Now a Pedro Almodóvar film – THE ROOM NEXT DOOR
‘I was totally overwhelmed by this extraordinary novel. A total joy – and laugh-out-loud funny’ DEBORAH MOGGACH
The New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of THE FRIEND brings her singular voice to a story about the meaning of life and death, and the value of companionship.
The woman at the heart of this extraordinary novel finds that everyone she meets has a common need: the urge to talk about themselves and to have an audience for their experiences. And so she tries to pay attention, to imagine and listen to what those around her are going through. But then an old friend makes an extraordinary request and draws her into an intense and transformative experience of her own.
‘I just adore Sigrid Nunez’ PAULA HAWKINS
‘Brilliant. I loved it as much as The Friend‘ SUSIE STEINER
‘When I open one of [Sigrid Nunez’s] novels, I almost always know immediately: This is where I want to be … As good as The Friend, if not better’ NEW YORK TIMES
‘A true pleasure to read, a novel bursting with wit, warmth, and human empathy’ INDEPENDENT
‘Brilliant … The narrative control of this novel simply dazzles’ SPECTATOR
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Reviews
With both compassion and joy, Nunez contemplates how we survive life's certain suffering, and don't, with words and one another
Brilliant ... The narrative control of this novel simply dazzles
If the meaning of life is that it ends, Nunez gets to the nub of meaning in her brilliant novel. I loved it as much as The Friend
Impossible to put down
Fans of Rachel Cusk will love this thoughtful, wise novel ... This complex tale demands the reader's attention, but is all the more satisfying for it
When I open one of [Sigrid Nunez's] novels, I almost always know immediately: This is where I want to be ... "What Are You Going Through" is as good as "The Friend," if not better
Sigrid Nunez orchestrates a beautiful chorus of humanness here, and the novel asks a question we might all be thinking in these distant times: What does it mean to really be there for someone in times of hardship?
Dryly funny and deeply tender
Profound, moving and brilliant
A thought-provoking novel about life and death ... Nunez widens and narrows the focus of her lens, from the death of the world, to the death of a close friend and back again, with superb control. Her writing is taut, clear and insightful
A funny and moving story of two women - one of whom has terminal cancer
Nunez's prose is conspiratorial and elegant, whimsical and wise. Alongside a contemplation of mortality are winks: For all its pain and seriousness, life is absurd, comical; we humans are impossible to figure out - and yet so tender
A riveting picture of friendship intensifying as it draws to a close ... a rich meditation on companionship, loss and love
A smart look at the bonds and demands of friendship
A touching, poignant illustration of what it means to have empathy for the lives around you
I was dazed by the novel's grace
A true pleasure to read, a novel bursting with wit, warmth, and human empathy
I was totally overwhelmed by this extraordinary novel. Even if it weren't about a subject dear to my heart I would be equally thrilled by its grace and profundity. Sentence by sentence it's a total joy - and sometimes, much to my surprise, laugh-out-loud funny
Remarkable ... powerful
Both wise and unsettling ... This book's quiet discovery is that, no matter how extreme the circumstances, "life must be dealt with"
Love, death, friendship, compassion & SO MUCH wisdom. I just adore Sigrid Nunez
Spectacular
Much as in Rachel Cusk's recent work, the narrator is a conduit and sounding board for the stories of others... Deeply empathetic without being sentimental, this novel explores women's lives, their choices, and how they support one another....Highly recommended for readers who favour emotional resonance over escapism during difficult times
Beauty, friendship, nature, art: These are the salves to loneliness and despair, and Nunez offers them all in this searching look into life and death