Among Friends A Novel

NAMED ONE OF THE NEW YORKER‘S “BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR SO FAR”

What happens when the carefully constructed world of lifelong friendship begins to crack? Hal Ebbott’s stunning debut novel invites you into a weekend that will change everything.

Set against the backdrop of a cozy New York country house, Among Friends follows two families whose bonds run deeper than blood. They’ve shared thirty years of dinners, secrets, and milestones. Their daughters have grown up as sisters. Their rituals feel sacred. But this autumn gathering will expose the fragile foundations beneath all that comfort.

Ebbott writes with what The Washington Post calls “honed and aphoristic” prose, evoking the elegant precision of James Salter and John Cheever. The Financial Times praises it as “acutely perceptive and beautifully written…A huge achievement,” while The New Yorker notes its “finely calibrated” and “pitiless” discernment.

This is literary fiction that understands how envy can curdle silently over decades, how betrayal can erupt from the most trusted quarters, and how the stories we tell ourselves can both sustain and destroy us. Ebbott explores the complicated terrain of marriage, class, power, and the unspoken agreements that hold our lives together—until they don’t.

Perfect for readers who appreciate sophisticated character studies and prose that lingers long after the final page. Among Friends announces the arrival of a remarkable new voice in American literature.

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