The Interestings cover art

The Interestings

A sweeping American novel about friendship, talent and growing up

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Interestings

By: Meg Wolitzer
Narrated by: Jen Tullock
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £13.61

Buy Now for £13.61

Whatever became of the most talented people you once knew?


On a warm summer night in 1974, six teenagers play at being cool. They smoke pot, drink vodka, share their dreams and vow always to be interesting.

Decades later, aspiring actress Jules has resigned herself to a more practical occupation; Cathy has stopped dancing; Jonah has laid down his guitar and Goodman has disappeared. Only Ethan and Ash, now married, have remained true to their adolescent dreams and have become shockingly successful too. As the group’s fortunes tilt precipitously, their friendships are put under the ultimate strain of envy and crushing disappointment.


‘The wit, intelligence and deep feeling of Wolitzer’s writing are extraordinary and The Interestings brings her achievement, already so steadfast and remarkable, to an even higher level’ Jeffrey Eugenides

 Coming of Age Contemporary Fiction Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

This is a wonderful book. Intelligent and subtle, it is exquisitely written with enormous warmth and depth of emotion… But what makes The Interestings exceptional is the precision and elegance of Wolitzer’s writing… This should be the novel to make Wolitzer a household name here too (Kate Mosse)
Wolitzer is a writer of prodigious energy and detail, with the knack for comic-satirical perceptions of character and culture (Rachel Cusk)
A complex, cleverly interwoven analysis of the moment when the lives of six friends begin to unravel’ (Viv Groskop)
Wolitzer has a knack for homing in on the kind of pretension-puncturing details that can sum up a minor character in a single sentence (Hepzibah Anderson)
Meg Wolitzer writes fluently about the American Dream and whether you should surrender your goals to reality in this wonderful novel
I love Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings because it’s sprawling and beautifully written and it opens at a summer camp. It’s a truly great novel about friendship, and how it deepens and changes over the years (David Sedaris)
A breakout book (Allison Pearson)
If you enjoy the introspective aspects of Virginia Woolf or the American modernity of Jennifer Egan, you’ll love this sweeping, tragicomic novel of ideas
One of those generation-defining America novels that tackles big historical issues
Full of wit
All stars
Most relevant
Experience of young love and growing old with a group of friends. How fortune and pitfalls affect those around you but ultimately good friendship is more important than anything. Loved it. X

A story that all can relate to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Excellent story line and narration. Enjoyed it from first to last.
You'll enjoy this one.

Great book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
bit long winded. some nice touches and i liked the shifting time frames. slighly airless setting nycity. some good dialogue. superfluous characters: jonah eg...

too long

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a journey into the life of a group of sophisticated New Yorkers from adolescence to middle age.
Their successes, their tragedies, their disappointments and their hypocrisys.
Beautifully real and enjoyable, I am sad to have finished the book and the strange voyeurism that I enjoyed.

People we know, people we love

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
novel is a well done but familiar rendition of modern american life - reading is outstanding portrayal of different characters' voices

worth it for tullock's superb narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews