The main character-to-character relationship development in so many books (and movies) is between a man and a woman; the second-most common is between a man and a man–a relationship between two women as the central focus, especially two unrelated women, is definitely the rarest of the three. (Reminds me of the Bechdel test.) This thought came to me the other day when I was rereading a favorite old “comfort book”–it’s a book I first read decades ago as a young teen–I believe it originally belonged to my grandmother. I really love this book for two reasons: one, it’s rich in historical detail about the untamed West of the American 1840s, especially the California Trail, and the other because of the really wonderful portrait of a deep female friendship it paints.
This got me thinking even more–how many other books have I read that I really loved for that second reason? I realized that a few of my books are treasured because of just that. So I thought I’d throw a few of them out there, and see if anybody else out there has either read ‘em or knows of any other books that are beautifully written with a female friendship as a central theme that they’d like to recommend.
The book I’m referring to above is called Jubilee Trail by Gwen Bristow. The main character is a rich New York debutante named Garnet, who has an adventurous spirit and for this reason marries a young man she meets who is running a mule-and-goods train between New York and California. Early into their journey, Garnet encounters a strikingly beautiful female entertainer named Florinda (well, sort of named Florinda–that’s the alias she’s currently using, anyway) and they exchange helping each other out of sticky situations. They meet again further along Garnet’s journey West and through various trials and tribulations, become the closest of friends. (I believe there may have been a movie made out of it, but if I were you I’d just stick to reading the book.)
The next book I thought of is called A College Of Magics by Caroline Stevermer. It’s a fantasy novel that takes place in an alternate early twentieth century; the young (underage, in fact, which rankles her no end) duchess named Faris Nallaneen of the fictional country of Galazon has been sent to a finishing school someplace near France called Greenlaw which supposedly specializes in teaching magic to young women along with deportment. As it turns out, there is magic to be taught at Greenlaw, and Faris is destined for something much greater than a mere duchy (which again, rankles deeply as the duchy is all she really cares about). During her years at Greenlaw she makes a circle of intimate female friends–she does also develop a love interest during the course of the book, but friendship–and responsibility–are really what the book is all about.
A third book set at a girls’ finishing school (hmm–I begin to see a trend–is that the only location girls and women can be focused upon to the exclusion of men?) came to mind–it’s a young adult book that did pretty well in the marketplace recently called A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. The main character is a sixteen-year-old girl named Gemma who was raised in India and after the tragic death of her mother, is sent to a finishing school in England. Like the previous book, there’s magic involved, though the Europe presented here is not an alternate-history Europe but one exactly like the Europe of the times (late 19th century). The inner lives of girls of that age is deeply explored, with the magic being used much more as an illuminating plot device than a central theme of the book itself.
Anybody else read these or have any recommendations for me? I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for more to read!
Disturbances in the Field (Lynn Sharon Schwartz) is about four female friends linked by a college philosophy class who stay connected as they go out into the real world. It’s like Sex and the City with more philosophers and less shoes.
This is very rare, you’re right. And even rarer outside “chick-lit.”
Offhand:
The Wives of Bath, Susan Swan. Set at a girls’ boarding school, it’s about the friendship between two girls, one shy and intellectual, the other rebellious and outgoing.
Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country, Patricia C. Wrede. It’s what I consider a chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-ice-cream sort of book, in the sense that if you’re feeling down, pulling it off the shelf and giving it another re-read will usually help. There’s romance, but the focus is on the friendship between two young women.
The New Moon’s Arms, Nalo Hopkinson. I’m cheating a bit—it’s a book primarily about the relationship between a mother and daughter, but read it anyway.
You’re right, stories of female friendships are INCREDIBLY rare. Boo, hiss, etc.
Here’s two young adult recommendations:
Empress of the World by Sara Ryan is a young adult romance novel set at a summer camp for gifted and talented kids. What’s great about this one, is that there’s actually two strong female relationships presented. The first is between Nic and Battle, who fall in love over the course of the summer. It’s painful, it’s awkward, it’s beautiful in how real it is, and with very little angst. The second is the friendship between Nic and Katrina. When Nic needs help figuring out life (or Battle), she can turn to Katrina to provide level headed and witty advice.
