Review by mphelp2 -- Friends by Gary Hope

[mphelp2]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Friends" by Gary Hope.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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250 pages of restaurant-hopping, faux-philosophical discussions, and the occasional dirty old man joke make up the story of Friends and the adventure that takes life-long pals Bill and Allen across the United States. Without any goal or purpose, the two decide to embark on their grand tour of the states in a pickup truck and rented camper. Going wherever the wind (or consistently-snarky locals) tell them to, they just drive. Without much of a plot. The fact that there is no ultimate goal with this trip is explicitly stated within the opening chapter when Allen proposes the idea. Overall, I would give Gary Hope’s novel 2 out of 4 stars for the sometimes-witty dialogue and the potential this story holds for becoming as morally-touching as the author wants it to be. 

After finishing the novel I was left feeling like it was simply an “art for the sake of art” piece. It would have been better if the two went on the journey with a certain destination in mind, or a time limit, or anything that would have made the character’s more real to me. That was the biggest problem for me, that Hope created these two characters with very little development and expected the audience to take the life lessons they gave as though they were the ultimate truths. Why should I give these characters any credibility? What is it about these two men that makes them so wise, other than the fact that they’re old? The only pieces of life that the readers are given about these men is that one has a dead wife and the other has a wife that abandoned him (again, without giving any reason for having done so). Oh, and both of their kids could not care less about them. I wouldn’t have such a problem with this if it hadn’t been for how pretentious the two come off while trying to claim overt humbleness. Anyone they come in contact with, whether they are the same age or younger, seems to be in awe of the genius these men are imparting, but it just rubs off as fake and hyperbolic. Moreover, aside from their wives, if there are females mentioned in the novel that interact with them in any way, it always revolves around sex appeal and the fact that, even though most of these women are usually described as twenty or thirty years younger than them, none of the women can resist them. 

Not only did the novel fail to make a meaningful connection between the reader and the main characters, but it was also incredibly repetitive. Every stop the two made contained the same conversations, just in a different city with a different local. The boys would stop somewhere, go into a bar or diner, talk to someone about what they should do, do that, then move onto the next place. Sometimes they had a destination of their own in mind, but only when they realized that they were near the area. Also, Bill and Allen only drink Diet Pepsi and Coors Lite. That may sound like a minor detail, but I think it’s mentioned at least every-other page that the two are drinking a Diet Pepsi or a Coors Lite. Aside from repetition, there were a few mistakes in the written text. The story is written in third-person, but there are a few occasions where the author interjects with first-person statements such as using “I” and “we”. The beginning of the novel struggles with which tense is being used, constantly waffling between past and present, but this is something that is resolved and doesn’t occur after the first few chapters. 

The last 20 or so pages are literally just the two men talking about everything they just did, and looking back over their details. They ask each other what their favorite parts were. Was this an episode of Dora the Explorer? There is nothing offered at the end except for the fact that neither of them wants to stop the road trip even though they have to— except, wait! Bill’s wife, who had abandoned him years ago with no reason, is waiting for them when they get back! But the dialogue is confusing because they are both surprised to see her, even though Bill had been calling her. Then the book ends. Much like I couldn’t understand why we were taken where we were, I couldn’t grasp why this story was just dropping the two characters off with so much left in the air. There’s no way this can be leading to a whole sequel.

I think that this book would be an enjoyable read for an older audience, not because the main characters are in their 60s, but because it has very little action, suspense, or drama. It is a nice sentimental read for people who might easily connect to characters without much information or development. There is a good amount of witty dialogue and snark to keep you entertained, but the overall novel was simply too repetitive and meaningless to hold my attention for long. I like adventure/self-discovery stories, but this book lacked both of those things. After an extensive revisiting of these characters and the lives they have lived and are now trying to live, I think this story could become a deeply meaningful one without bordering on repetitive and pretentious.

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Friends
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I don't necessarily need plot to enjoy a book. I like "year in the life" style stories, but they really only work if you connect directly with the characters, and it doesn't sound like the author did enough work here to help the reader do that.

[mary-annef]

@mphelp2 - I was so pleased to come across your review! I have just finished the book and hated it but so many of the reviews love it. I too was so tired of hearing about Coors Light and Pepsi I actually counted the number of times they appear - 70 and 40 respectively!!! But my biggest complaint was the chauvanism and bigotry. I won't be reading anything else by this author.