Our favourite literary friendships
Sure, his friends and crewmates left him stranded on a desolate planet, but they returned to rescue him. If that's not the epitome of friendship, what is? The Martian, both book and film, is a thrilling blend of science, humor, and peril. However, its the camaraderie forged under extreme circumstances, that makes this a rare read.
Honorary mention to Project Hail Mary - Weir's inter galactic and inter species buddy novel.
Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce
After a traumatic childhood and a science fraternity that takes from but doesn't give to women, Margery Benson is resigned to a life of teaching. Until something snaps, she quits her job and head to New Caledonia to search for a mystery beetle. Along the way she picks up an assistant, Enid Pretty, who is everything Margery is not and together the two form an unlikely partnership and life long friendship. Set in the 1950s, this is a warm hearted read full of humour, adventure and mystery and characters that will stay with you for a long time.
The Expanse series by James S.A Corey
We adore this nine-book saga for its breathtaking space battles, intricate political games, and intriguing alien civilizations. However, it's the four-person crew of the Rocinante, a salvaged Martian warship, who truly steal the show. As they navigate the solar system and beyond over decades, they forge a bond that transcends blood, proving that family is found, not born.
As the blitz grinds London down, Emmeline Lake searches for a way to put her skills to the war effort. Applying for a job at what she thinks is a prestigious magazine, Emmy ends up managing the advice page at Women's Friend, a 'women's' magazine run by the fierce Mrs. Bird. When Mrs. Bird refuses to advise women on anything 'unpleasant', Emmy takes matters into her own hands and starts secretly replying to letters. This series is chock full of war time bonhomie, between the staff at the magazine, and at Emmy's nighttime job on fire watch, and between Emmy and her best friend and flat mate Bunty. With these friends, Emmy will get the women of London through the war.
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
When a 1980s high school hockey team, led by the determined captain Abby Putnam, makes a pact with a mysterious force, they accidentally invoke their witchy pasts. As they ascend to new heights of athletic prowess, the girls grapple with the consequences of their supernatural bargain. The novel cleverly blends elements of coming-of-age with dark fantasy, creating a unique and humorous tale about female empowerment, friendship, and the power of belief.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
What ever else this book is (and it's a lot), at it's heart, A Little Life is the story of a friendship between four men, Willem, JB, Malcolm and Jude. Over the course of their lives, from college to retirement, these men support each other through trauma, love each other and define masculine friendship in unique and vital ways.
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
if you watched this movie as a young person in the 1990s, you may not have understood the exact nature of Ruth and Idgie's 1930s relationship (spoiler, they are more than friends), but the modern day friendship between bored housewife Evelyn Couch and Ninny Threadgoode, who recounts Idgie and Ruth's story is heart warming and full of charm. A modern American classic.
The Lord of the Rings by J. R.R Tolkien
Sure most people don't read this legendary tome because it's about friendship, but these nine disparate sometimes ill fitting men must band together to take the ring to the fires of Mordor, protect the hobbits and save Middle Earth. It doesn't get any more epic than this.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
This modern classic follows Elena and Raffaella from the childhood in post World War II Naples into adulthood, exploring themes of class, gender, love and loss and is a vivid portrayal of their working class neighbourhood. A thought provoking and intense exploration of female friendship.
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
A good friend helps you bury the body, a true friend kills for you. In her small rural Indian village, Geeta is ostracised as the women who killed her vanished husband. But she's enjoying the single life too much to correct her neighbour's suspicions, seeing how the other women in the village are tied to men they despise. But when other neighbourhood women approach Geeta to ask for help getting rid of their own husbands, one small favour turns into a hilarious murderous farce. While Geeta, Saloni, Farah and the other women aren't strictly friends, their actions in supporting each other must surely be the ultimate in friendship.
