Complex friendship between women is a perennial theme in so many stories. Fans of Italian author Elena Ferrante, whose Neapolitan novels charted such a friendship throughout decades, were excited to discover she has a new novel coming out, but if you simply can’t wait for that, here’s a—by no means exhaustive—list of novels that unpack the frequently loaded concept of 'female bonding.'

More from Emily Specter

View all quotes →