Among Friends
Stylish and assured ... Ebbott’s prose is honed and aphoristic, recalling the work of James Salter and John Cheever ... The authorial stance is confident, and, at times, self-consciously showy ... The sentences go down easy, like a cold gin and tonic on a hot day. The point of view glides from one character to another, backward and forward in time, but there is substance beneath the gleaming surfaces ... Though its timeless, patrician milieu may feel remote to some readers, what Ebbott captures so well is the ever-present risk we take in making connections with others: the risk that our vulnerabilities might be used against us, or worse, that in our desire for friendship and closeness we might overlook the truth about ourselves or someone else.
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Probing and insightful ... Ebbott subtly unpicks the luscious tapestry he has so far woven, laying out the more selfish and messy emotions that underlie the characters’ relationships ... Impressively nuanced ... Some aspects are less subtle. The key event is handled somewhat awkwardly, with a jarring attempt at black humour ... Bracingly honest and affectingly intimate depiction of abuse, family dynamics and self-deceit. It is sharply observed and psychologically astute, somehow both passionate and dispassionate, and it upends its characters’ lives so ruthlessly and revealingly that it is hard not to take pleasure in a false facade being finally smashed.
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At first, this book builds slowly, embracing the false pretense that we’re all about to enjoy a family dramedy. But in the latter portion of the book, we’re left with page-turning chapter endings based around contemplative character interiority and the persistent question of how they will respond to the changing situation ... The novel is told through a close third-person point of view, but one that shifts between the characters on a whim. It’s a difficult choice, particularly since there are flashbacks woven into the chapters too, presenting many different viewpoints and timeframes. The flashbacks are intended to illustrate how the friendships between these adults have grown organically, woven together by purposeful events. That backstory adds to the overall richness of their relationships, but the novel is strongest in the present ... The topic in so many ways has been exhausted by the heavy, 20th-century novel Ebbott clearly aspires to write. But where Ebbott finds new ground is in attaching contemporary values to the examination, packaged in a way that recalls a different time and place, a different way of thinking, and in that dichotomy, has created something new and compelling for the present.
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