A Time For Friends by Patricia Scanlon

4 Star

When are the boundaries of friendship pushed too far, and when is it time to stop flying over oceans for someone who wouldn't jump over a puddle for you? There comes a time when Hilary Hammond has to make that call.

Hilary and Colette O'Mahony have been friends since childhood, but when irrepressible Jonathan Harpur breezes into Hilary's life and goes into business with her, Colette is not pleased.

After their first encounter, Colette thinks he's a pushy upstart; while he thinks she's a snobby little diva. And so the battle lines are drawn and Hilary is square in the middle.

But as the years roll by and each of them is faced with difficult times and tough decisions, one thing is clear: to have a friend you must be a friend.

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Kathryn - 4 Star

A multi-generational tale of friendship that spanned decades A Time for Friends was an engrossing read. I may have found it took a few chapters to get everyone straightened out but in the end the relationships were solidly portrayed and you knew who they all were.

It was interesting to get a perspective on the friendships through the generations. I wish we’d been given a preliminary chapter or two about the two mothers, Sally and Jacqueline, in addition to the prologue. Though we know that essentially Sally was called upon to babysit it would have been interesting to see how this came about as a weekly occurrence. Their mixing in the same “circles” seemed unlikely during their adult lives? Perhaps they were themselves childhood friends as we know Jacqueline worked very hard to become a solicitor?

I was really frustrated by Colette-   I understood that she had a reputation to maintain and could even accept that she was used to having things her own way but what annoyed me was her insistence that Hilary remained her friend when they clearly had nothing left in common.  The jealousy was obvious every time they were together and Hilary really didn’t need the relationship any more either. It was apparent that she had everything she needed in Jonathan and other acquaintances so why insist on putting up with Hilary’s antics?

One of my favourite aspects of the novel was the reflection of the various marriages in the friendships. Patricia Scanlon touches on several marital issues while still keeping focus on the friendships being examined as the main focus.

The novel was really easy to read, the characters were natural and I really enjoyed the novel.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for our review copy.  All opinions are our own.

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