Friends and Strangers

I listened to “Friends and Strangers” by J. Courtney Sullivan, performed by Kate Rudd. I loved it. Rudd did a fantastic job, and the story is compelling to me as a mother and a past babysitter. In an interview with NPR, Sullivan said that she got the idea after she had a baby herself. She had been a babysitter for a woman when she was in college and grew close to the mother of the child she babysat for. For Sullivan it was a memorable relationship; yet the mother didn’t recall their relationship at all. Also, Sullivan worked in NYC in her twenties and thirties. When she was in her thirties, she found herself jealous of those who had family wealth to fall back on and supplemented by. She used those experiences as fodder for this novel. The two main characters are Elizabeth and Sam. Elizabeth is an author with two novels in publication and in the midst of writing her third novel. She just had a baby and needs time to write her novel. Sam is a rising Senior at a university. She’s from a working-class family and saddled with debt. Sam is hired by Elizabeth to watch her son as she writes her third novel, and the women develop a close relationship. Elizabeth sees Sam as a younger version of herself. As a result, she tries to “help” her with advice. Sam is idealistic and is an artist as well. Themes of the novel are social class, wealth, education, working mothers, and female relationships. And I love the title because it emphasizes that our friends are also strangers to us. Sam and Elizabeth think they know the other person and their situation. This novel is brilliant in showing how we misinterpret many issues of our friends. We all make judgements on our friends, Yet, we don’t truly know what that person’s intentions, feelings and history are. Sullivan nails those issues. Sullivan also points out how all of us are works in progress. We all are growing, filtering, and changing. Sullivan told NPR that she saw the novel as a conversation with her younger self. That intimacy shows in this fantastic novel. This is realistic fiction with themes that will make the reader contemplate their own personal relationships. This novel illuminates our complex relationships. 6 people found this helpful

I finished about 60% and quit. It was just going on and on about nothing. Fairly boring with a great performance. 5 people found this helpful

The first 40% was quite slow and seemed tediously detailed at points, however I really enjoyed the back half of the novel and thought the characters and story were well developed. The writing is excellent but needed a heavy edit. Narration is good 3 people found this helpful

I liked the story but the audio reader isn\’t good enough , I think it\’s automated , it should be more smooth and organized. 2 people found this helpful

I can always figure out how I feel about a book by how fast I finish it and how addicted am I to listening to it. But I just wasn’t with this. The story wasn’t terrible but just ok. Started boring in the beginning and was waiting for the plot to develop.. took too long, almost gave up. 1 person found this helpful

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