Uglies Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. (There’s also a fourth book now, but it doesn’t directly follow the trilogy and doesn’t have a female friendship at its core, so I’m disregarding it for now, even though it’s an awesome book) Set in a dystopian future where extreme plastic surgery is required at the age of 16 in order to make everyone equally pretty, Tally becomes close friends with Shay during their last summer as “uglies.” Tally can’t wait to be turned “pretty” while Shay is a rebel and ends up running away to avoid the surgery. The rest of the trilogy examines the fallout from that decision, and the evolving relationship between Tally and Shay. They fight…a lot…and sometimes it’s over a boy, but ultimately they keep coming back together and looking out for each other because no matter how many dumb decisions one girl or the other makes, the really do care about each other. … Most of the time
Tipping The Velvet has that theme but sucks anyway. Sucks. Srsly. So try Alan Moore’s Promethea, if you’re up for a five-part superhero comic series. A lot of it is an excuse for Moore to expound about his religion, but I loved that aspect of it. The main friendship in the book is between Sophie, the main character, and her elder mentor Barbara. It’s far from a traditional superhero comic; doing physical violence is never the point, and much of it is about Sophie and Barbara travelling up the Tree of Life together. Most of the characters are women, and it’s the relationships between those various women that usually drive the story – there are no male/male friendships explored at all.
Ever seen this little survey?
Sabotabby–guess who co-authored Sorcery and Cecelia? Caroline Stevermer, author of A College Of Magics! If you liked Sorcery and Cecelia, you’ll definitely like A College Of Magics.
All–thank you SO much for the book recommendations. I’m going through a loooong dry spell here!
Thene–eek! but not shocking.
I was remarking on this same problem, movie-wise recently: Remember when chick-flicks were like Beaches, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, or Thelma and Louise? I remember watching all of these, except for Thelma and Louise with my mom, and a box of tissues between us. They weren’t great works of cinematography, necessarily, and they were mushy as a cake left out in the rain, but they had at their core women, and women’s relationships with each other (not, as in Shopaholic, as enablers of each other’s desperate attempts to marry someone.
I miss those movies. I didn’t want to watch more than one a year, but it makes me sad that the entire type seems to be missing from Hollywood’s collective consciousness.
If you liked Sorcery and Cecelia, you’ll definitely like A College Of Magics.
Beg to differ with the reasoning. I love Wrede Stevermer. I’m very fond of Wrede alone. The one book I’ve read by Stevermer alone was okay, but unmemorable (I can’t even remember the title!), and left me uninspired to buy any more of her solo efforts. That said, a friend has A College of Magics, so I might borrow it from him and give Stevermer solo another try.
Second the recommendation for The New Moon’s Arms. It’s not a women’s buddy novel, but it’s quite wonderful.
Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride features some very dysfunctional women’s friendships.
Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin, in addition to being my favouritest book ever, features three college roommates. There are boys, yes, but I don’t think they’re necessarily the focus of this coming-of-age novel.
Elizabeth Bear’s Dust is about two women, one of whom has wings. Any more than that would spoil it, I think.
I have read three books (not counting Sorcery and Cecelia) by Stevermer, and two of them were meanderingly boring. A College of Magics, though, was completely awesome. Trust me!
Okay. Once I have completed the first book club tome of the year, I shall check it out.
Okay Lisa, you’re absolutely right. I read A College of Magics last week, and it’s awesome. Great female friends and characters, in general, excellent language and characterization, good (but, I think, not perfect) pacing, good plotting, and a reasonably sensible portrayal of romantic love. I’m looking forward to snagging the next one when I’m over at that friend’s house again.
It’ll go onto my List.
Are they not going to change the cast of Sex and The City ? the girls in there are getting old already.’.;