's thirst for adventure. And, of course, there's the biggest distraction of all: love.
From within the story of one summer in one woman's life, a tapestry of characters is unearthed, tied to one another by threads both seen and unseen. Filled with all the warmth, humor, and heart that gained How I Met Your Mother its cult following, The Mutual Friend captures in sparkling detail the chaos of contemporary life--a life lived simultaneously in two different worlds, the physical one and the one behind our screens--and reveals how connected we all truly are.
From the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, a hilarious and thought-provoking debut novel set in New York City, following an unforgettable cast of characters as they navigate life, love, loss, ambition, and spirituality--without ever looking up from their phones
It's the summer of 2015, and Alice Quick needs to get to work. She's twenty-eight years old, grieving her mother, barely scraping by as a nanny, and freshly kicked out of her apartment. If she can just get her act together and sign up for the MCAT, she can start chasing her dream of becoming a doctor . . . but in the Age of Distraction, the distractions are so distracting. There's her tech millionaire brother's religious awakening. His picture-perfect wife's emotional breakdown. Her chaotic new roommate's thirst for adventure. And, of course, there's the biggest distraction of all: love.
From within the story of one summer in one woman's life, a tapestry of characters is unearthed, tied to one another by threads both seen and unseen. Filled with all the warmth, humor, and heart that gained How I Met Your Mother its cult following, The Mutual Friend captures in sparkling detail the chaos of contemporary life--a life lived simultaneously in two different worlds, the physical one and the one behind our screens--and reveals how connected we all truly are.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published June 7, 2022
467 people are currently reading
20830 people want to read
About the author
Carter Bays
1 book111 followersCarter Bays is the co-creator of the Emmy-winning series How I Met Your Mother. The Mutual Friend is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 654 reviews
January 8, 2023
About the book: “"This is a rare thing: an original, intelligent novel that's not just a perfect summer beach read, but one that deserves serious awards consideration as well. Put down your phone and pick it up... A major accomplishment."
--Kirkus (starred)
From the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, a hilarious and thought-provoking debut novel set in New York City, following a sprawling cast of characters as they navigate life, love, loss, ambition, and spirituality--without ever looking up from their phones.”
Did you watch How I Met Your Mother? I did. Gosh, I loved that show. The author of The Mutual Friend, Carter Bays, helped create that show, and it has a similar ensemble cast feel. I think it would easily translate to the screen as well.
The Mutual Friend is on the longer side at close to 500 pages, and the gems inside were more than worth the “work” for me. Just like with my favorite show, I laughed out loud, sighed, and pondered… all the things I could do if I were on my phone less. All the obstacles I’ve put in my own path to keep me from living more. I need to check out the audio because I bet it’s just as brilliant.
I hope Carter Bays has many more thoughtful, resonant stories to share with us in a manner only he can.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
--Kirkus (starred)
From the co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, a hilarious and thought-provoking debut novel set in New York City, following a sprawling cast of characters as they navigate life, love, loss, ambition, and spirituality--without ever looking up from their phones.”
Did you watch How I Met Your Mother? I did. Gosh, I loved that show. The author of The Mutual Friend, Carter Bays, helped create that show, and it has a similar ensemble cast feel. I think it would easily translate to the screen as well.
The Mutual Friend is on the longer side at close to 500 pages, and the gems inside were more than worth the “work” for me. Just like with my favorite show, I laughed out loud, sighed, and pondered… all the things I could do if I were on my phone less. All the obstacles I’ve put in my own path to keep me from living more. I need to check out the audio because I bet it’s just as brilliant.
