Cover of The Friend

The Friend

Sigrid Nunez, 2018

American novelist, born 1951. Won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2018.

The Friend is a 2018 novel by Sigrid Nunez. It won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2018.

Acclaimed
  • Critics' Darling
  • Prize Winner

On 2 of the 15 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Sigrid Nunez
First published
2018
Length
224 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Literary fiction, Psychological

Is The Friend worth reading?

2 of the 15 best-of lists it could have made include it: the National Book Award for Fiction and The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times).

ListPlaceOriginal
National Book Award for Fiction (winners and finalists) (National Book Foundation, 2018)WinnerSee the list
The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024)No. 68See the list

Best edition of The Friend

The edition we link to is the Virago paperback (2019), 224 pages.

Publisher
Virago (paperback, 2019)
Pages
224
ISBN
9780349012810

How critics, prizes and readers rate The Friend

Prize juries and critics rate it about equally: it earned 20% on prize lists and 18% on critics' lists, against 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
18%
Prizes
20%
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Friend

If you liked The Friend, try Disgrace, The Sellout or Intermezzo.

Lists used on this page