The Virago Book of Friendship

by Rachel Cooke

A fond, fascinated look at female friendship using the writings - fictional, diaries, letters - of friends.

Friendship has never been more talked about. Some of this has to do with the internet (the perils of WhatsApp groups, and of ghosting), and some, with the realisation that loneliness in our society is increasing. Friendship is being written about, and researched, seriously, by therapists and scientists alike. We all now know of the importance of friendship.

But it's hard to get inside its particular intensity; its singular ease; the way it can wax and wane; its ability to cause uncommon pain. This is the territory of novels and letters, poems and graphic novels - which is where The Virago Book of Friendship steps in. Celebratory, but also explanatory and wide in scope - from the Bible to Yellowface, from school friends to the loss of friends in old age - this wonderful book includes Jane Austen, Nora Ephron, Toni Morrison, Vivian Gornick, Helen Garner, LM Montgomery, Dolly Alderton - among nearly one hundred others. This book is truly the first of its kind, looking at female friendship through literature.

Genres: Friendship, Nonfiction

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2024

Reviews

[Chelsea Mourning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utter joy! I bought multiple copies for my friends to spread the joy.
. So many of my favourite books and authors. So excited to see 2 segments from one of my favourite authors Helen Garner.
Not sure what it says about me but the Frenemy section was my fave.

[Clare Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good jumping off point for finding new authors and books.

[Louisa]

some nice extracts, but the jumping around was a bit much for me, would rather longer extracts and more commentary from cooke