Books › The friend › Books like it
If you loved
Books like The friend
An intimate, psychologically rich portrait of shared grief and the profound, silent bond between a mourning woman and a traumatized dog. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with The friend.
- isolated
- grief-heavy
- quiet
- claustrophobic
- 01
What Are You Going Through
Sigrid Nunez
An intimate, psychologically rich exploration of memory, empathy, and the profound bonds of female friendship.
- 02
Grief is the thing with feathers
Max Porter
A surreal, poetic, and darkly funny exploration of the chaotic shape that mourning takes in a shattered home.
- 03
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Ottessa Moshfegh
A pitch-black, narcotic comedy about checking out of a superficial world to find a blank-slate salvation.
- 04
Forever, interrupted
Taylor Jenkins Reid
A bittersweet exploration of an electric, whirlwind romance colliding with sudden, profound grief.
- 05
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Iain Reid
A claustrophobic road trip into the darkest, most surreal corners of the human psyche, where every thought feels like a trap.
- 06
The female persuasion
Meg Wolitzer
A thoughtful, character-driven exploration of ambition, mentorship, and the paths we choose when our inner world suddenly lights up.
- 07
No One Is Talking About This
Patricia Lockwood
A hyper-ironic scroll through the digital void that suddenly shatters into a profound meditation on embodied grief and love.
- 08
Dog Songs
Mary Oliver
A tender, sunlit meditation on the profound, uncomplicated love between humans and their canine companions.
- 09
All My Puny Sorrows
Miriam Toews
A devastating and intimate exploration of sisterhood, mental illness, and the agonizing limits of love.
- 10
The Old Woman Who Named Things
Cynthia Rylant
A tender, tear-jerking exploration of loneliness and the brave, vulnerable choice to open your heart to love again.
- 11
Big Friendship
Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman
A rigorous, big-hearted love letter to the messy, essential work of keeping your best friends close.
- 12
The Body Artist
Don DeLillo · 2001
A strange, atmospheric meditation on grief and the wilderness of time, set in a lonely coastal house.
