“The novel is the art of nuance. Alice Ferney seductively demonstrates this in this compendium of the identification of affects. (…). We will say nothing of the final pages, as poignant as they are melancholic, except that they will speak to all those who have encountered this delicious utopia up close.” Elisabeth Barillé, Le Figaro Magazin

“The novelist excels in the art of dialogue, subtly capturing the unsaid and the ambiguity of feelings: (…). An elegant text on what unites, separates, and sometimes disturbs the order of the heart. » Harper’s Bazaar

“In her new book, the novelist returns to her favorite subject – feelings – to tackle the delicate question of friendship between men and women in a stylistic exercise of great finesse.” Edwige Audibert, France Info Culture

“(…), Alice Ferney returns to a dialogued, luminous mode, where each sentence is a spark of intelligence.” Olivia de Lamberterie, ELLE (Back-to-School Literary Selection)

A sort of Sally Rooney for older readers, where friendship is the new amour.

25 years after La Conversation amoureuse , Alice Ferney delivers her “Conversation amicale”

Marianne is a fashion designer and Cyril is a writer and photographer. She is married with three kids and he is a confirmed bachelor. They meet when a review commissions a piece on contemporary designers, and there is immediate chemistry between them. They meet up a second time and then a third, their topics of conversation subtly becoming more intimate. Soon they are talking to each other every day about literature, their childhoods, and the things and people they admire. When Marianne begins to have problems in her marriage, Cyril is on hand to listen and he becomes her rock. And when it’s Cyril’s turn to have romantic troubles, Marianne offers to help him…

But doesn’t friendship, like love, have certain boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed? How does friendship come about and evolve? How tolerant should we be towards our friends? Up to what point should we defend them even if they are in the wrong? And is friendship between a man and a woman even possible?

Amid the deftly orchestrated twists and turns of the plot, Alice Ferney elevates dialogue to an art form in itself – one long and vibrant conversation between friends.