This was a very peculiar little book.

It’s told across the course of a single day from the perspectives of three different characters; a wife, her husband and her best friend. The characters pretty much never refer to each other by name. They are always My Wife, My Husband, My best friend or My wife’s friend. The husband and the Best friend hate each other and they aren’t afraid to show it.

It’s essentially a story in which three people get drunk and not much else happens. Yet someone we learn a how amount about the characters in the 180 pages we share with them. They are all British / Nigerian and the husband appears to represent more traditional family (sexist) values, the friend a sort of old fashioned feminism and the wife… I’m not really sure what she represents.

I didn’t really like any of the characters - I don’t think you are supposed to. I certainly thought the wife would have been better off without her friend or her husband. Each character had a strong individual voice and while their section of the story was in progress I did feel a bit of sympathy for each of them which was quickly eroded when I saw them through the eyes of others!

The story was compelling despite not much happening and the characterisation was good. I’ll be interested to see what this author does next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book takes place over the course of a single day, and follows a woman, her husband, and her best friend, who despise each other. You get to read a third of the book from each character’s POV, which was extremely interesting, and displayed how they were all unlikeable, flawed, and yet you could fully understand why each one acts the way they do. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy this book so much as it took me a moment to adjust to the writing style, but it really got under my skin and I found myself thinking about it both last night, when I finished it, and this morning.

The novel centres on the tensions between the wife, a husband and the wife's best friend Temi. It's funny, fresh, entertaining and dramatic. An enjoyable read.

I really liked this. A razor sharp and whip smart read. Set over one afternoon and told from three perspectives. The wife. The husband. The wife's best friend. Its a short read and I read it one sitting, my opinion changing as the narrative switched to each of the three's perspectives. This one kept me guessing and kept me entertained. I really enjoyed the writing , the pace and language. A delicious little read. Recommend.

Ore Agbaje-Williams' debut has an irrestisble premise -the protagonist and her husband have a wonderful, priveleged life in London thanks to the husband's high-powered job. The wife stays largely at home and spends a lot of time with her best friend, Temi. However - the husband can't stand Temi and she hates him back. Everyone in this novel is deeply flawed, which is exciting - tensions mount as wine (so much wine!) is drunk.

Set over the course of one day and told from the perspectives of the 3 main characters, the structure of the novel is unusual and piqued my interest. The writing style is clear, crisp and unembellished - the Sally Rooney effect strikes again. I usually love this, and The Three of Us was no exception. The writing is wonderful.

However, I didn't particualry get on with this short novel. I found it hard to follow - lots of reviews have complained about the lack of speech marks, but the lack of named characters was what annoyed me. The observations made by the author weren't as eviscerating as I expected, and the characterisation fell a bit flat too. I don't mind a plotless novel, in general - I am usually more interested in character - but when the characters were boring too, well, there's not much left to work with.

I expected this novel to be a little sparklier - so maybe that's my failing; it's slower and more literary than I expected. I wanted a fun, gossipy novel and instead I got something with glacial pacing and a few humorous, clever moments, but they were sadly few and far between. I think it's a novel that could work really well as a play in 3 acts but as a novel, it missed the mark for me.

Also, I truly loathe when characters in books drunk-drive, and this was no exception.

Thanks to the publisher & author for this ARC.

This is an original and unexpected book, told over one evening from the perspective of Temi, her friend's husband, and her friend identified only as the Husband and the Wife. Temi and the husband cannot stand one another, and are fighting for the attentions of the wife, who expresses different parts of her personality with each of them.
Well-written with lots of tension.
Recommended.

I enjoyed this book having been drawn to it by the cover and description. It was an addictive read, although a bit repetitive at times , the story flowed easily and I read it quickly just wondering where it was going. It was very intriguing seeing the different viewpoints of the three characters but I did get irritated with the husband and also found the ending rather unsatisfactory but not sure what I expected!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with opportunity to read this book.

What a debut! What a literary talent! The book is about a wife, a husband, the wife’s best friend, and the tension between them. Told in three parts, one by each of them, we learn about their relationships. We learn lessons about marriage and friendship - when do they become toxic? Overbearing? Too much? Questions are asked about gender equality and the roles of women in society, about truth and honesty in all relationships.

I know it’s a literary tool, but I didn’t enjoy the lack of clarity when characters were speaking. It was all one stream of consciousness. That was my only critique though and I’m looking forward to the author’s next book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book.

