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Flavorwire's Fascinating Female Friendships in Literature

In my view, Claire Messud was on point when she said (in a now-famous response to an interviewer balking at an "unlikeable" character) that "if you're reading to find friends, you're in deep trouble." But that only applies to friends for yourself. That is, because, at least for me, reading about friendship — fraught and bad and dangerous as it may be — is one of my deepest pleasures, particularly when the friendships are between women. But while Ferrante Fever is still in full swing, it's amazing to me how rare it still is to find complex female friendships in literature for adults (YA has it a little more locked), and even the whiff of a good one can send me straight to the bookstore. In case you've been having the same feeling, here are 25 books that investigate female friendship in one form or another. More please.
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Innocents and Others (Dana Spiotta)
Innocents and Others
Dana Spiotta
2
My Brilliant Friend (Elena Ferrante)
My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante
3
The Door (Magda Szabó)
The Door
Magda Szabó
4
The Secret Place (Tana French)
The Secret Place
Tana French
5
Ghost World (Daniel Clowes)
Ghost World
Daniel Clowes
6
Silver Sparrow
Silver Sparrow
7
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte
8
Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
Mrs. Dalloway
Virginia Woolf
9
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston
10
Notes on a Scandal (Zoe Heller)
Notes on a Scandal
Zoe Heller
11
Girls on Fire (Robin Wasserman)
Girls on Fire
Robin Wasserman
12
How Should a Person Be? (Sheila Heti)
How Should a Person Be?
Sheila Heti
13
White Is for Witching (Helen Oyeyemi)
White Is for Witching
Helen Oyeyemi
14
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital
Who Will Run the Frog Hospital
15
The People of Forever Are Not Afraid (Shani Boianjiu)
The People of Forever Are Not Afraid
Shani Boianjiu
16
Cat's Eye (Margaret Atwood)
Cat's Eye
Margaret Atwood
17
The Girls From Corona Del-Mar (Rufi Thorpe)
The Girls From Corona Del-Mar
Rufi Thorpe
18
Talk (Linda Rosenkrantz)
Talk
Linda Rosenkrantz
19
Ugly Girls
Ugly Girls
20
Sula (Toni Morrison)
Sula
Toni Morrison
21
Friendship a Novel
Friendship a Novel
22
Dare Me (Megan Abbott)
Dare Me
Megan Abbott
23
Dear Life (Alice Munro)
Dear Life
Alice Munro
24
The Woman Upstairs
The Woman Upstairs
25
The Girls of Slender Means (Muriel Spark)
The Girls of Slender Means
Muriel Spark
26
A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini
27
The Group (Mary McCarthy)
The Group
Mary McCarthy
28
Bad Behavior: Stories (Mary Gaitskill)
Bad Behavior: Stories
Mary Gaitskill
29
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery
30
Commencement (Courtney J. Sullivan)
Commencement
Courtney J. Sullivan
31
I'm So Happy for You (Lucinda Rosenfeld)
I'm So Happy for You
Lucinda Rosenfeld
32
The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)
The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan
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