Martha Teichner is an excellent storyteller. She painted wonderful word pictures about New York City for this reader who has never been to the Big Apple. Despite the title, her memoir really wasn’t about Harry or Minnie, my big takeaway was the importance of adult friendship, or heart friends as I like to call them. New best friends aren’t only formed on the playground or in the classroom, they can be unexpected gifts even after “a certain age.” Friendship develops between people who have something in common… like their love of dogs, for example.
There were some aspects of the book I didn’t care for, though. First, as a dog lover, it was tough to read about her revolving door of passing pets. Some things I just don’t want to dwell upon. Second, Carol’s deteriorating health was depressing, her drawn out death was depressing, and the aftermath was depressing. Life is too short. Third, I found the author and her celebrated friends to be pretentious. Fourth, while the dialogue was clever, the lengthy emails between the two women became tiresome. Still, her narrative was excellent and for a certain type of reader, it would have been a real winner. It just wasn’t for me. 3.5 stars.
Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.