{"id":173065,"date":"2025-06-10T13:41:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/173065\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:41:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:41:14","slug":"these-10-books-about-unlikely-friendships-are-the-feel-good-reads-we-need-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/173065\/","title":{"rendered":"These 10 books about unlikely friendships are the feel-good reads we need right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all love a story of opposites attract<\/a> – and it’s just as compelling when it’s purely platonic. Magic seems to happen when two very different people come together and find their similarities. It’s a reminder that all of us can find common ground if we try hard enough. Here are 10 books<\/a> that celebrate friendship between the unlikeliest of people. <\/p>\n


Enlightenment by Sarah Perry<\/p>\n

A mind-expanding, mesmerising story of platonic love between twentysomething Grace and fiftysomething Thomas, two kindred souls who meet through their church and are both grappling with their faiths. Woven through their story is a historical mystery about a female astronomer who disappeared in the 19th century. <\/p>\n

Enlightenment by Sarah Perry<\/p>\n

\"Enlightenment<\/a>The Giver Of Stars<\/p>\n

I loved this adventure story for girls for its plucky female characters and wonderful descriptions of the Appalachian Mountains landscape. When young Englishwoman Alice Wright moves to Kentucky during the Great Depression to marry a wealthy American, she\u2019s a real fish out of water. It’s only when she joins a gutsy gang of horseback librarians who distribute books to the poor that she finds the friendship and freedom she craves.<\/p>\n

Penguin The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Still Life by Sarah Winman<\/p>\n

I love that there\u2019s always something a bit magical about Winman\u2019s books. Set in Italy in the years after the Second World War, this joyful novel tells the story of former soldier Ulysses and how a friendship with an older woman changes the course of his life. <\/p>\n

Still Life by Sarah Winman<\/p>\n

\"Still<\/a>H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald<\/p>\n

Pole-axed by grief after her father\u2019s sudden death, Helen Macdonald decides to realise her childhood dream of adopting a bird of prey. She finds surprising solace in training it. Big-hearted, joyful and glowing with gorgeous descriptions of nature, this an unusual but very special memoir. <\/p>\n

Vintage H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald<\/p>\n

\"H<\/a>The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud<\/strong><\/p>\n

A middle-aged woman who feels life has passed her by narrates Claire Messud\u2019s quietly menacing novel. When a new child starts in teacher Nora\u2019s class she finds herself falling in love with him and his exotic parents \u2013 to devastating effect.<\/p>\n

Virago The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Eddie Winston Is Looking For Love by Marianne Cronin<\/p>\n

The author of The One Hundred Years Of Lenni And Margot returns with another wonderfully joyful read. Eddie is a 90-year-old charity shop volunteer who is still pining for his first love. When grieving Bella visits the shop, they become friends and she makes it her mission to find him love.<\/p>\n

Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin<\/p>\n

\"Eddie<\/a>Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller<\/p>\n

Prepare to shed some tears while reading this gorgeously tender story about friendship and love in all its forms. Birdie is still grieving the death of her husband and twin sister when she receives a cancer diagnosis. Her illness throws her together with two neighbours, both also struggling in their own ways, who form a circle of support.<\/p>\n

Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller<\/p>\n

\"Goodbye<\/a>The Book Of Beginnings by Sally Page<\/p>\n

The joy of finding friendship inunexpected places is celebrated in this uplifting read by the author of The Keeper Of Stories. Jo is looking for an escape after a bad break-up, so agrees to look after her Uncle Wilbur\u2019s stationery shop, where she meets Ruth, a vicar running from a secret, and septuagenarian Malcolm, who is writing his first novel.<\/p>\n

The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers Some characters get under your skin, and Earlon \u2018Bucky\u2019 Bronco, an ageing addict who once had a hit record, is one of the most memorable I\u2019ve come across in a long time. When he\u2019s invited to a Northern Soul event in Scarborough, he meets downtrodden Dinah \u2013 his number one fan \u2013 and the two find hope in each other.<\/p>\n

Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers<\/p>\n

\"Rare<\/a>The Lido by Libby Page<\/p>\n

In south London a young journalist, Kate, and 80-something widow, Rosemary, find themselves thrown together in a fight to stop their local lido from being demolished and sold off to property developers. It\u2019s a story about friendship blooming in unexpected places and the joy it can bring.<\/p>\n

Orion The Lido by Libby Page<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Related Story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all love a story of opposites attract – and it’s just as compelling when it’s purely platonic.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[3444,77,6188,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-173065","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-most-popular","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114659359985942902","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}