From blossoming new acquaintances to ride-or-die besties from birth, why do we fall so in love with stories about friends just being friends? Fiction offers an unparalleled canvas for exploring the intricate dynamics of friendship up-close, in turn creating some of the most beautiful, poignant and hilarious moments in literature.
Who is Jay Gatsby without Nick Carraway? Or Laurie without Jo? We hate to think, so we’ve pulled together a list to celebrate the best fictional friendships ever penned.
The flowing narrative of Bernardine Evaristo's Booker Prize-winning novel weaves through the lives of 12 different women, each of them searching for something – be it love, support, a family, or home. While not all of them are successful in their pursuits, they do find the solace they need in the friends protecting and supporting them.
Where would detective fiction be without the bromance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson? Reimagined for film and TV many times over, Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories of this unlikely duo are both charmingly written and dazzlingly fun. This beautiful selection, part of the Penguin Clothbound Classics collection, features some of their best-known capers.
Meredith Maggs hasn't left her house in 1,214 days. Despite this, she insists she isn't alone – in fact she’s absolutely fine, thank you very much. But her front door won’t keep the world at bay forever, and a whole host of delightfully sweet characters just can’t help but worm their way into Meredith’s life. Touching, tender, and at times dark, Meredith, Alone is a story about finding real friendship in unexpected places, and the people who offer support when we need it most.
"Wahala" is a Yoruba word meaning "trouble", and the three best friends at the centre of this novel certainly manage to find it. Boo, Ronke and Simi all met at university and have been inseparable ever since – that is, until high-flying Isobel infiltrates their group and brings out the worst in each of them. Wahala is a tale of messy, chaotic friendships gone wrong at its very best.
Lessons in Chemistry might just have one of the best human-canine friendships ever written, in the form of heroine Elizabeth Zott and her precocious dog Six-Thirty. Through Zott’s many ups and downs, it is him she turns to, with the firm belief that he can understand every word she’s saying (and in Garmus’ world, he can). Six-Thirty's responses are incredibly sweet and sage, making their relationship easily one of the most moving parts of this wonderful story.
There are so many brilliantly drawn and beautiful friendships in Little Women – the aforementioned Laurie and Jo, Beth and Laurie’s grandfather, and of course the four sisters themselves – that a list of great literary friendships would be incomplete without its mention. This charming story that has been adored for generation s is at once utterly heart-warming and heart-shattering.
Sam and Sadie meet for the first time in a New York children’s hospital, where a mutual love of video games forms the basis for a life-long, inextricable bond. Reunited years later by that same creative fascination, they embark on a complicated friendship that spans decades. A sad, beautiful and compelling examination of love in all its confusing forms.
Set in 1930’s Kentucky, a brave group of women band together to form the Horseback Librarians. Led by the unconventional and enigmatic Margery O’Hare, they deliver books to far-flung rural communities and teach them literacy. Throughout the story, the sisterhood refuses to cave to the powerful force of the angry men running the town, and find camaraderie, comfort and hope in one another along the way.
Is there a better friend than Nick Carraway? Having a certain Jay Gatsby overhaul your life just to land the girl of his dreams must be annoying, yet Nick as the ever-present (if unreliable) narrator of the story is the only one who sees Gatsby’s merit, declaring him “worth the whole damn bunch put together.” An all-time classic that gave us one of the most moving male friendships in literature.
Although this novel is most obviously a rom-com, the friendships between the three girls at the heart of it really sticks with you. Henry’s exploration of significant friendships and how it feels to drift apart is spot-on, and the platonic interactions are a pitch-perfect accompaniment to the central romance – even at times threatening to steal the show.
Sent off to a conversion therapy camp after the death of her parents, Cameron finds solace in new friends Adam and Jane. These friendships teach her the power of connection in a hostile environment, and the beauty of finding the people who lift us up and love us for who we are, even when those who are meant to don't.
The Gavin and Stacey writer's second novel is centred around three women who have been best friends since primary school, where they swore an oath to be together forever on a Curly Wurly wrapper. But becoming grown-ups comes with grown-up responsibilities, and a series of events leaves them with almost too much to forget, let alone forgive. With characters you will feel like you’ve known your whole life, this is a heartwarming and uplifting reminder that deep connections will always withstand the test of time.
