Good Company

A Novel

By: Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Narrated by: Marin Ireland

Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

"Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney plumbs the depths of marriage, motherhood and friendship with warmth and wit. I devoured it in one gulp! Treat yourself to some Good Company." (Maria Semple, author of Today Will Be Different)

A warm, incisive new novel about the enduring bonds of marriage and friendship from Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, author of the instant New York Times best seller The Nest

Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than 20 years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage, and her relationship with her best friend, Margot, is upended when she stumbles upon an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring - the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five.

Flora and Julian struggled for years, scraping together just enough acting work to raise Ruby in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theater company - Good Company - afloat. A move to Los Angeles brought their first real career successes, a chance to breathe easier, and a reunion with Margot, now a bona fide television star. But has their new life been built on lies? What happened that summer all those years ago? And what happens now?

With Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s signature tenderness, humor, and insight, Good Company tells a bighearted story of the lifelong relationships that both wound and heal us.

©2021 Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers

Not much to say

This book is the story about relationships that have endured the test of time. That’s it. It’s a story that has been written before o it with the background being theater but I bet that has also been written about. It’s not All About Eve or Marriage Story but maybe a combo of those movies sprinkled in with nothing. I was so bored hearing this book. I kept waiting for something other than the obvious to happen. Nothing did until the ending credits. Just not my cup of tea.

Smart, Sweet and Relatable

I love this book and the author’s intentionality. Everything had a purpose and a rhythm. I fell in love with the characters and felt as if I were a part of the story. This was truly enjoyable, as a stay at home Mom I was able to listen to this as I went about daily chores. Now I want to find more books by Cynthia!!

Great villains

I read Nest and Good Company. Leo was an awesome despicable villain, and poor Julian was just a standard selfish pretty boy who couldn’t resist temptation. Both stories are fun and engaging.

meh.

really hard to get into . the story got interesting but seemingly nothing came of everything? she finds out her husband has been in fact lying for years to her and what? thoughts? we will see?

Good Company wasn't so good, but then, WOW!

Marin Ireland made me stay with Good Company long enough to WANT to read it. Her narration made the book something that will stick with me.

Thought provoking

The story is slow but it feels purposefully so. It’s not about the actions and events that happen but how they make people feel and how they are affected. One person might say it is boring but another might be inspired to think more deeply about their own relationships and affects of their life choices. Bravo!

Enjoyable on all accounts

Really enjoyed this book - loved getting wrapped up in the characters and their lives. Really enjoyed the narrator too!

Wonderful

I love this author, and this book was as good as her first, if not better. If you like Emma Straub, Meg Wolitzer, or J. Courtney Sullivan this is probably your kind of book. Marin Ireland’s read is excellent.

Great, subtle, mature fiction

In a book market saturated with amnesiac women in distress, who solve a mystery in the last chapter due to a twist you never see coming - well written, character-driven stories like “Good Company” seem to get lost in the shuffle.

From the author of “The Nest”, another phenomenal slice of domestic drama novel, comes the story of Flora and Julian, their daughter Ruby, and their friends Margot and David. Told over the course of a summer, what does it mean to this tight-knit group when Flora finds Julian’s wedding ring - one he swore he lost years ago.

There’s nothing...melodramatic here. It’s straightforward, but told with heart and unique human emotions - all with a mature voice that transcends all the gimmicky books on the market today. It’s an adult book, written for adults - and I’m sure a mature audience will appreciate the genuineness of the story and the introspective quiet associated with all the assembled narrator’s thoughts.

Life is complex. Relationships are complex. Adult friendships are complex. And this book captures them all beautifully with an unmatched nuance (and masterful narration.)

Ending??

I wanted to love this book.
It was a fun listen, because of the narrator.
But… WHAT HAPPENED? NO ENDING??
Totally upset and confused.