On the Benefits of Friendship

$25.00 US
The MIT Press | Sternberg Press
36 per carton
On sale Apr 25, 2023 | 9783956796524
Sales rights: US,CAN,OpnMkt(no EU)

A diaristic novel on contemporary friendship and its importance.

Isabelle Graw’s latest book reflects on the purposes and struggles of friendship in competitive social milieus. By focusing on her own social milieu—the art world—Graw demonstrates how friendships are neither totally disinterested nor reduceable to their use. Written in the intimate form of a fictional diary, this book laments useful friendships while praising true friendship in all its forms. For Graw, friendship is an existential necessity—if only because it points to how we relate to and depend on others. Friendship, she finds, is as important as the air we breathe—with it, we are able to fully live.
"Though Graw pushes her inquiry forward with a deceptively dry, deliberate, even Aristotelian air, the little bombs she drops page after page crackle with authenticity."
—Anna Ostoya, Artforum

About

A diaristic novel on contemporary friendship and its importance.

Isabelle Graw’s latest book reflects on the purposes and struggles of friendship in competitive social milieus. By focusing on her own social milieu—the art world—Graw demonstrates how friendships are neither totally disinterested nor reduceable to their use. Written in the intimate form of a fictional diary, this book laments useful friendships while praising true friendship in all its forms. For Graw, friendship is an existential necessity—if only because it points to how we relate to and depend on others. Friendship, she finds, is as important as the air we breathe—with it, we are able to fully live.

Praise

"Though Graw pushes her inquiry forward with a deceptively dry, deliberate, even Aristotelian air, the little bombs she drops page after page crackle with authenticity."
—Anna Ostoya, Artforum