Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But everything she thought she knew about herself, her marriage, and 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 long ago.
Flora and Julian struggled for years, scraping together just enough acting work to raise their daughter in Manhattan and keep Julian’s small theatre 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 most importantly, what happens now?
GOOD COMPANY follows two couples entering the midpoint of their lives, against the backdrop of the New York theatre scene and Hollywood. It tells a story of what it means to, as the author says, “truly love but never truly know another person”.
My Thoughts
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flora and Julian have been married for over twenty years, but it certainly hasn’t been smooth failing from the start. The couple struggled to stay afloat whilst running a struggling theatre company and raising their daughter, but Flora feels as though all of the hard work was worth it for her family who are her world.
Several years later, they are in a better financial position, with the company beginning to take off, but then Flora finds an envelope containing her husbands wedding ring, and after him claiming to have lost it many years ago, Flora is left questioning why he would lie about something like that.
Their best friends Margot and David have had a far more successful way of living, with Margot being a well known television star, and David a physician, they are certainly not strapped for cash, but then David suffers a stroke, and despite their wealth, cracks start to appear in their marriage as Margot struggles to see the man she married. The wealth they have certainly earns them some jealousy from their friends.
Following the lives of Flora, Julian and Margot, three friends whom are all actors in their own right, narrate this story of deceit and allow us a much deeper look in to their lives and who they are as individuals. The secrets that Julian and Margot carry have Flora reeling throughout, and questioning everything she thought she knew about two of the people she trusted most in the world.
A character driven story that highlights how not everything is as it may appear from the outside looking in. All of the characters are well fleshed out and have complex personalities, with traits you can relate to in some ways. Two very different marriages, both of which harbour life changing events and secrecy, and friendships that are not what they seem, this is an utterly gripping read that had me hooked to the very end.
About the Author
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s debut novel, The Nest, was a smash success, receiving widespread critical acclaim and named a Best Book of 2016 by many, including The Washington Post. Much of what made The Nest beloved is back in play with GOOD COMPANY, including Sweeney’s distinctive wit and her incisive examination of the way people, and their relationships—with others and themselves—evolve over decades
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney is the author of the instant New York Times bestseller The Nest. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.
*Thank you to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours, Harper 360 and Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in return for my honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own and not influenced in any way.*
Victoria Wilks 