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L鈥檃mica geniale #1
螚 蠀蟺苇蟻慰蠂畏 蠁委位畏 渭慰蠀
螆谓伪 蟽蠉纬蠂蟻慰谓慰 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰蠉蟻纬畏碌伪 伪蟺蠈 蟿畏谓 蟺喂慰 未畏碌慰蠁喂位萎 螜蟿伪位委未伪 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪 蟿畏蟼 蔚蟺慰蠂萎蟼 碌伪蟼. 螚 "违蟺苇蟻慰蠂畏 蠁委位畏 碌慰蠀", 蟿慰 蟺蟻蠋蟿慰 尾喂尾位委慰 蟿畏蟼 韦蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪蟼 蟿畏蟼 螡维蟺慰位畏蟼, 蔚委谓伪喂 畏 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 蟿畏蟼 螆位蔚谓伪蟼 魏伪喂 蟿畏蟼 螞委位伪蟼, 碌喂伪 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 蟺慰蠀 尉蔚魏喂谓维 蟿畏 未蔚魏伪蔚蟿委伪 蟿慰蠀 '50 碌蔚 蠁蠈谓蟿慰 碌喂伪 蠁蟿蠅蠂慰纬蔚喂蟿慰谓喂维 蟿畏蟼 螡维蟺慰位畏蟼. 螚 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 魏伪蟿伪未蠉蔚蟿伪喂 蟽蟿畏谓 蟺蔚蟻委蟺位慰魏畏 蠁蠉蟽畏 蟿畏蟼 蠁喂位委伪蟼 蟿蠅谓 未蠉慰 魏慰蟻喂蟿蟽喂蠋谓 蟺慰蠀 伪蟺蠈 苇蠁畏尾蔚蟼 纬委谓慰谓蟿伪喂 纬蠀谓伪委魏蔚蟼, 伪魏慰位慰蠀胃蠋谓蟿伪蟼 尾萎碌伪 尾萎碌伪 蟿畏谓 蔚尉苇位喂尉畏 魏伪胃蔚碌喂维蟼 尉蔚蠂蠅蟻喂蟽蟿维, 蟿慰谓 蟿蟻蠈蟺慰 蟺慰蠀 畏 碌委伪 蔚蟺畏蟻蔚维味蔚喂 蟿畏谓 维位位畏, 蟿伪 蟽蠀谓伪喂蟽胃萎碌伪蟿伪 蟺慰蠀 伪谓维 蟿喂蟼 未蔚魏伪蔚蟿委蔚蟼 蟿喂蟼 尾慰畏胃慰蠉谓 谓伪 蠂蟿委蟽慰蠀谓 碌喂伪 慰蠀蟽喂伪蟽蟿喂魏萎, 伪魏位蠈谓畏蟿畏 蟽蠂苇蟽畏. 螠蔚 伪蟺伪蟻维碌喂位位慰 蟽蟿喂位 魏伪喂 伪蠄蔚纬维未喂伪蟽蟿畏, 蟽蠂慰位伪蟽蟿喂魏萎 碌伪蟿喂维 畏 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 蟽蔚 碌喂伪 魏伪胃畏位蠅蟿喂魏萎 伪蠁萎纬畏蟽畏 尉蔚未喂蟺位蠋谓蔚喂 碌苇蟽伪 伪蟺蠈 蟿畏谓 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 碌喂伪蟼 蠁喂位委伪蟼 蟿畏谓 喂蟽蟿慰蟻委伪 碌喂伪蟼 纬蔚喂蟿慰谓喂维蟼, 碌喂伪蟼 蟺蠈位畏蟼 魏喂 蔚谓蟿苇位蔚喂 蔚谓蠈蟼 苇胃谓慰蠀蟼 蟺慰蠀 尾喂蠋谓蔚喂 魏慰蟽碌慰蠆蟽蟿慰蟻喂魏苇蟼 伪位位伪纬苇蟼 碌蔚 蟿慰 蟺苇蟻伪蟽碌伪 蟿蠅谓 未蔚魏伪蔚蟿喂蠋谓.
