Don’t Miss
“We Should Not Be Friends” by Will Schwalbe; Alfred A. Knopf (314 pages, $29)
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In his new memoir, Will Schwalbe, author of “The End of Your Life Book Club,” writes about his 30-year friendship with a guy named Chris Maxey. (Don’t worry — neither of them is dying, or dead. It’s not that kind of memoir.)
The two met at Yale, thrown together through a secret organization that required of its members only that they dine together twice a week for their senior year. The purpose, apparently, was to push students out of their comfort zone and compel them to interact with people unlike their usual friends. And Schwalbe and Maxey were definitely not like each other’s usual friends. Schwalbe was gay, punk, literary; Maxey, a straight wrestler who longed to be (and eventually became) a Navy SEAL, was confident and gregarious.
Their rocky friendship grew over time — a lot of time. Even 20 years on, Schwalbe was worried that Maxey didn’t really like him, wasn’t comfortable with gay people, might misunderstand his affection.
But they stuck with it, eventually opening up to each other in honest and wonderful ways. This book is a testament to their friendship, and to all oddball friendships everywhere.