224 pages ; 21 cm

ia/bestfriends0000berg_g6d0.pdf

Thomas Berger

Simon & Schuster, Incorporated

Beyond Words/Atria Books

United States, United States of America

April 27, 2004

New York, 2004

New York, 2003

London, 2004

<p>roy Courtright Is Good-looking, Healthy, Independent, Well Liked, And The Owner Of A Successful Classic Car Dealership. His Best Friend, Sam Grandy, Is The Near Inverse&#58; Married, A Spendthrift, Overweight, Needy, And Near Bankruptcy. Yet They've Been Inseparable Best Friends Since Childhood. As Best Friends, They Share A Close And Loving Bond, Often Stronger Than The Relationships Other Men Share With Their Girlfriends, Siblings, Even Wives.<p>but In The Twenty Years Since Their Friendship Began, Those Fundamental Differences Have Become More Apparent And Their Relationship Has Grown Strained. When The Two Friends Encounter Serious Problems, They're Forced To Reckon With Each Other. Do These Differences Threaten Their Friendship -- Or Are The Dissimilarities What Make It Possible? Can They Escape The Ties Of Their Past, Or Are They Intrinsically Bound Until Death?<p>when Sam's Health Begins To Falter, He Draws Roy Into His Life Again -- And Into A Chain Of Deceit, Sex, Delusion, Death, And Love Such As Only A Best Friend Could. With Exquisite Wit And Insidious Wisdom, Best Friends Weaves A Powerful Tale About Friendship -- And The Complex Loyalties Involved.</p><h3>the Washington Post</h3><p>you Can Read <i>best Friends</i> As A Love Story Or A Suspense Tale, As Well As A Meditation On Friendship And Fate; And If Some Of What Takes Place Seems Inevitable, It Is, Nonetheless, Unsettling. Berger Is A Master Of The Unsettling Narrative, The Creepy Visitor, The Jovial Stranger Who Seems Capable Of Doing His Worst And Takes Things Just One Step Too Far. &mdash; <i>jeffrey Frank</i></p>

Since childhood, Sam Grandy and Roy Courtright have been best friends. They grew up in the same prosperous community, went to the same prep school, and later entered the same university. After Sam's father died, Roy's father looked after him. At one point Sam dated Roy's sister, Robin. As best friends, they share a close and loving bond, often stronger than the relationships other men share with their girlfriends, siblings, or wives. But in the twenty years since their friendship began, their fundamental differences have become more apparent and their relationship has grown strained. More and more often they realize they are opposites -- one a womanizer, the other a devoted husband; one careless with money, the other frugal; one independent, the other needy. Do these differences threaten their friendship -- or are the dissimilarities what make it possible? Can they escape the ties of their past, or are they intrinsically bound until death? When Sam's health begins to falter, he draws Roy into his life again -- and into a chain of deceit, sex, delusion, death, and love such as only a best friend could.
Thomas Berger has enthralled millions of readers for almost fifty years with his psychologically complex, sharp-sighted storytelling. With exquisite wit and insidious wisdom, Best Friends weaves a powerful tale about friendship -- and the complex loyalties involved.

"Since childhood, Sam Grandy and Roy Courtright have been best friends. They grew up in the same prosperous community, went to the same prep school, and later entered the same university. After Sam's father died, Roy's father looked after him. At one point Sam dated Roy's sister, Robin. As best friends, they share a close and loving bond, often stronger than the relationships other men share with their girlfriends, siblings, or wives.".
"But in the twenty years since their friendship began, their fundamental differences have become more apparent and their relationship has grown strained. More and more often they realize they are opposites - one a womanizer, the other a devoted husband; one careless with money, the other frugal; one independent, the other needy. Do these differences threaten their friendship - or are the dissimilarities what make it possible?
Can they escape the ties of their past, or are they intrinsically bound until death?" "When Sam's health begins to falter, he draws Roy into his life again - and into a chain of deceit, sex, delusion, death, and love such as only a best friend could."--BOOK JACKET.

As of September 2000, his best friend's ways with women were still a wonder to Sam Grandy, not because there could be any question of Roy Courtright's physical or personal charms, but rather because Sam's own temperament was such that he could not have pretended, let alone sustained, an intimate interest in more than one woman at a time.

Sam Grandy and Roy Betancourt have been best friends since childhood. Now, twenty years since their friendship began, their fundamental differences are becoming more apparent. Do these differences threaten their friendship, or are the dissimilarities what makes it possible?

In BEST FRIENDS, Thomas Berger explores our motivations in choosing our companions - and the consequences of keeping or giving up on them.

2023-06-28