3 perspectives in one day, really original and gripping.

Loved it

OMG. Rare have been the books that have been less pleasant to read than this one BUT rare have been the books that shine such a light on crucial questions regarding feminism, a woman’s independence, society’s construction of a woman’s role, etc, etc, etc — with a heavy emphasis on British-Nigerian families and the pressures imposed on their children.

The story takes place over the course of one day. Our three main characters each narrate one part of their day. First, we hear from the wife, then the husband and finally the wife’s BFF. Tensions run high between the BFF, always just “the friend”, and the husband, with the wife caught in the middle. Or is she?

Reading this book was a bit like watching a car crash about to happen. It was so tense and so very, very cringy but you just had to read on. Not one of these characters was likeable but the questions they examined via their POV sections were fascinating and salient and so very important.

Was it a fun reading experience? Hell no. Did it raise some much-needed awareness regarding a woman’s place in modern society? You betcha.

I would say this is a clever and infuriating book. Clever because it left me dangling wondering what would happen next. Infuriating because none of the characters are likeable, indeed one of them is positively monstrous. I sailed through the book, so quick it seemed almost like a short story. I found the lack of speech marks more than infuriating-maybe that marks me out as old?

“The Three of Us” is essentially the story of 3 people and their intertwined relationships: husband, wife and wife’s best friend. It’s set across one afternoon but is told from each of their perspectives so you learn a little about all of them and their backgrounds with each page.

While some of the observations on relationships are very good, I can’t really say that I enjoyed the book. I found the style quite difficult to get into (it was difficult to tell which character was saying or thinking what due to it jumping around a lot and there being a lack of punctuation). Also, I have a friend who says you can’t enjoy a film, TV show or book if the characters have no redeemable features - while I normally disagree with this view, I have to say that I almost find myself agreeing in relation to this book. When you read a book with different characters being given a chance to show their perspectives, you often end up rooting for whoever you are currently reading about but I didn’t root for any of them. Maybe the book is more honest about human nature and relationships than I am!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Three-way character piece exploring a marriage and a friendship.

This reminded me in small ways of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'. stage plays digging deep into relationships in enclosed spaces, with rising temperatures, tempers and revelations.

It could have been a stage play, though as a short novel a lot of the book is the thoughts of the Wife, the Husband and the Friend (names are rarely used). It's an antagonistic portrait of a married couple and the long-time friend of the Wife who keeps inserting herself into their lives and home, not discouraged by the married woman.

I found this a quick read, but also deeply frustrating, as the key to it all - the Wife - never really becomes sympathetic, never takes either's side fully, and seems just selfish, quite cold, unloving and trying to play both sides.

The Friend became more unlikeable and controlling as the book went on, in my eyes, and a third act 'revelation' scene became intensely exasperating as it seems to finish a few pages too soon, with a possible actual conclusion and resolution halted before it can make it to the page... we will never know.

Enjoyable in a morbid sense: are we witnessing the end of a friendship or a marriage? Both cannot possibly be sustainable. None possess morally clear motivations, none are particularly affable people.

Not one for you if you like definite endings, happy conclusions or morally unambiguous protagonists. But it's one I'll have in my head for a while, with interesting thoughts on marriage, parenthood, culture and female friendships.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

"The Three of Us has engaging characters, emotional depth, and exploration of themes such as friendship, motherhood, and self-discovery. It is perfect for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction with a focus on relationships and personal growth.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I reasonable read, written from each of the three friends perspective. Each seemingly reasonable and likeable characters, that is until the end!! The husband is jealous of the friend, the friend is jealous of the husband. The wife trying to placate both. The end of the story makes me dislike both.

The premise of this book is really simple: the protagonist and her husband have a comfortable life in London - a beautiful house, dates at expensive restaurants and holidays in exotic locations - but the husband can't stand his wife's best friend and she hates him back. The question is - why?

I enjoyed the format of this book being split into three parts so that each character (the female protagonist and her husband are unnamed, the best friend is the only one whose name we learn is Temi) gets to speak from their perspective and so the story unfolds.

