Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.

That’s what the old TV message said but friendship is much more than that. Friends don’t leave you alone when you need someone around. They keep your secrets. They bring you medicine when you’re sick, watch your house when you’re gone, and ask after your family. And in the new book “Evensong” by Stewart O’Nan, friends know you and love you anyhow.

Kitzi really didn’t want the job.

But who else would do it? Obviously, none of the other members of the Humpty Dumpty Club would take the reins after their former leader, Joan, took a tumble in her townhouse and landed in the hospital. And so, with a heavy sigh, Kitzi took over the massive color-coded files and the responsibility of checking on Joan’s friends, a pair of hoarders.
She’d been one of the charter members of the HDs, having joined the group because she liked the idea of women supporting other women from their church. With an ailing husband at home, she’d enjoyed her limited activity in the club but now her hands were full.

Suzie wanted to do her part, so she volunteered to feed Joan’s cat. Soon, though, she decided that it’d be better if Oscar lived with her. After her divorce and despite that the animal was cantankerous, having a cat was better than an empty apartment.

Emily didn’t have time to help Kitzi with the club. A widow, she was busy with the drama that her recovering-alcoholic daughter brought to the household. Plus, her dying husband, Henry, had asked her to take care of his sister, Arlene, which was easier said than done.

Truth be known, Arlene and Emily had a love-hate relationship, with Henry as the tie between them. Emily kept an eye on her childless, never-married sister-in-law, but problems were mounting: Arlene was starting to forget things, and she got lost sometimes.
Arlene, as everyone could see, was falling apart…
The one, first, and very important thing you’ll want to know about “Evensong” is this: it’s just plain irresistible.

With classical music and a soaring church setting as a backdrop, author Stewart O’Nan immediately draws readers into the worlds of five women who deal with the vicissitudes and realities of growing older, with humor, resignation, and without. That’s a common thread in women’s novels like this but “Evensong” is set apart by a dark cloud that appears over each of the women in this novel, slowly and ominously. One character faces loss, and she sometimes seems eager to just have it over with. Another is facing loss, but a different kind, and the sadness of all of it creeps up on them, and on readers. And yet, this novel isn’t all storms and rain: it’s funny and smart and if you have a group of friends you can count on, it’ll feel like a warm sweater.

If you want the perfect fall novel or you get to pick the next book group book, well, this is it. Right here. “Evensong” is intoxicating.

“Evensong” by Stewart O’Nan
c.2025, Atlantic Monthly Press
$28.00
287 pages