Unexpected friendships: A reading list

Editor’s note: A child and a manchild find a shared purpose together. A robot, a horse, and a young high-schooler change each other’s lives. Ruskin Bond’s debut novel about a runaway kid finding community. A cantankerous old man and his eccentric neighbours. In this delightful reading list, writer and translator Sneha Pathak looks at 10 tender and affecting novels that delve into the unexpected nature of friendship. 

Written by: Sneha Pathak

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Friendships come in all shapes and sizes. But it’s the unexpected ones that make for moving stories. Think, for instance, of books like Project Hail Mary and Remarkably Bright Creatures, both adapted for the screen this year. Or of Only Murders in the Building, which has a sweet, quirky friendship between a young woman and two elderly men at its centre. In the spirit of celebrating these unexpected friendships, here’s a list of 10 books centred around such relationships, many of which have been adapted for the screen to great success.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (2009)

Translated from the Japanese (published in 2003), Yoko Ogawa’s award-winning novel revolves around a mathematics professor who only has an 80-minute memory following a brain injury. His housekeeper, who has to introduce herself every morning, and her son, whom the professor begins to call Root, develop a tender friendship with this elderly man. The trio connect through their love of numbers as well as baseball. Gradually, their friendship deepens into something like the bonds shared by family. The Housekeeper and the Professor won the Japan Booksellers Award and was adapted into a Japanese film in 2006.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (2006)

This is the kind of book that leaves you devastated, staying in readers’ minds for a long, long time. Set during World War II, the novel tells the story of nine-year-old Bruno, who doesn’t know what his father’s job as a commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp actually means. Lonely, he ends up making friends with nine-year-old Shmuel, who lives on the other side of the fence and wears striped pyjamas. The innocence of their friendship meets the violence of their world with tragic consequences. While the book’s popularity remains high, it has also earned its share of criticism for its portrayal of the Holocaust, with reports and studies suggesting that it may “perpetuate a number of dangerous inaccuracies and fallacies”

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown (2016)

While originally a children’s sci-fi book series with illustrations, The Wild Robot offers plenty for readers of all ages. Through an omniscient narrator, it tells the story of a friendly robot, ROZZUM unit 7134, or simply “Roz”. When Roz opens her eyes, she finds herself in the middle of a forest with no idea how she got here and what she’s supposed to do. As she struggles with unfamiliar surroundings and creatures, Roz gradually develops friendships with the animals around her, and even ends up playing the role of mother to an orphaned gosling. The book, addressing themes of otherness, acceptance, and belonging, is a bestseller with plenty of accolades; an animated adaptation, released in 2024, was also received warmly. 

About a Boy by Nick Hornby (1998)

This Nick Hornby novel—published after the success of High Fidelity (1992) and Fever Pitch (1995)—is a coming-of-age tale set in London in 1993. About a Boy (the title is inspired by the Nirvana song ‘About A Girl’, and the band plays an important role in the narrative) tells the story of a friendship that blossoms between 36-year-old Will, who hasn’t really grown up, and 12-year-old Marcus, a boy with quite a lot on his shoulders. Marcus has relocated to London with his mother, who is struggling with depression, and has a hard time fitting in. As their paths cross, Marcus and Will gradually warm up to each other, forging a bond that helps them both learn to live a little better. Praising the novel, The Guardian wrote:

The psychology of Hornby's characters is carefully, thoughtfully, and gently done. There is a heart to Hornby's writing which sets its world apart from those of Connolly or Amis. Will's friendship with Marcus - at first grudging, then resigned, and finally desperate - is both funny and touching.

The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond (1956)

The beloved Ruskin Bond’s first novel, The Room on the Roof, is the story of 16-year-old Rusty. An Anglo-Indian boy forced to live with his guardian after his parents’ death, Rusty is unhappy with life and runs away. On his adventures away from home, he comes into contact with and befriends  boys his age from different classes and communities. As he steps into  adulthood and learns what it means to fend for himself, Rusty finds that these supportive ties help him survive all manner of hardship. This charming, award-winning novella, written in 1956 when Bond was only 17 years old, offers a glimpse into the author’s remarkable gift of emoting, and creating affecting characters and stories that resonate with readers across generations. 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (2008)

Translated from the French in 2008, The Elegance of the Hedgehog created a sensation upon its original publication in 2006. The novel follows the life of Renée Michel, the concierge of a building at 7 Rue de Grenelle. She is an intellectual who hides behind the façade of bad taste to avoid the curiosity of the building’s wealthy tenants. And then there is the extraordinary 12-year-old Paloma, whose parents live in the same building. Paloma has decided to end her life on her 13th birthday unless she can find something that overturns her sense of life’s futility. 

These two starkly different characters dictate the narrative here; writes The New York Times: “Renée’s story is addressed to no one (that is, to us), while Paloma’s takes the form of a notebook crammed with what she labels “profound thoughts.” Both create eloquent little essays on time, beauty and the meaning of life, Renée with erudition and Paloma with adolescent brio.” It’s only when a wealthy Japanese tenant moves into the building that our two protagonists begin to see each other as kindred spirits and find new meaning in their lives. 

A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-ran (2020)

Cheon Seon-ran’s Korean novel, A Thousand Blues, is a sci-fi tale set in 2035. Coli is a sentient robot jockey who rides Today, a horse, in races. After years, there comes a time when Today is deemed no longer useful and faces destruction along with Coli. It’s only here that Yeonjae, a high school girl with a penchant for robotics, rescues Coli from a rubbish heap and plans to work with it to save Today from death. A tender and beautiful story of friendship that can exist beyond human beings, A Thousand Blues is a book that reinforces your faith in life.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (2012)

Set in 1987, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is the story of 14-year-old June. She’s very close to her uncle Finn Weiss, a well-known painter. When Finn dies of an AIDS-related illness, June—who finds herself unable to fit in in the real world—is lonelier than ever. Her uncle’s long-term boyfriend, Toby, is blamed by the family. But June develops an unlikely friendship with Toby, as the two bond on their shared grief and the towering presence of Finn in their lives. The Guardian described the book’s central relationship as “a unique, magically rendered friendship, as painful on the trials of adolescence as it is about impending mortality.”

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (2012)

Originally written in Swedish, A Man Called Ove is the story of a friendship that blossoms between 59-year-old widower Ove and his new neighbours. They’re the kind of people who’d typically get on Ove’s nerves: happy, sunny, talkative. He, on the other hand, remains gruff and cantankerous, snapping at others. However, with time and through the support of his new friends, Ove is able to escape the shadow of grief he has been living under for so long and discover a new purpose in life. Praising the book, The Hindu said: “Allow yourself to slip into his [Ove’s] arms, even at the risk of violating his tactile touch-me-not sensibilities: you’ll feel the better for it.”

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley (2023)

Louise Wilt, 84, is convinced she doesn’t need a caretaker. So what if she slipped on the rug? But if she has to have one, perhaps there is no one better for the role than 21-year-old college dropout Tanner, who has zero interest in doing the work anyway. All she wants is a roof over her head. Tanner is happy in this role, which requires very little of her, until the night Louise tells her they have to leave town immediately. Full of humour and wit, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise is a light-hearted but touching novel of an odd pair forced to go on an adventure and the friendship that takes root between people who, on the face of it, seem to have nothing in common.

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Sneha Pathak is a freelance writer and translator. Her works have appeared in The Telegraph, Deccan Herald, Strange Horizons, and The Chakkar. You can follow her on Instagram.