Why Childhood Friendships Feel So Intoxicating

Earlier this month, a new novel by the late French writer Simone de Beauvoir was published. Written nearly 70 years ago by a woman who died 35 years ago, follows the devoted, almost romantic friendship between fictionalized versions of de Beauvoir and her real-life childhood best friend, Zaza. De Beauvoir was besotted with Zaza. Her consuming infatuation with the girl seeps through every page—perhaps explaining why the author decided the book was .