We’re delighted to be sharing Elena’s thoughts about Old Friends by Felicity Everett.
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- Publisher : HQ (17 Mar. 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0008288453
- ISBN-13 : 978-0008288457
Two couples, best friends for half a lifetime, move in together. What could possibly go wrong…?
Harriet and Mark have it all: successful careers, a lovely house in a leafy London suburb, twin boys on the cusp of leaving home. Yvette and Gary share a smaller place with their two daughters in a shabbier part of the same borough.
But when the stars align for a collective move north, it means a fresh start for them all. For Mark, it’s a chance to escape the rat race; for Harriet, a distraction from her unfulfilled dream of a late third child. Gary has decided to reboot the Madchester band that made him famous, while Yvette hopes it will give her daughters what she never had herself.
But as the reality of their new living arrangements slowly sinks in, the four friends face their own mid-life crises, and the dream becomes a nightmare…
Old Friends Review
Old Friends is the story of two couples living in London who have been best friends for years. Mark and Harriet have successful careers and two boys who have just entered adulthood, and Yvette and Gary live on the shabbier side of town with decidedly less glamorous lives. Gary enjoyed success with his band in the 90s and is on the cusp of a comeback. They have two daughters and are about to become grandparents.
As the story progresses we learn more and more about them and the secrets that lurk beneath their seemingly happy lives. With what can only be described as ‘mid-life crises’ occurring for a couple of them, the chance to live in Manchester presents itself and they decide to live together and start afresh. What could possibly go wrong with that?
Old Friends is a greatly entertaining read with some fantastic characters who are all so different.
Told through the eyes of each of them, we get a real sense of how domestic life can actually turn chaotic and dramatic and things can quickly change in an instant.
They are all quite likeable and I enjoyed each of their perspectives.
The author digs deep into their psyches and weaves a fascinating tale. I didn’t know quite how the story would pan out and although for much of the book we are getting a feel for the characters, there was enough action to keep me invested.
This is a great story about family life and the ways in which it can change at any moment.
I felt like I knew them all by the end of the book and thoroughly recommend it.
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Felicity Everett grew up in Manchester, lived, worked and raised her family of four in London and returned from a four year spell in Melbourne, Australia to live in Gloucestershire in 2014. After an early career in children’s publishing and freelance writing, she published her debut adult novel The Story of Us in 2011. Her second novel The People at Number 9 was published in 2017 and her third novel The Move was published in 2020.