The Friend By, Sigrid Nunez

I LOVED this book! I reread it to write this review and I am still enthralled. After the death of her friend and mentor, the narrator feels compelled to adopt Apollo, a "Harlequin Great Dane, 34 inches from shoulder to paw and 180 lbs" while living in a "tiny" (500 sq foot) rent controlled apartment that prohibits dogs. The narrator and dog's grief intertwine, as they both struggle and attempt to navigate the new normal.

The book reads like a journal, as the narrator shares her daily musings, regarding the students she teaches (she is a college professor) the writing life, and attempts to write through her feelings of love and loss. She struggles with friends who attempt to 'reason' with her, that it is an untenable situation and she needs to 'let go' of the dog.

In an attempt to 'understand' the dog, and assure she is providing quality care, she takes the dog to a vet within walking distance to her apartment. I found her descriptions on her life living as a woman of a certain age, to be insightful, sarcastic and much appreciated. Her description of the vet, "He is good with Apollo, but I am wary of him, the sort of man who speaks to women as if they are idiots and to older women, as if they are deaf idiots."

When she tells him that Apollo never plays with other dogs, not even at the dog park, he says, "Well he's not so young anymore, is he. I'm sure you don't run and jump around the way you use to either."

It's an enthralling read, that challenges the impact of grief on humans, as well as canine companions. The ending brings the pair together, in a cottage by the ocean.

"This is life, eh? Sunshine, not too hot, nice breeze, birdsong. Now I know you like the sun, or you wouldn't be lying in it. In fact that sun must feel awfully good on your old bones. And you probably find the ocean breeze as refreshing as I do. Whenever it blows our way, you lift your head to sniff."

And so it goes, "the world doesn't end, life always moves on, and we too move on, doing whatever we need to do." This book is a gentle reminder to take a moment to enjoy the sunshine, listen to the birds and move with your heart, one beat at a time.