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We Should Not Be Friends
We Should Not Be Friends | Will Schwalbe
1 post | 1 read | 1 to read
From the best-selling author of The End of Your Life Book Club-a warm, funny, irresistible book that follows an improbable and life-changing friendship over the course of forty years. In his last year of university, Will thought he knew everyone he cared to know. A perm-haired, out, gay young man, working at an AIDS helpline in the early days of the crisis, Will found friends and community amongst the theatre students, artists and writers. He also knew who he wanted to avoid: the jocks. Wearing sporty clothes and moving in boisterous packs, the jocks seemed to be a different species entirely, one Will might encounter only at his own peril. All this changed dramatically when Will was brought into a secret society at Yale, aimed to bring together a group of opposites. On his first day, he was faced with Chris Maxey - a physically imposing, loud, star wrestler who seemed to be uncomfortable around Will and embodied everything he disliked and feared. But through months of mandated dinners, and many beers, the two swapped life-stories and forged an unexpected bond that became ballast in each other's lives for forty years. From New Haven to New York City, from Hong Kong and London to a remote Bahamian island-through marriages and a divorce, triumphs and devastating losses-We Should Not Be Friends tracks an extraordinary friendship through decades of challenge and change. A real-life The Breakfast Club story, Schwalbe's marvelous new work is a testament to the miracle of human connection, if only we see past our differences.
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review
Megabooks
We Should Not Be Friends | Will Schwalbe
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Mehso-so

When I read memoirs, I think, why did they write this now about this situation? When motivations are clear to me, I enjoy it more. I still don‘t know why Will wrote about this friend, whom he didn‘t seem especially close to even now.

Will and Maxey were in different cliques at Yale but were tapped for the same secret society. Though they often lost touch in the pre-internet world, they became closer in their 50s, BUT ⬇️

Megabooks they both had other friends from the secret society they were closer to. I get that in 1984 Maxey was a jock, and Will was a drama nerd, but those stereotypes didn‘t play much of a role in their adult lives. They both led interesting and different lives, but for a memoir about a friendship, they just weren‘t very close. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Add: Will is gay and his *presumption* that Maxey didn‘t like gay people played a role, but Maxey was fine with gay folks (edited) 13mo
Megabooks Interested to see what you think if you read this @Chelsea.Poole , but imo there are better ones to read. 13mo
Chelsea.Poole I‘ve noticed this floating around here and there but wasn‘t super interested. Your review confirms that I‘ll probably skip. Good review! 13mo
Megabooks @Chelsea.Poole yeah, it was just okay. Not a total waste of time, but I didn‘t love it. 13mo
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