Conversations With Friends

Synopsis: In Dublin, college students Frances (the narrator) and her best friend and ex-girlfriend Bobbi are noticed by Melissa, an essayist and photographer in her late thirties, when they are performing spoken word poetry. Melissa invites them home, where they meet her husband Nick, an actor. Their four lives become increasingly entangled as Frances begins an affair with Nick, and Bobbi and Melissa grow closer. It explores themes of friendship, privelege, love and betrayal.

Review: One of the main themes of Conversations with Friends is the conflict between youthful idealism and aged experience. Melissa and Nick are older than Frances and Bobbi, and their world view consequently differs a lot. It’s one thing to call yourself a communist and talk about destroying capitalism, and a completely different thing, when faced with the richness of its blessings, to reject it once again. There is a lot of dialogue in this book, and it’s witty and well written. This is good, because I found the characters (maybe with the exception of Frances) to be rather unlikeable. Frances, though, she got to me. She behaves stupidly! This in spite of being so smart, yet she lacks emotional intelligence and is struggling with the weight of her family baggage. Ah, aren’t we all? I guess that’s it! I jumped on the Sally Rooney train this year, and I am enjoying the ride.

Rating: 4/5

Recipe: Frances and Bobbi join Melissa and Nick, with assorted others, on a vacation to Provence. They eat lots of dinners, leisurely, with a lot of wine, and it would sound so enchanting except for all the drama. Still, a lovely summer night probably calls for olives, good bread, nice wine, and maybe the perfect ratatouille.This is my favorite, from Melissa Clark of the New York Times.

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices (about 7 cups)

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for serving

6 thyme springs

4 rosemary sprigs

6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

fine sea salt as needed

2 pounds eggplant cut into 1 inch cubes (about 10 cups)

2 medium red bell peppers, sliced into 1/2 inch slices

3 cups cherry tomatoes

8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

lemon wedges for serving

1/2 cup basil leaves, sliced

1) Heat oven to 425 degrees, arrange two racks in the top and bottom thirds

2) On one rimmed sheet pan, toss onion slices, zucchini, 1/4 cup oil, 3 thyme sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs, 3 garlic cloves and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

3) On a second rimmed sheeet pan, toss eggplant, red peppers, 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 thyme springs, 2 rosemary sprigs, 3 garlic cloves and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

4) Roast both pans for 40 minutes, stirring vegetables 2-3 times.

5) Add tomatoes to the pan with eggplant and peppers then continue to roast until the tomatoes burst and the zucchini turn deeply golden brown, another 20-25 minutes. The vegetables will be very caramelized.

6) Transfer zucchini and onions to pan with eggplant, mix well, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle goat cheese and olives on top. Roast another 5-10 minutes.

7) Transfer to serving platter, squeeze lemon juice over, garnish with basil leaves. Serve hot or warm, with more lemon wedges on the side.