On friendship

You could be good at being a friend, and no sooner had I had the thought than I knew I was not. I had some friends, but did I have a community? No.

Jessica Francis Kane, Rules for Visiting

May Attaway, an introverted single woman in her late 30s. lives with her father and works tending the lawns and gardens at a local university. When she wins 30 days of paid leave, she decides to use the time to reconnect with four old friends from her youth whom she hasn't seen in years.

This certainly doesn't seem like much of a plot, especially since not much of significance happens on any of these visits, yet Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane (2019) makes absorbing reading.

Two things seem to occupy May's mind. One is trees, which May works with every day, and Kane fills the first-person novel with meditations on various kinds of trees. Like May herself, trees stand solidly and alone, yet under the surface their roots connect with others of their kind.

The other thing on her mind is friendship, or the subject of friendship. She seeks out quotes by famous people on friendship. When she considers visiting her friends — or are they now former friends? — she begins compiling her list of "rules for visiting."

There is a third subject on her mind, but she tries to keep it, or rather him, in the background. She has come to enjoy the company of a certain owner of a certain restaurant. But is he "just a friend"?

If you enjoy simple, beautifully written, understated stories, Rules for Visiting may be your baby. You may even want to share it with a friend.