Heroism is a secondary virtue, Albert Camus noted, but friendship is primary.
In his gem-like first novel, Forrest Gander writes of friendship, envy, and eros as a harmonic of charged overtones.
Set in a rural southern landscape as vivid as its indelible characters, As a Friend tells the story of Les, a gifted man and land surveyor, whose impact on those around him (his friend Clay, his girlfriend Sarah) provokes intense self-examination and an atmosphere of dangerous eroticism.
With poetic insight, Gander explores the nature of attraction, betrayal, and loyalty.
What he achieves is brilliant in style and powerfully unsettling.
