Triangle friendships don't always work out well. Why do you think this one does?

Triangle friendships don't always work out well. Why do you think the friendship between Odette, Barbara Jean, and Clarice worked so well? Do you feel they had issues?

I think it works because they are so different and their home lives are so different. They balance each other out. I would love to have a triangle friendship like that.

I agree rebajane! They balance each other out and all three are needed for that balance. Just two of them wouldn't work. In fact, if Odette had died, I'm not sure Clarice and BarbaraJean would be able to maintain the same level of friendship.

The friends complemented each other, and these girls fit together so well.

I think this friendship worked because their relationship began when they were young girls. They got to know each other through teenage and family problems and triumphs. As tillieh touched on, Odette was the unspoken leader and strength for the women. She was the glue that kept them together. Plus, living in a small town that they never left, helped to seal their friendship.

I think triangle friendships often don't work out when people are competing for the same thing - whether that is attention or power or love. I think these women were able to avoid that competition.

I wonder how many friendships truly continue after high school. Can these friendships continue throughout someones life? These women lived in the same town and they respected each others personal and married lives. They kept their friendship about themselves, not their spouses, children or families. Their own individual strenghths kept the triangle from becoming unbalanced.

I feel the triangle works because each woman has a life and interests outside their friendship.

The depth of caring is so huge, I think that's a very big reason they're able to stick together. It's also their willingness to be there through thick and thin, and how well they know each other. Each brings a different quality to the friendship, too. They're different but complementary, the ideal aspect of true friendship. They're also forgiving of weaknesses.

In response to paml wondering about continuing high school friendships: I have two friends from school who are still close friends of mine. We were never a threesome; that would have been out of the question because of the personalities of the two of them. And we are all in our 70s today!

The friendship works because each woman is truly supreme! They are all strong, wise , and loyal to each other, their church, their town, and when a bump in the road occurs, these women pick up-literally and physically- the friend in need. Without each other, none of the pieces fit. I hope there is another novel in the works, as I am not done with these three friends and what each life still holds. I wonder what our author thinks?

I think dorothym is right on target. These ladies complement one another in their strengths, and they don't compete with one another in other areas. They seem to be to be more like a circle that goes through three point than like a triangle - smooth, no sharp edges, in their relationships with one another.

The friendship worked because the three women were very different from each other and yet cared in a very strong way about the others. Each had particular strengths that the others could turn to when need arose.