LOVE BY THE BOOK

Two lonely women connect at a time when they both desperately need a friend.

Remy Baidoo found success with the publication of her first novel, These Four Friends. Based on her own close relationships with the three most important women in her life, Remy’s book is an ode to platonic love. But when one friend leaves London for New York, another has a baby and moves to the suburbs, and the third retreats into an unhealthy relationship, Remy finds herself alone, wondering if she’d only imagined their close friendship. Elementary school teacher Simone Beduah always had one best friend: her sister. But when Simone’s secret side hustle as a sex worker comes to light, her relationship with her family fractures. When Remy and Simone literally bump into each other at a book event, it isn’t exactly friendship at first sight. Remy is desperate for a new friend, while Simone is much more guarded. But when they keep running into each other, the two eventually realize they could build a wonderful and important relationship. As Remy puts it when discussing her own book, “I’ve always loved stories about female friendship….I just think love among friends deserves more discussion and praise than it currently gets.…Friends either aren’t deemed important enough in the grand scheme of things, or they’re taken for granted…” George has crafted a story here in which friendship is just as important, if not more so, than romantic or sexual partnership. Remy and Simone each have character arcs full of drama and personal growth—Remy must learn how to be herself without relying on her three original best friends for everything, while Simone must learn how to let people in. George writes with an uncommon degree of care and nuance about complicated topics like sex work, asexuality, and the choice to become a mother (or not). In a sea of romances, this novel stands out for asserting that friendship can be a love story, too.

A beautiful and all-too-rare look at the importance of platonic love.