Conversations with Friends: A Novel

Studying in Dublin, Frances and Bobbi—who’ve been friends since forever—live uncomplicated lives of schoolwork, intense debates on a whole range of philosophical and political topics, performing spoken word poetry together, and looking vaguely into the future. Things get complicated, though, when they meet Melissa, a well-known photographer, and her husband, Nick, a B-list actor. A strange flirtation begins between Frances and Nick, growing into a clandestine affair that gradually becomes less and less secret. As the affair continues, Frances finds her relationships with everyone, including Bobbi, her alcoholic father, her mother, and even Nick, growing brittle as she desperately attempts to regain some control over her life before it overwhelms her entirely.

While the prose is interesting and intensely written, I still walked away with a strong impression that Frances was an impossibly flat character. Unable to even decide how she should feel about her own health issues, she acts like a weather vane, requiring external triggers before she can decide what direction she should point, both mentally and emotionally. The affair itself is milquetoast, with the moral considerations of is it right or wrong or somewhere in-between somewhat glossed over. For me the story reads as pastel, with missing vibrancy.