I hope Carter Bays has many more thoughtful, resonant stories to share with us in a manner only he can.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
June 4, 2022
Do you love an ensemble-type drama with comedic moments? Depending on the generation you were born in you might have first encountered such a phenomenon with "Seinfeld." Perhaps it was "Friends." Or maybe "How I Met Your Mother." If you are like me, you delight in seeing how a concept will be sprinkled through an episode in varied ways. Or how there are new connections to be explored with supporting cast members and past experiences. This is a long book. I stuck with it for the moments when I could connect the dots. It was worth it. One of my favorite bits has to do with the meme below. Read the book and find out more about it. = )
Thank you to Dutton and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Dutton and Edelweiss+ for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
February 14, 2022
I’ve not read anything quite like this book for years. I adored this huge cast of characters, with all their dreams. flaws and heart, and I loved the way their lives intersect and connect, often in ways only seen by the reader. Carter Bays shows us, with wit, charm and insight, what it is to be human in 2015 in NYC. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to pick it up and start again, knowing that there was so much I missed on the first read. 👏👏👏
May 14, 2022
I don't know how I feel about this book. When I first started it I was ready to DNF it. it was so choppy and kept jumping to different people and I was so confused. I decided to keep going though. Am I glad I did? Not sure. I liked the story, and how everything wrapped up and was connected in the end, but it was way too long. I'm also just not sure about the structure of the book overall. I think it will work for some people and be an easy five star read. I however, am sadly not that person.
July 11, 2022
Just brilliant. But as I write this review, I’m struggling to put into words what this book is about and how I felt about it. I went into it blind and wholly unprepared, and I feel like it would be helpful for readers to know a couple of things about this book ahead of time. First of all, the narration for this book is weird at first and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It threw me off initially because it’s not totally clear who the narrator is, and the book kind of ping pongs perspectives between various characters. That said, stick with it! All will make sense if you keep going. But if you go in thinking this is a ho hum book like others you have read (admittedly, that’s what I thought), you will be surprised at the beginning because it’s nothing like you have ever read. Literally. Carter Bays created something wholly fresh and unique here and there is simply nothing to compare it to.
Secondly, this book has the same humor, quirkiness and wit of How I Met Your Mother, but it also has something highly literary about it. It’s very much a reflection and exploration of how our lives nowadays are half lived in real life and half lived on the internet. And he does this without the judgement that so often accompanies stories about the internet. He is not telling the reader to get off their phones. Instead, he explores what it really is like to live a life in a world in which you are constantly connected to and distracted by the internet. It’s the hard reality of it and the beauty of it all in one. He explores it with such nuance and depth, that I feel like people should read this book in college courses on the subject.
This book was long and yet when I got to the end, I was so completely sad that it was ending. I would gladly reread this book because I think I could get even more out of a subsequent reading, and I hardly ever reread books. This was also wonderful on audio. I loved this book with my whole heart and was surprised by each and every page. May be my favorite book of the year so far.
Secondly, this book has the same humor, quirkiness and wit of How I Met Your Mother, but it also has something highly literary about it. It’s very much a reflection and exploration of how our lives nowadays are half lived in real life and half lived on the internet. And he does this without the judgement that so often accompanies stories about the internet. He is not telling the reader to get off their phones. Instead, he explores what it really is like to live a life in a world in which you are constantly connected to and distracted by the internet. It’s the hard reality of it and the beauty of it all in one. He explores it with such nuance and depth, that I feel like people should read this book in college courses on the subject.
This book was long and yet when I got to the end, I was so completely sad that it was ending. I would gladly reread this book because I think I could get even more out of a subsequent reading, and I hardly ever reread books. This was also wonderful on audio. I loved this book with my whole heart and was surprised by each and every page. May be my favorite book of the year so far.
June 23, 2022
Oh boy, what an odd book. As a librarian, I'm not sure how I would recommend this to people without the following disclaimers: it's long (466 pgs.) & I think it could have been about 150 pages shorter, the story jumps around so much, & there are SO many characters to keep straight. It literally made my head hurt a few times while trying to read it. It was entertaining, but I don't understand why the storylines just kept dragging on & on. All in all, it felt like this book missed the mark. But I'm obviously in the minority, with the high reviews it's getting. I'd give it closer to 2.5 stars.
March 3, 2022
When you think that nobody will ever come up with something brand-new and surprise you as a reader… you pick up a book like this and remember why you love to read! I know brilliant is a strong word but I can’t think of a better one to describe The Mutual Friend- it’s as funny as it is heartbreaking -and it perfectly depicts the way we all live- half in our physical worlds and half in our universes that exist online.
June 16, 2022
So choppy. Difficult to connect with the characters
December 7, 2022
Pretty good.
June 2, 2022
Alice has been saying she is going to go to medical school for years. At twenty eight, it is time she buckled down and studied for her MCATs. But, there is that dating app, her roommate’s foibles, her brother and sister-in-law’s life, possible love interests, not to mention all those social media apps clamoring for her attention. And so it goes……
This book reminds me of some films I’ve seen with loose connections between and among people and how they intersect. There is a wide cast of characters here, some who appear fleetingly, disappear, and then pop up again later. Some move back and forth in time as we learn their stories.
