Many great tales have focused on romantic love, from classic works like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to modern works of fiction like The Notebook. Of course, while these romance-filled stories are heartwarming, beautiful, and likely to take up space on any bookworm’s shelf, they’re not the only representation of love to get lost in.
Anyone who has experienced a true and meaningful friendship in their life will know that it is just as important a form of love as the romantic kind. it can fill us equally and last just as long.
You are reading: Books with friendship theme
Fortunately, there are some beautiful novels that put friendship, and the power it holds, front and center. if you’re looking for a read about true friends, here are some books to consider…
a little life of hanya yanagihara
willem, jude, jb, and malcolm become friends in college and, after graduation, move to new york to pursue their dreams of high-flying careers. while, for the most part, they manage to move up the career ladders they chose, that doesn’t necessarily bring happiness. Jude is left dealing with trauma from her past that is still shaping his present. While it’s a difficult read, this book is certainly about the life-defining impact of true and lasting friendship.
girl, woman, another of bernadine evaristo
This book tells the interconnected stories of 12 different characters, mostly female, black, and British. While the novel painstakingly explores the nuances of different types of bonds, from maternal to romantic, it also focuses on friendship, examining how and why it develops and fails.
stacey halls relatives
Set in 17th century Lancashire, Fleetwood is a pregnant young woman without many allies. her mother is cold, her husband is often away, and she is left alone in her big house to ponder where life will take her. When Fleetwood meets the mysterious Alice, who has the power to keep her unborn child healthy, the pair develop an unlikely friendship and become more dependent on each other than they ever could have imagined.
eleanor oliphant is completely fine by gail honeyman
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a moving novel about the importance of reaching out for friendship. Eleanor is a social misfit living a lonely existence until Raymond joins her office as her new colleague, eventually finding solace in the company. As Eleanor and Raymond’s bond grows, she begins to come to terms with her own fraught past and overcome the trauma that has haunted her.
candice carty-williams queenie
queenie is a twenty-something journalist living in london going through some major changes. her relationship with her boyfriend tom is not only disintegrating, things are not going well at work and the home she has known and loved all her life is rapidly changing due to the gentrification of brixton. As she struggles to stay afloat in the rough waters of her life, Queenie’s eclectic group of friends are there to join her.
swing time by zadie smith
Two friends dream of being dancers, but while one works hard and tries to plan her career in front of her, it’s Tracey who has the raw talent it takes to succeed. swing time tells of her close but complicated childhood friendship that ends abruptly in her twenties, never to be visited again, but not entirely forgotten either.
little women of louisa may alcott
Little Women is known for being a must-read sisterhood story. While that’s true, the story is also about the special friendships that bind four very different siblings: Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth. There’s also the matter of Jo’s complicated friendship with neighbor Laurie, which comes between the girls.
the lido page by libby
In South London, a young journalist, Kate, and an eighty-something widow, Rosemary, become embroiled in a fight to prevent their local lido from being demolished and sold to property developers. is a story about friendship that blossoms in unexpected places and the joy it can bring.
margaret atwood cat eye
atwood’s novel is an examination of toxic friendship. When she visits her childhood home in Toronto for a retrospective of her art, Elaine is overwhelmed by her past. She is forced to confront the memories of Cordelia, her best friend turned tormentor, who has marked her life for forty years.
sula by toni morrison
Childhood best friends Nel and Sula are separated when the former marries and becomes a well-respected mother in her hometown, while the latter runs away to pursue her dreams. When Sula returns home after ten years, the two women return to the old ups and downs of their childhood friendship.
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my cool friend of elena ferrante
The first book in Ferrante’s best-selling Neopolitan series introduces readers to the story of Elena and Lila, who grew up in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. The girls learn to trust each other before anyone else, and their friendship becomes a lifeline as they grow older.
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jessie burton’s confession
This moving and gripping novel flits between modern London and 1980s Los Angeles, bringing together the stories of two young women: Elise and Rose. At the heart of the story is the growing (and complex) friendship between Rose and reclusive veteran writer Constance.
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