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Welcome to the Slate Audio Book Club's discussion of The Interestings, Meg Willitzer's novel about a group of friends in New York in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond. I'm Dan Coase, editor of the Slate Book Review, and I'm here in Slate's DC Recording Studio, joining me as Slate's double-X editor, Hannah Rosen.

Hi, Hannah.

Hi, Dan.

And also joining us is our special guest this month, Slate's editor, David Plotz. Hi, David. Hello, Dan. When you said 70s, 80s, 90s, and today, I felt like it was a classic rock station. Yes. And the book sort of is. And the book sort of is. The classic rock.

That was not unintentional.

Yes, this book is a classic rock station for those of our generation and your generation of the greatest hits of friendship from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and today.

As in all our audiobook clubs, we recommend that you listen to us after you read the book

in question unless you love being spoiled, in which case you should read us before,

because we're going to talk about the many, many twists and turns of the interstings.

So in Meg Welter's novel, a group of six friends meet in an arts camp in the summer of

1974, and then for the next 40 odd years, their lives intertwine in expected and unexpected

ways, or maybe only expected if you have problems of the plot of the book.

One becomes an animator with a long-running hit network show.

He and his wife wind up fabulously wealthy, and as the years go by, that money strains their

relationship with their best friend, a therapist who marries outside the group.

So I thought I might start with that couple, with Ethan and Ash, who are sort of the

centerpiece couple of this group of friends and the centerpiece couple of the novel.

They attain a pretty glittering level of financial and artistic success over the course

...