The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

The narrator of this book opens with a tragic event.  She is an author, living in New York in a small city apartment.  She is rocked by the news that her long time friend, another author, is dead.  A suicide.  She spends days trying to deal with this unexpected blow, wondering why and what could have been done.

Just as she is beginning to reconcile herself, she gets a communication from one of her friend's ex-wives; he had three of them.  She learns that one of her friend's last wishes is that she become the guardian of his beloved dog.  The problem?  This is a large Harlequin Great Dane, an animal that needs space and exercise.  She lives in a very small apartment, one which doesn't allow pets.

The author isn't the only one grieving.  The dog, Apollo, was found one night by the friend in Central Park, already an adult dog.  He was obviously trained and housebroken.  How had he come there?  Despite extensive searches, no prior owner could be found.  The friend decided to keep Apollo.  Now Apollo is heartbroken due to his master's death.  Who knows what prior tragedies this one recalls?

Although the author isn't interested in having a pet and despite the fact that her apartment owners start eviction notices, she decides that it would be too disorienting to find another owner for Apollo.  Over the days and weeks that follow, Apollo becomes less distraught and begins to accept the author.  She also becomes attached to Apollo.  Soon they make a bonded pair.  Together they learn to accept the death of their friend and move on to the future.

Sigrid Nunez has created an interesting novel based on the premise of what pet ownership means to humans.  Why do we want to attach another being to us?  What roles does an animal play in our lives?  What do we owe an animal we have brought into our homes?  The ruminations on these subjects and others on the animal-human spectrum will entertain and bring up topics of thought.  This book won the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction.  It is recommended for readers of literary fiction and animal lovers.