Set over a single day, the quiet claustraphobia of the wife's life (she gave up work on marriage and her husband's salary enables her to live a life of lunches, interior decorating and workouts with personal trainers) as she grapples with finding her place in life whilst trying to conceive a baby she doesn't really want comes through clearly. The backstory of her relationship with childhood best friend Temi (played in my head by Michaela Coel) was an interesting portrayal of how friendships that once gave us what we needed can be suffocating as adults - but we don't know how to extricate ourselves from someone so deeply rooted in our life experiences, who made us who we are.

The story being added to by the husband and then finally Temi slowly builds into a crackling final showdown between them - the narrative had me gripped! Each person's view made me understand more about that character and why they acted in the way they did, but I did not feel particularly sympathetic towards any of them. As I was reading I thought, 'either character would make a great "Am I Being Unreasonable" chat on Mumsnet' (iykyk) because each person had clear reasons for their behaviour and thinking themselves in the right.

Temi makes a reference to acting as Balthasar in Romeo and Juliet, however I saw her as a Iago figure, pivotal in orchestrating the final moments for her own ends. I marked the review down because I felt the story ended too soon after the revelation/twist (whatever you want to call it) - for me, that's when the story was just getting into 5th gear and really interesting! Otherwise, excellent characterisation and a compelling narrative that kept me turning the pages.

Definitely a book club read so that you can discuss the various themes and characters in this one.

Would recommend to fans of 'Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?' by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, 'Conversations with Friends' by Sally Rooney or 'Assembly' by Natasha Brown.

I was looking forward to reading this one, but I’m afraid it wasn’t for me. I found the format of the book didn’t suit my reading style. I prefer shorter chapters and found the way that it was just split into thirds wasn’t for me. I also found the lack of speech marks in conversations made me kept having to go back and reread sentences. I also kept wanting to know the character’s names, although I understand that maybe they were purposely left out.

I really liked the idea of the storyline, and found myself feeling sorry for the husband and found the friend rather annoying, although I’m sure that was intentional.

I do wish that there was more of a concrete ending, I felt like that I didn’t quite get this book in the way that it was intended I’m sorry.

However, I do feel that although this book wasn’t for me, it doesn’t mean that it’ll be like that for everyone. I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me.

Absolutely no idea what this was about. It’s very short - nothing really happened but I quite enjoyed it.
Lack of speech marks though - I can’t take that.

@currentlyreading__
Book 33 of 2023

The first book of May was 'The Three of Us', debut novel by Ore Agbaje-Williams to be published on 11th May. Thank you to the author, @NetGalley and the publisher for sending an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a tightly woven narrative, three chapters, three characters, three perspectives on a rather weird and dysfunctional 'throuple'. We have Temi, friend of Wife and despised by Husband, who arrives, drinks ludicrously expensive wine and seems to throw an emotional grenade and leaves Wife and Husband to pick up the pieces. I can imagine this being great on stage with a real sense of menace from Temi's interference in the lives of the unnamed couple. Love and friendship are the main themes as well as modern day dynamics of couples and their extended networks.

The three are millennial Nigerians, living a rather bourgeois lifestyle in London. Husband works and is quite happy for Wife to stay at home as he knows she should be looking after herself as they are trying to conceive. Wife, in actuality, is drinking wine with Temi and eating Snickers.

I liked the fact that in the first chapter I'd side with one character in their perspective on the other two, and then in the next, I'd see the other side and refute my previous beliefs and so on. Such is Ore's writing - it's really character-led and so humorous as Temi refers to the husband, who's supplying the wine and the beautiful house Temi has taken men, as Kim Kardashian with scathing shade.

I look forward to seeing just how well-received this will be. No comparisons to other books - this is standalone in just how memorable it is.



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An original format for this tale. Told from the perspective of the wife (unnamed), Temi (the wife's best friend) and the husband ('Kim'?) in a one-day time line. Temi, I did not like at all. Under the guise of making the wife BHFH (be herself for herself) she tries to control the wife's life to be her full time playmate in my opinion. Having made friends early on Temi has encouraged the wife to behave badly, treat people with no respect and to flout all Nigerian traditions. To me, it seems the wife chose to marry Kim, as she calls him on occasion, despite Temi's attempts to stay single. The wife's single decision against Temi's wishes. She married him because he was not controlling and was happy for her to do what she wanted with her days, not to be who everyone else wanted her to be.
All the aggravation in this threesome is between Temi and Kim - they each want the wife to side with them while she sits firmly on the fence!
Until .....
I think this would make a very good Book Club read.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Ore Agbaje-Williams/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.