Bays satirically presents an acutely jaundiced, but accurate view of our always connected culture. Some of it is brilliant, some of it absurd. The writing is sharp, but the length of some segments can interfere with that.
The book is refreshing, fun, pertinent, but, for me, a bit too long.
This book reminds me of some films I’ve seen with loose connections between and among people and how they intersect. There is a wide cast of characters here, some who appear fleetingly, disappear, and then pop up again later. Some move back and forth in time as we learn their stories.
Bays satirically presents an acutely jaundiced, but accurate view of our always connected culture. Some of it is brilliant, some of it absurd. The writing is sharp, but the length of some segments can interfere with that.
The book is refreshing, fun, pertinent, but, for me, a bit too long.
June 21, 2022
Well, not hilarious as I was told it would be. Not intelligent as I was told it would be. Most of the book dealt with inane, sophomoric, and meaningless activities of people way too invested in their phones and social media while endlessly hopping back and forth between characters I had forgotten about, and frankly, didn’t care about. It held none of the wit, charm, or intelligence of HIMYM except that both were set in NYC.
January 7, 2022
You know how in Family Circus when Billy has to get from point A to point B but takes a circuitous path and you are yelling at Billy to just.get.there? A Mutal Friend is not that. Your point A gets you to the point B in such a gloriously circuitous path and it is a delight of a story. Thanks for the ARC, Netgalley. It was a great read to start the New Year.
August 10, 2022
This was a tough read. It brings in too many characters and the flow of the story isn't great. Just as you're getting sucked into one narrative, a new character or story line will be introduced (and then dropped again). Some of it comes together in the end but not really. The book does give everyone "closure" but some characters were thrown in for such a little side story that it was weird to have them come back in the end.
However, I do think a lot of this would have worked as a TV show. The way some of the stories flow together was hard to sift through in a book but would have been easier done in a visual format. I know HIMYM often introduced random side characters that would circle back and be important later (HIMYF recently did this with the Captain!). It seems like these side characters and Easter eggs are definitely the style for Bays but it didn't work well in this book.
And it's a lot of book! With so many stories and characters and 485 pages, it probably would have landed better if some of them had been unraveled from eachother and been given their own, more complete books. There was so much to Rudy's story or Bobert and Vanessa's but instead they're just side chapters to this larger book that I guess is mostly about Alice studying for the MCAT?
Anyways, it was hard to get through and I had to force myself to sit down and get through it in case it got better. Some of the stories were interesting but I didn't get the big picture of it all.
However, I do think a lot of this would have worked as a TV show. The way some of the stories flow together was hard to sift through in a book but would have been easier done in a visual format. I know HIMYM often introduced random side characters that would circle back and be important later (HIMYF recently did this with the Captain!). It seems like these side characters and Easter eggs are definitely the style for Bays but it didn't work well in this book.
And it's a lot of book! With so many stories and characters and 485 pages, it probably would have landed better if some of them had been unraveled from eachother and been given their own, more complete books. There was so much to Rudy's story or Bobert and Vanessa's but instead they're just side chapters to this larger book that I guess is mostly about Alice studying for the MCAT?
Anyways, it was hard to get through and I had to force myself to sit down and get through it in case it got better. Some of the stories were interesting but I didn't get the big picture of it all.
May 22, 2022
This was so different from anything I've read in a while! I loved how character-focused it was, but I wasn't wild about how it hyper focuses on social media and how it impacts our lives. If you liked How I Met Your Mother, you would likely enjoy The Mutual Friend. However, don't go into it thinking it's a similar storyline.
July 6, 2023
this book was not funny, not interesting, and it felt like a complete waste of my time.
October 15, 2022
I tried….. maybe I’ll try again later when I have the willpower
March 21, 2022
A look at the ways we’re all (loosely, superficially, and maybe meaningfully?) connected thanks to social media. It’s also slice of life–or rather, many slices of many lives.
