Boys and Girls Together

Book excerpt: An “extraordinary” novel of five friends coming of age in 1960s New York City, from a New York Times–bestselling, Academy Award–winning author (The Plain Dealer). William Goldman, the versatile author who gave us classic thrillers like Marathon Man, the immortal comedy of The Princess Bride, and the infamous Hollywood tell-all Adventures in the Screen Trade, offers a beautiful and sweeping novel inspired by his own coming-of-age, set against the backdrop of the New York theater world. In Boys and Girls Together, five friends—each of them young, creative, ambitious, and troubled—make their way to Manhattan in pursuit of their dreams. Aaron, the playwright; Walt, the director; Rudy and Jenny, both actors; and Branch, their producer, all come together to struggle, fight, love, create art, and face the hard truths of life. A popular sensation when it was first published in 1964, Boys and Girls Together remains a masterwork of heartbreaking emotional honesty. This ebook features a biography of William Goldman.