The Best of Friends belongs to the class of contemporary British novels with cozy settings and thoughtful, deeply-felt plots. I’m usually a sucker for these, and at times I enjoyed this one too. Unlike many novels of its ilk, this one is a quick evening’s read. But while it avoids the pitfalls of a plodding pace, characterization, in the end, seems a little too hurried.

Gina Bedford and Laurence Wood have been friends since adolescence, but they both married other people. Gina is married to Fergus, a stuffy man whose passion for his immaculately restored home borders on obsession. Laurence is married to Hilary, an outspoken woman who operates the family bed and breakfast business with him. When Gina’s marriage falls apart, both families find themselves reeling from the effects. Gina’s self-esteem is shattered, and her daughter Sophy feels abandoned by both parents. Gina turns to Laurence for support, and Hilary becomes impatient with Gina’s loneliness and grief.

Then suddenly Gina and Laurence decide that they are in love – perhaps they have been for years. For a while they pursue their relationship with giddy happiness. But each has a family and children, and they must decide whether or not they can commit to each other.

There is a lot to like about this book. The writing itself has a beautiful, lyrical quality and the emotions of the characters are captured eloquently. There are some great insights into the give and take of married life, and the ties that bind people to one another. The relationships between the characters, particularly Laurence and Hilary, seem very real.

The problem is that the reader never really gets to know the characters enough to understand their motivations. The book takes place over a relatively short time period, although there are occasional flash backs. But we are told about the past relationships between the characters rather than shown them. When Laurence and Gina began having their affair, the outcome was not at all obvious, mostly because the reader wasn’t given enough information to actually know these people. Their affair seemed at best misguided, and at worst, cruel and selfish. If we could have seen why Laurence and Gina became friends in the first place, or what exactly made them marry other people and not each other, the conflict would have made more sense.

Avid Anglophiles might enjoy devoting an evening to this book. The Best of Friends is diverting and at times engrossing, but in the end it’s a little disappointing. It’s not bad, but I wouldn’t go out of my way, either.