friendship. emily gould. (224)

emily gould's friendship was listed on flavorpill's must reads for july.  they wrote:

As the title suggests, it’s about friends, sure — but Gould’s debut novel strikes at something deeper by accurately portraying the life, times, and struggles of people that toe the lines between Generation X and Y, complete with David Foster Wallace and Stevie Nicks quotes for an epigraph. With Friendship, Gould has given us something honest, moving, and important.

their description was right on pointe.  it is about friends but it also felt very real and reminded me of my own life.

i actually cringed when i read the first couple of pages because i was unsure if i was ready to read about late twentysomething dealing with unemployment and lack of a career.  but i after reading about how bev's goals in life went from "serve god, marry a good christian and raise children in the ways of the lord" in high school to "read every book, as far away from the midwest as possible and never turn down an opportunity to get shitfaced" in college, i felt like we were kindred spirits.  i went from mormon to alcoholic in the course of 4 years of college. 

as flavorpill mentioned it did capture the struggle of my generation, and i do feel stuck between y and x.  i am old for "girls" but too young for "sex and the city" but oddly identify with both!  but yes, my generation thanks to the recession have all ended up in this weird unemployment funk.  i am happy to report that most of my friends survived it but i ended up like bev, stuck with temp work (i actually substitute teach but same diff.) but enough of that woe, though kudos for gould portraying it right.  oh and before i go on, totally get the whole spending fiasco of amy, i don't buy crazy designer things but i do go out and blow hundreds of dollars on fancy meals but life paycheck to paycheck.  this gen x/y lifestyle cost quite a lot!  it's cost money to be stayin the know!

but back to the novel, friendship is the tale of two friends, bev and amy.  they met via work and became besties. however, when we meet them they are both on the cusp of life disasters, though they don't know, we, the readers don't know it either but alas that is life.

*spoilers from here on out (if you are a female gen x/y-er stop here and check it out.)

when we meet them bev was unemployed and temping.  she pulled a felicity dropping out of grad school to follow her boyfriend to somewhere for him to attend law school.  amy worked for the jewish equivalent to buzzfeed.  she used to be some perez hilton-esque social media celeb but screwed over the wrong celeb and now was at the jewish buzzfeed.

okay i really just wrote that back story to provide some distance for the spoiler, i am about to drop . . . bev gets pregnant from a one-night stand.  and i want to discuss it in the context of the movie, obvious child.  (if you haven't seen it stop here and see it!!!)

i just saw the film because i love jenny slate but it actually turned out to be a wonderful film and must see for all women.  in the film, jenny slate's character, donna, becomes pregnant after a one-night stand.  she, however, chose to have an abortion.  i have never been in that situation but felt the film dealt with it very honestly.  we see donna go to planned parenthood on her own, having no idea what is involved and being unable to afford it.  we also see her tell her mother and she discovering that her mother understood what she was going through instead of being disappointed.  we also saw donna at the clinic.  and it wasn't classic hollywood where she ends up with the guy and he decided to become the father, which i was grateful for though it is implied that they may end up dating.  you just have to see it!  but i really admired it for its being an apolitical portrayal of abortion though i recognize that abortion within in itself is political.  also donna is a comedian which helps lighten up the movie.  it's really great and slate was amazing! go see it!

back to bev, she went to have an anortion but could not follow through with it.  instead she decided to keep the child and try to raise it on her own though with the help of a friend, sally.  there was a brief juno moment where amy wanted to find a rich family to adopt the child which is how sally entered the picture.  though the exchange ala juno never occurred.  i appreciated this storyline because becoming pregnant actually helped bev get her act together.  it was nice to see her grow from the situation (oh and don't worry i won't be taking a getting any ideas.)

while bev grew, amy took a stumble.  she lost her job, her apartment, her boyfriend and had an affair with a married man!  as a result, she and bev end up fighting.  the classic tale of bff projection.  the unhappy friend projects their fears and worries onto the other friend lecturing them on life which results in a fight.  this has happen to me, i have been on both sides.  

and in the end, this is what truly felt real to me.  our friendships are often interrupted by life and sometimes they survive and other times the fall apart.  i have two friends that i loved very dearly but our friendships got complicated by life. it's tough because i think of all the great memories i have with them and realize how much the person i am today is due to them, but sadly we are no longer close.  it's my fault, my pride, i am like amy.  i should be like a bev and reach out to my friends.  i should add i feel like too much time has passed and one friend in particular has moved on well beyond me.  

in the end, i was happy that bev reached out to amy and i hope and assume that all became well between the two of them. you can't have a book called friendship end on a sad note.

this was a great read, and i plan on reading more of gould's work.