For the most part, we’re all aware that friendship comes in a range of flavors — the internet’s primary impact on humanity might be adorable videos of unlikely animal friends. But until pretty recently, the culture at large designated most discussions or celebrations of friendships as strictly female. (If you’re unconvinced, ask a man if he still has his childhood “Be Fri” or “St Ends” locket.)
Enter the bromance, of which Wikipedia says “the emergence of the concept since the beginning of the 21st century has been seen as reflecting a change in societal perception and interest in the theme, with an increasing openness of society … to reconsider gender, sexuality, and exclusivity constraints.”
And yet the bromance has always been present in literature — like most concepts — long before the rest of society caught up. Here are some of the definitive literary male friendships, which we think you’ll agree enjoy their own special range of flavors.
BFFs: George and Lenny While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck’s work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men (1937), creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal: a friendship and shared dream that make an individual’s existence meaningful.
BFFs: D’Artagnan, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis Mixing a bit of seventeenth-century French history with a great deal of invention, Alexandre Dumas tells the tale of young D’Artagnan and his musketeer comrades, Porthos, Athos, and Aramis. Together they fight to foil the schemes of the brilliant, dangerous Cardinal Richelieu, who pretends to support the king while plotting to advance his own power. Bursting with swirling swordplay, swooning romance, and unforgettable figures.
I just finished this Pulitzer Prize-winning book. The sprawling story visits 1930s Prague, New York City during WWII, and the Arctic tundra of northern Canada. Our heroes escape the Holocaust, stake their claim in the burgeoning comic book industry, and encounter the censorship panic of the 1950s. David Colacci’s narration impressively embodies the variety accents and dialects native to long-ago Europe and New York. This 26-hour epic is well worth a credit and the time spent listening. –Scott, ACX Marketing Manager
BFFs: Sam and Frodo (and Merry and Pippin, and Legolas and Gimli). Really, they’re all BFFs. In this splendid, unabridged audio production of Tolkien’s great work, all the inhabitants of a magical universe — hobbits, elves, and wizards — step colorfully into life. Rob Inglis’ narration has been praised as a masterpiece of audio.
In a riveting, stream-of-consciousness style, Jack Kerouac tells the timeless story of a thrill-seeking road trip across the country in this American classic. Listeners will find themselves along for a chaotic ride across the United States in all its 1950s gritty glory. Narrator Will Patton does an excellent job of giving life to this irresistible tale of reckless adventure, evoking nostalgia for the endless possibilities of youth. On the Road is undoubtedly one of the best travel audiobooks, bound to spark desire for a life-changing getaway.
BFFs: Sherlock and Watson British stage-and-screen actor Patrick Tull gives an ebullient performance of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He has the remarkable ability to imbue each character with a distinctive voice, making the detective tales all the more enjoyable. This collection is comprised of eleven beloved stories including: “A Scandal in Bohemia” - the first and only appearance of the extraordinary Irene Adler - “The Speckled Band,” “The Man with the Twisted Lip,” and “The Blue Carbuncle.”
BFFs: Theo and Boris The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling force and acuity. It begins with a boy. Theo Decker, a 13-year-old New Yorker, miraculously survives an accident that kills his mother. Abandoned by his father, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. Bewildered by his strange new home on Park Avenue, disturbed by schoolmates who don’t know how to talk to him, and tormented above all by his unbearable longing for his mother, he clings to one thing that reminds him of her: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that ultimately draws Theo into the underworld of art.
BFFs: Willie Stark and Jack Burden The fictionalized account of Louisiana’s colorful and notorious governor, Huey Pierce Long, All the King’s Men follows the startling rise and fall of Willie Stark, a country lawyer in the Deep South of the 1930s. Beset by political enemies, Stark seeks aid from his right-hand man Jack Burden, who will bear witness to the cataclysmic unfolding of this very American tragedy.
BFFs: Huck and Jim Ernest Hemingway said, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.” One hundred years after its author’s death, this classic remains remarkably modern and poignantly relevant. In this edition, Elijah Wood reads Huck in a youthful voice that may be the closest interpretation to Twain’s original intent. His performance captures the excitement and confusion of adolescence and adventure. Best of all, the immediacy of Wood’s energetic reading sweeps listeners up and makes them feel as though they’re along for the ride, as Huck and Jim push their raft toward freedom.
