The Celebrants
Book description
New York Times Bestseller
A TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick
A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.
It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Celebrants as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
First of all, I love Steven Rowley. He’s hilarious, whip-smart, and writes beautifully. He moves you without ever making you take yourself too seriously.
Rowley has a quality I appreciate sincerely in the people around me and in the art I consume: he can make you laugh in the darkest moment. Gallows humor, but never callous.
The Celebrants feels deeply lived-in, centered around a group of friends I missed before the book was even over. The characters felt so authentic and connected to each other that I felt a little left out in the beginning—as I would have if I’d…
College friends gathering after the suicide of one of their friends. If it sounds like the ‘80s film The Big Chill, you would be right…and wrong.
At first, I wasn’t sure I liked any of the characters. But Rowley digs deep into the lives of a group of far-flung friends in ways that surprised me. Layers are peeled back throughout the book, proving that the characters, like our friends, really are complicated and annoying and precious.
From Victoria's list on friendship and grief (and pandemics).
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