Tracy Kidder is a master of collecting every day events and conversations, and creating a coherent story for his readers. Old Friends includes a range of characters living at a nursing home in Northampton, MA. It features Lou and Joe, roommates, each with his own quirks, who are Friends who learn to love and support one another over time. They complement and enhance each other. My favorite Kidder book is Among Schoolchildren, which covers a school year. The teacher reviews the year and her worries and wishes for her students. The ending of Old Friends is less definitive. It’s just another day at the Manor. Though that may be Kidder’s point - it’s just another day like all the other days there.