more reading material for my commute

I've learned that an interesting book review doesn’t necessarily translate into the reviewed book being very exciting (e.g., I read a thoroughly entertaining book review of The Professors, but shortly after dragging it home, I discovered that the thick book was hardly worth the effort of carrying to and from the library), yet a good review still ensures that I’ll pick up the book at some point. Reviews of Friendship by Joseph Epstein have been cropping up all over the place, but William Grimes’ review is the first review I read in its entirety (the others were too rambling and boring for my very limited attention span):

The telephone rings at 2 a.m. It’s your best friend, and he has a small favor to ask. Would you mind helping him bury a dead body? Sorry, no time for details at the moment. Just say yes or no.

Mr. Epstein, who describes himself as “a gregarious melancholic, a highly sociable misanthrope, a laughing skeptic,” counts an impressive total of 75 friends.

“Reticence is of the essence in masculine friendship, long has been, and probably ought to continue to be,” he writes.