Books › The Interestings
The Interestings
789 pages
A sprawling, bittersweet exploration of what happens when the golden promise of youth collides with the realities of adulthood.
What it feels like
This sprawling, deeply observant novel wraps you in the bittersweet nostalgia of a lifelong friendship. Reading it feels like flipping through a photo album with a mix of profound affection and sharp regret, watching bright, artistic teenagers slowly weather the compromises of adulthood. The pace is steady and absorbing, carrying you through decades of shifting loyalties, quiet envies, and the sobering realization that not everyone gets to be extraordinary. The prose is sharp, psychological, and wry, expertly dissecting the uncomfortable truths about money, talent, and mediocrity. It is an incredibly immersive experience that will delight readers who crave rich, character-driven epics and anyone who has ever wondered what happened to the person they used to be.
- Mood
- nostalgic
- bittersweet
- reflective
- intimate
- Tone
- wry
- observant
- empathetic
- melancholic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- erosion of youthful ambition · lifelong friendship · envy and mediocrity · art versus commerce · coming of middle age
- The writing
- Expansive, sharp, and deeply psychological, with a knack for pinpointing uncomfortable human truths.
- The arc
- Moves from the bright, boundless optimism of youth to the sobering, bittersweet acceptance of ordinary adulthood.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sprawling character studies and grappling with the gap between who they wanted to be and who they became.
Content notes
- sexual assault
- depression
- chronic illness
- grief
- substance abuse
About the book
The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. The kind of creativity that is rewarded at age fifteen is not always enough to propel someone through life at age thirty. Their friendships endure and even prosper, but also underscore the differences in their fates, in what their talents have become, and the shapes their lives have taken. (Bestseller)
Description from Open Library.
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