My favorite books on the wonders and challenges of friendship

My Brilliant Friend is a rich and absorbing novel about the intense friendship between two young girls in the slums of Naples in the 1950s. Both girls, Elena and Lila, are poor and clever, and while they are often competitive, they learn to rely on each other. Ferrante creates a detailed and fascinating world, pulling the reader into the colour and drama of a poor neigbourhood in post-war Neapolitan Italy. At the same she creates a powerful and unforgettable picture of two girls trying to create a future for themselves. I recommend this to any reader who likes a strong narrative, engaging characters, and fine writing.

This extraordinary novel by the Hungarian writer, Marai, was written in 1942. It reveals a friendship between two men who met when they were schoolboys. One, Henri, is from a privileged noble family, the other, Conrad, from a disadvantaged background, but they attend the same military academy together. One day Conrad disappears and Henri is left to wonder what happened to him. The book starts as Henri learns Conrad is about to return after 40 years of absence. The narrative is utterly compelling and the characters and their relationship are fascinating. It is one of those books that you can’t stop keep reading because you are so absorbed in the world the writer has created, but at the same time, you don’t want to finish so you put the book down to savour each moment. 

Ann Patchett is a successful American novelist, and Truth and Beauty is her memoir about her friendship with the poet, Lucy Grealy. She writes beautifully about Grealy, her talent and her warm, engaging personality, but also about her struggles and eventual death. Patchett conveys the depth of a passionate friendship by letting the reader see all her thoughts and feelings, courageously looking at how we can love someone, but how they can also try us to our limits. It is a book for those who love literature and are fascinated by the depth and intricacy of a creative connection between humans.

This book is simply the first written story ever found—and it’s about friendship! It was pressed into clay in the city of Nineveh around four thousand years ago and was re-found in the nineteenth century. It tells the story of a friendship between two men, Gilgamesh, the lord of his city, and Enkidu, ‘a wild man’ from the forests. The story recounts their adventures, then Enkidu’s death, and Gilgamesh’s grief at losing his friend. I find it extraordinary that so many thousands of years ago, human beings were concerned with the nature and power of friendship—it shows that the bonds of friendship are fundamental to human beings. 

This is the most beautiful children’s book about friendship. It tells the story of a friendship between Wilbur, a farmyard pig, and Charlotte, a spider. Charlotte is a spider who writes in her web and thereby saves Wilbur from the fate that awaits most farmyard pigs. Children love it for its sensitive portrayal of a warm-hearted friendship—and I love reading it for the beauty of its writing. It is a favourite to read aloud to children from the age of five—and a great first ‘chapter book’ for older children.