Alice Mattison is an award-winning author of four story collections and five novels, and her skill is clearly on display in When We Argued All Night. The story opens in New York City, 1936; as alarming events in Europe begin to unfold, two young men who have been friends since childhood, Artie Saltzman and Harold Abramovitz, travel together to a cabin on an Adirondack lake. The trip becomes a turning point in both men's lives--Harold confesses that he has joined the Communist Party, and they meet a troubled girl who will, in time, become his wife.
Against the backdrop of the World War II and the McCarthy era, Artie and Harold move into adulthood--jobs, marriages, children--while maintaining a friendship through frequent challenges. Mattison skillfully recalls the political turmoil of their youth as Artie's daughter Brenda comes of age in the 1960s and the themes of jobs, love, friendship and family are re-examined in a new way. Though it covers a vast history, When We Argued All Night provides a surprisingly intimate look at a lifelong friendship. --Roni K. Devlin, owner of Literary Life Bookstore & More