Female friendships are one of the most complex human relationships,
regardless of age. And in TRUTH & BEAUTY, author Ann Patchett
does nothing to dispel the mystery of girlfriends. If anything, she
adds to it.

Although this book is nonfiction, it reads like fiction. Readers
will dive into the story, greedily gathering information about the
two main subjects --- Patchett and her friend, Lucy Grealy --- like
characters in a novel. They were two young and ambitious women who
go directly from Sarah Lawrence to the Iowa's Writers Workshop, the
most coveted graduate school for writers. They develop a friendship
that straddles the lines of intimacy, and they find literary fame.
Along the way they form a bond that is difficult to describe. It
spans continents, weathers illnesses both physical and mental, and
seems to survive even death. But this is not a work of fiction, and
so the eloquent writing of this well-known author packs even more
of a punch. These are real people; this is Patchett's life, her
beloved friend who lives, metaphorically speaking, just beyond her
reach.

Patchett recreates her life with Grealy by interspersing their
history with letters she received from Grealy over the years,
postmarked from Scotland, New York, Providence, Connecticut, and
all of the other places she traveled, taught and lived. They are
letters that reveal a literary voice filled with love and
admiration for a woman to whom she referred as "Pet." She was a
competitive woman who was known to jump into Patchett's lap and ask
repeatedly, "Am I your favorite? Do you love me the most?" And
inevitably the answer was yes.

"Dearest Anvil, she would write to me six years later, dearest
deposed president of some now defunct but lovingly remembered
country, dearest to me, I can find no suitable words of affection
for you, words that will contain the whole of your wonderfulness to
me. You will have to make due with being my favorite bagel, my
favorite blue awning above some great little café where the
coffee is strong but milky and had real texture to it."

Narrated by Patchett, TRUTH & BEAUTY could be described as an
analysis of Grealy, a woman who fights an uphill battle to recover
physically from a cancer that robbed her of her outward beauty as a
child, though it amplified an inner beauty. Grealy, as Patchett
tells us, had a kind of animal magnetism that drew the best of
people to her. She underwent at least 35 surgeries to rebuild a jaw
decimated by radiation and lived her life subsisting on mashed
fruits, ice cream and the occasional milkshake. Despite the
staggering number of surgeries, the procedures never quite worked
and much of Grealy's life was spent lamenting what she believed
were her physical inadequacies. Yet TRUTH & BEAUTY is not a sad
story. In fact, it features the gifts of Grealy's best features:
her wit, gaiety and zest for life.

And while it focuses on Grealy and Patchett's friendship, TRUTH
& BEAUTY may be better described as a study of human nature.
Patchett writes about the intricacies of the human heart in THE
MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT, THE PATRON SAINT OF LIARS and BEL CANTO, and
she tackles the subject once again in TRUTH & BEAUTY. The
constant search for a love that seems to be right in front of a
person's eyes is a recurring theme for Patchett, who weaves a
beautiful if not frustrating story of a friendship that she worked
diligently to maintain.

In life many people struggle to find reciprocal friendships in men
and women. And, frequently, outsiders perceive even the best of
friendships to be one-sided. This may also be the case here.
Readers will complete TRUTH & BEAUTY with a keen appreciation
for the love that exists between women, the unwavering loyalty that
friends can maintain through years of turmoil and emotional trials.
And while loyalty (as we see in this 257-page story) may falter
occasionally, it can withstand the test of time. And perhaps even
beyond.