Among Friends
By
Hal Ebbott
Read by
Rebecca Lowman
Release:
06/24/2025
Runtime:
8h 51m
Unabridged
Quantity:
Elegant…[with] refined prose that feels like a throwback to mid-20th-century psychological realism… Ebbott conjures up a world where mental machinations trump morality. It’s an alluring accomplishment.
Publishers Weekly
What begins as celebration gives way to betrayal, shattering the trust between two families
“Exquisitely crafted.” —John Irving
“Masterly…Ranges from the most exquisite, Jamesian discriminations to the graspable, all-American solidities of Updike and Richard Yates. This is a writer to watch, with excitement and the highest expectations.' —John Banville
“Wonderful, sly and subtle…Every sentence keeps you hanging in the air, waiting for the next punch to the gut. Wow.”—Miranda Cowley Heller
"In the way that a forceful intelligence or an infectious voice or a fresh vision can alter how we observe and answer the world, Among Friends brought me into its cool environs and made me engage my days differently. It's no small accomplishment for a first novel, or for any novel." —Richard Ford
It’s an autumn weekend at a comfortable New York country house where two deeply intertwined families have gathered to mark the host’s fifty-second birthday.
Together, the group forms an enviable portrait of middle age. The wives and husbands have been friends for over thirty years, their teenage daughters have grown up together, and the dinners, games, and rituals forming their days all reflect the rich bonds between them.
This weekend, however, something is different. An unforeseen curdling of envy and resentment will erupt in an unspeakable act, the aftermath of which exposes treacherous fault lines upon which they have long dwelt.
Written with hypnotic elegance and molten precision, and announcing the arrival of a major literary talent, Hal Ebbott’s Among Friends examines betrayal within the sanctuary of a defining relationship, as well as themes of class, marriage, friendship, power, and the things we tell ourselves to preserve our finely made worlds.
© 2025 Bo Bartlett / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
“Exquisitely crafted.” —John Irving
“Masterly…Ranges from the most exquisite, Jamesian discriminations to the graspable, all-American solidities of Updike and Richard Yates. This is a writer to watch, with excitement and the highest expectations.' —John Banville
“Wonderful, sly and subtle…Every sentence keeps you hanging in the air, waiting for the next punch to the gut. Wow.”—Miranda Cowley Heller
"In the way that a forceful intelligence or an infectious voice or a fresh vision can alter how we observe and answer the world, Among Friends brought me into its cool environs and made me engage my days differently. It's no small accomplishment for a first novel, or for any novel." —Richard Ford
It’s an autumn weekend at a comfortable New York country house where two deeply intertwined families have gathered to mark the host’s fifty-second birthday.
Together, the group forms an enviable portrait of middle age. The wives and husbands have been friends for over thirty years, their teenage daughters have grown up together, and the dinners, games, and rituals forming their days all reflect the rich bonds between them.
This weekend, however, something is different. An unforeseen curdling of envy and resentment will erupt in an unspeakable act, the aftermath of which exposes treacherous fault lines upon which they have long dwelt.
Written with hypnotic elegance and molten precision, and announcing the arrival of a major literary talent, Hal Ebbott’s Among Friends examines betrayal within the sanctuary of a defining relationship, as well as themes of class, marriage, friendship, power, and the things we tell ourselves to preserve our finely made worlds.
© 2025 Bo Bartlett / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Release:
2025-06-24
Runtime:
8h 51m
Format:
audio
Weight:
0.0 lb
Language:
English
ISBN:
9798217071753
Publisher:
Penguin Random House
Praise