Eight books about the ups and downs of friendship

Lillian Li is the author of the novel Number One Chinese Restaurant, which was an NPR Best Book of 2018, and longlisted for the Women’s Prize and the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.

Her work has been published in the New York Times, Granta, One Story, Bon Appetit, Travel & Leisure, The Guardian, and Jezebel. Originally from the D.C. metro area, she lives in Ann Arbor.

[Writers Read: Lillian Li (June 2018)]

Li's new novel is Bad Asians.

At Lit Hub the author tagged eight titles about the ups and downs of friendship. One book on the list:

J. Courtney Sullivan, Commencement

I can still remember ripping through this book when I first got it, straight out of college myself. Like The Group, Commencement follows a group of friends who graduate from a Seven Sisters school (in this case, Smith) and embark on paths cleared for them by the feminists before them. Sullivan has such a talent for writing characters you love, and whose love for each other is utterly believable (and aspirational). You’ll root for Celia, Bree, Sally, and April as they test their friendships, families, and personal values, and come out stronger together.

Read about the other entries on the list at Lit Hub.

Commencement is among Julie Buntin's twelve books that totally get female friendship and Alexis Coe's ten books for recent grads.

The Page 69 Test: J. Courtney Sullivan's Commencement.

--Marshal Zeringue