What Other Years Have Done

“An extraordinary third instalment following the lives of Lillie, Lara, and Mallory. All the nuances of tenderness, cruelty, admiration, selfishness, jealousy, and affection that make up a friendship are laid bare. Lillie, cool and clammy by turns, seems intent on creating some sort of finality, chasing a full stop, seeking a fresh page, but she is an achingly wondrous example of how our old selves are forever rewritten, by friends, lovers, and most frequently ourselves. No record is fixed, and every memory is slippery to the touch. I have been itching to reunite with Lillie Carrigan and once again she has beguiled me with her wit, her curiosity, and her capacity to live, live, live.”
— Jo Brandon, poet and author

“It’s been a pleasure to read from start to finish, a searing exploration of female friendship set in the era of Mad Men. Smart, incisive, moving, funny, and above all beautifully written. A fine end to this American trilogy.”
— Christine Dwyer Hickey, Walter Scott Prize winner

“An absolutely spellbinding book. In this reckoning of a woman in midlife, at the end of the mid-century, Lillie must grapple with the violence, both physical and psychic, intentional and accidental, that she has done to herself and others. The conclusion to Furber’s trilogy will leave readers pondering genius, ambition, friendship, memory, regret, and what love looks like as it splinters over time.”
— Rebecca Lehmann, author of The Beheading Game

“‘What use was this friendship for either of us?’ This question haunts Lillie Carrigan as she struggles in middle age to do right by her childhood friend Lara Marcelli Allen. As girls, teens, and as women, they relied on each other – ‘We were Lillie and Lara’ – and yet, not visible to anyone, and baffling to the women themselves, is the competitiveness that corrodes their loyalty. Whether read on its own or as the third in Furber’s series, What Other Years Have Done is a page-turner, daring to explore the aching interstices of Lillie’s and Lara’s hearts, and the contradictory and complex ways lifelong friends remain essential to each other.”
— Anna Monardo, author of After Italy: A Family Memoir of Arranged Marriage and The Courtyard of Dreams

“Susan Furber has crafted a brilliant, complex portrait of female friendship that is as heart-wrenching as it is beautiful. Set against the vibrant, shifting backdrop of 1960s New York City, Furber’s characters confront the challenges of marriage and motherhood, the intricacy of desire, and the lingering shadows of their younger selves. What Other Years Have Done is a hauntingly beautiful story about the ghosts of girlhood friendships and the strength it takes to love and be loved over a lifetime.”
— Andrew Porter, author of The Imagined Life