On Friendship

This delightful collection of short essays explores friendship and loyalty in all its many forms – from relationships with work colleagues to the bonds we form with members of the animal kingdom – incorporating plenty of literary detours along the way.

When I was first reading it a couple of weeks ago . . . I kept stopping to jot down all the quotes I thought were particularly wise, then I typed them all up, thinking that I could include some of them in my review. That list turned out to be the exact word count that was required for said review, even before I added any sentences of my own.

A celebratory anthology . . . O’Hagan’s friends are lucky they had someone who could allow them to live on so vividly in this gentle but charming book. And he was clearly lucky to have had so many join him in the journey of his life.

The overwhelming tone of the book is joy, along with an optimism about friendship’s enduring essence.

Gorgeous . . . the kind of book I’ve been looking for since I was a teenager: a witty, heartfelt but intelligent celebration of what it means to have great friends, as well as the pain you endure when you lose them

The Mayflies author turns to nonfiction for this exploration of the intimacy, mystery and joy of friendship in all its guises . . . In doing so, he celebrates the bonds that shape and sustain us.