It was fun seeing characters unexpectedly pop up in various places, which speaks to the theme of the book. You just never know when someone is going to be in and out of your life or the reasons behind it. The main problem I had was the absence of strong feelings for any of these characters. There was an abundance of sympathy and I was rooting for them, but they were all just kind of there. Surprisingly, I felt the most for Bob, and a passage of his near the end was the most beautifully written part of the whole book.
Still good, important stuff in this. Read if you want to feel more hopeful about the world. Or maybe more cynical. You choose.
It was fun seeing characters unexpectedly pop up in various places, which speaks to the theme of the book. You just never know when someone is going to be in and out of your life or the reasons behind it. The main problem I had was the absence of strong feelings for any of these characters. There was an abundance of sympathy and I was rooting for them, but they were all just kind of there. Surprisingly, I felt the most for Bob, and a passage of his near the end was the most beautifully written part of the whole book.
Still good, important stuff in this. Read if you want to feel more hopeful about the world. Or maybe more cynical. You choose.
March 10, 2022
The Mutual Friend was just glorious. Brilliant. The character’s stories were woven together in such clever ways, and it felt almost like jumping into one swimming pool them swimming down and emerging in someone else’s story… without realizing it. Bays tugs on your heartstrings, and somehow also makes you consider your role in the universe through his descriptions of the internet. Loved it.
did-not-finish
December 3, 2022I got to 16% and realized that this is too disjointed for me right now. I understood the point that we are all so distracted by social media, but I felt that way too much in my trying to sink into this book and not able to connect with the characters.
December 4, 2025
Started reading this as a physical book and made it 15 pages and HATED it. Switched to audiobook and ended up actually really enjoying it. I think my brain just couldn’t comprehend this writing style and did better having someone read it to me. Loved the narrator too.
March 15, 2023
kind of weird but really good
November 11, 2024
I mean I’m not going to not read a book by one of the creators of the greatest sitcom of all time.
June 30, 2022
I’m a massive fan of comedy sitcoms, especially Seinfeld, and I really enjoyed watching Friends (even Frasier), so imagine my excitement when this book showed up on my doorstep written by one of the screen writers for How I Met Your Mother?! I already knew I would love it, and I did. As with any of the sitcoms mentioned above, there’s a big cast of characters in this book and we got to read about their lives, loves, dreams and flaws while trying to be a regular human in a busy city (NY!). This book focusses on social media, how we navigate our lives in the real world with our lives on social media, and just how that impacts our reality.
If you love a big cast of characters, or any good sitcom, then definitely pick this one up!
Thank you so much to Kim at Hodder for sending me a proof of this one. I loved it!
If you love a big cast of characters, or any good sitcom, then definitely pick this one up!
Thank you so much to Kim at Hodder for sending me a proof of this one. I loved it!
August 27, 2022
4.5 stars Clever, clever book. I should just give it five stars but it took awhile to get into and I can see how if you didn’t pick up this book at the right time it could be a DNF. The cast of characters is large (but not hard to keep track of) and in the beginning you wonder where all these hilarious, weird stories of people on their phones is going. But that’s kind of what makes this book so genius, eventually everything intertwines and you are rooting for every single character…well, maybe not the mayor.
May 19, 2022
Shout out to Goodreads for the advanced copy of the book. I'm going to even give my self a little credit for reading it before its release date. It took me a while to get a feel for all the characters, the ones who really piqued my interest were Roxy and Felix. A lot of the others just seemed wishy washy. As I started getting invested in the book I felt I was going to give it 4 stars, unfortunately when I finished it I downgraded to 3.
August 6, 2022
Could NOT immerse myself, at all, into this book. Do not understand the glowing reviews. Did not finish.
September 20, 2022
Man, I really wanted to like this book but I just didn’t. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters as they just seemed selfish to me.
June 23, 2022
This was a fun one to read... felt like watching a sitcom about loosely connected individuals searching for love and purpose in NYC. Lots of laugh out loud moments as well as heartfelt commentary. The narration was a bit strange, which at times made the story a bit tough to follow, but I ended up enjoying the uniqueness of it.
April 24, 2024
so something earth shattering and life altering just happened to me ...
September 23, 2022
3.5 rounded up to 4 ⭐️
A meandering, spider-web-like story that keeps connecting, jumping, and reconnecting
A meandering, spider-web-like story that keeps connecting, jumping, and reconnecting
Displaying 1 - 30 of 654 reviews