Literary BFFs - On Friendship Between the Pages
By Fran Wilde, author of Updraft
When asked last year by John Scalzi if, given the
power to travel anywhere, I would venture to a new country or visit an old
friend, I didn’t hesitate. I chose visiting friends. When a fellow author asked
me what my most memorable meal was, I talked about the neighborhood potlucks my friends throw each year.
Friendship, in short, is vital to me. I go out of my way to
stay connected with my friends.
So I thought I’d break out a few of my favorite great literary
friendships:
●
Hermoine, Harry,
and Ron, Harry Potter (Rowling)
Not just friends, but warrior-wizard-friends. These three meet on the way to Hogwards and grow and fight side by side. They see each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and remain friends throughout the worst of times, and the best.
Not just friends, but warrior-wizard-friends. These three meet on the way to Hogwards and grow and fight side by side. They see each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and remain friends throughout the worst of times, and the best.
●
The Dashwood
Sisters & the March Sisters, Sense
& Sensibility (Austen) & Little
Women (Alcott)
The argument that sisters can’t be friends, or that sisters are only friends because they must be, is a wobbly one. These sisters from two classics are not always friends, but they stand by each other. Their relationships and alliances, successes and failures, add strength to their friendships even when it first seems it will break them apart.
The argument that sisters can’t be friends, or that sisters are only friends because they must be, is a wobbly one. These sisters from two classics are not always friends, but they stand by each other. Their relationships and alliances, successes and failures, add strength to their friendships even when it first seems it will break them apart.
●
Calvin and
Hobbes, Calvin & Hobbes
(Waterson)
A boy and his stuffed tiger - best of friends, no matter the weather, parental injunctions to stop-that-racket, or Suzi. I love these two unequivocally, and if one isn’t really real, well so be it, I get that Cartoon Boys are a construct, but Hobbes and I will be over here waiting until Calvin gets home from school just the same.
A boy and his stuffed tiger - best of friends, no matter the weather, parental injunctions to stop-that-racket, or Suzi. I love these two unequivocally, and if one isn’t really real, well so be it, I get that Cartoon Boys are a construct, but Hobbes and I will be over here waiting until Calvin gets home from school just the same.
●
Frodo and Sam,
The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien)
So much has been written about Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee that it’s hard to add to it. The friendship bond between the two hobbits, nevermind the fact that Sam is awesome, is one of the great fantasy friendships.
So much has been written about Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee that it’s hard to add to it. The friendship bond between the two hobbits, nevermind the fact that Sam is awesome, is one of the great fantasy friendships.
●
Kittyhawk and
Verity, Code Name Verity (Wein)
Told in notes, memories, and letters this wrenching story of female friendship during World War II is filled with adventure and daring. Kittyhawk’s interpretation of events and what Verity is willing and able to reveal are part of the intensity of this book, but it’s the vignettes when their lives are nearly normal when we see them true: friends who’ll care about each other until the end.
Told in notes, memories, and letters this wrenching story of female friendship during World War II is filled with adventure and daring. Kittyhawk’s interpretation of events and what Verity is willing and able to reveal are part of the intensity of this book, but it’s the vignettes when their lives are nearly normal when we see them true: friends who’ll care about each other until the end.
In Updraft, my debut
fantasy novel from Tor, there are a number of different kinds of friendships -
between the main character, Kirit and her best friend, Nat; between Ezarit the
trader and her close friend Elna… the kinds of friendships forged in the Spire,
and more.
What are your favorite friendships?
Fran Wilde’s first novel, Updraft, debuts
from Tor Books on September 1, 2015. Her short stories have appeared at
Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Uncanny Magazine, and in Asimov’s andNature. Fran
also interviews authors about food in fiction at Cooking the Books, and blogs
for GeekMom and SFSignal. You can find Fran at her website, Twitter, and Facebook.
September 1 @ 7pm
B&N Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA
September 2 @ 6:30
The Doylestown Bookshop with Chuck Wendig Doylestown, PA
September 4 – 7
Dragon*Con, Atlanta, GA
September 6 @ 3:45
Decatur Book Festival, Decatur, GA
September 9 @ 7pm
Philly Free Library, Philadelphia, PA
with Michael Swanwick, Gregory Frost, Siobhan Carroll, Stephanie Feldman, and Jon McGoran
with Michael Swanwick, Gregory Frost, Siobhan Carroll, Stephanie Feldman, and Jon McGoran
September 12 @ 7:30pm
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September 15 @ 7:00pm
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September 19 @ 2pm
Mysterious Galaxy with Greg van Eekhout,
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September 21 @ 7pm
University Bookstore, Seattle, WA
September 23 @ 7pm
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September 24 @ noon
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Baltimore Book Festival, Featured Author Baltimore, MD
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