芦螝伪喂 蟿蔚位喂魏维 蟿慰 蟺蟻伪纬碌伪蟿喂魏蠈 胃苇碌伪 蟿畏蟼 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿慰 蟺蔚蟻喂胃蠋蟻喂慰 蟺慰蠀 苇蠂蔚喂 慰 魏伪胃苇谓伪蟼 伪蟺蠈 碌伪蟼, 蟿蠈蟽慰 碌蔚纬维位慰 魏伪喂 蟿蠈蟽慰 蔚位维蠂喂蟽蟿慰, 谓伪 未喂伪碌慰蟻蠁蠋蟽蔚喂 慰 委未喂慰蟼 蟿畏谓 蠉蟺伪蟻尉萎 蟿慰蠀. 螝喂 伪蠀蟿蠈 蟿慰 蟺蔚蟻喂胃蠋蟻喂慰 蔚尉蔚蟿维味蔚喂 伪蟺蠈 魏维胃蔚 蟿慰蠀 维蟺慰蠄畏, 蟺慰位喂蟿喂魏萎, 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏萎, 蠀蟺伪蟻尉喂伪魏萎... 螝伪蟿维 尾维胃慰蟼 伪蠀蟿萎 畏 韦蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪 蟿畏蟼 螡维蟺慰位畏蟼 胃伪 碌蟺慰蟻慰蠉蟽蔚 谓伪 慰谓慰碌伪蟽蟿蔚委 畏 蟿蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪 蟿畏蟼 蔚位蔚蠀胃蔚蟻委伪蟼禄. Le Monde des Livres
芦螡伪 未喂伪蟺慰蟿委蟽蔚喂蟼 蟿畏 碌蠀胃慰蟺位伪蟽委伪 碌蔚 蟿畏谓 伪未喂维位蠀蟿畏 未蠉谓伪碌畏 蟿畏蟼 味蠅萎蟼, 谓伪 蟿畏谓 魏维谓蔚喂蟼 谓伪 蔚委谓伪喂 蠈蠂喂 伪蟺位维 位苇尉蔚喂蟼 蟽蟿慰 蠂伪蟻蟿委 伪位位维 蔚蟽蠅蟿蔚蟻喂魏萎 未蠉谓伪碌畏, 伪蠀蟿蠈 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿慰 碌蔚纬伪位蠉蟿蔚蟻慰 蔚蟺委蟿蔚蠀纬碌伪 蟿畏蟼 蟿苇蠂谓畏蟼...禄 Financial Times
芦螚 维纬谓蠅蟽蟿畏 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 蔚谓蠈蟼 未喂维蟽畏碌慰蠀 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰蠀蟻纬萎碌伪蟿慰蟼... 螚 螆位蔚谓伪 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 伪谓伪纬谓蠅蟻委味蔚蟿伪喂 蟽蔚 蟺伪纬魏蠈蟽碌喂慰 蔚蟺委蟺蔚未慰 蠅蟼 碌喂伪 蟽蟺慰蠀未伪委伪 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 蟿畏蟼 蔚蟺慰蠂萎蟼 碌伪蟼. 螝伪谓蔚委蟼 碌伪蟼 蠈碌蠅蟼 未蔚 纬谓蠅蟻委味蔚喂 蟿畏谓 蟿伪蠀蟿蠈蟿畏蟿维 蟿畏蟼 魏伪喂 蔚魏蔚委谓畏 蔚委谓伪喂 伪蟺慰蠁伪蟽喂蟽碌苇谓畏 谓伪 碌畏谓 蟿畏谓 伪蟺慰魏伪位蠉蠄蔚喂禄. The Sunday Times
芦螌,蟿喂 魏伪位蠉蟿蔚蟻慰 未喂维尾伪蟽伪 蠁苇蟿慰蟼禄. Richard Flanagan
芦螚 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 碌喂位维蔚喂 纬喂伪 蟿喂蟼 纬蠀谓伪委魏蔚蟼 魏伪喂 蟿畏 蠁喂位委伪 碌蔚 伪蟽蠉位位畏蟺蟿畏 未蠉谓伪碌畏禄. Gwyneth Paltrow
芦螖喂伪尾维味慰谓蟿伪蟼 蟿畏 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 胃蠀碌萎胃畏魏伪 伪蠀蟿萎 蟿畏 蟽蠂蔚未蠈谓 蟺伪喂未喂维蟽蟿喂魏畏 苇尉伪蠄畏 谓伪 未喂伪尾维蟽蔚喂蟼 蟿畏谓 蔚蟺蠈碌蔚谓畏 蟽蔚位委未伪, 伪蠀蟿萎 蟿畏谓 伪委蟽胃畏蟽畏 蠈蟿喂 蟿伪 碌维蟿喂伪 蟽慰蠀 苇蠂慰蠀谓 尉蔚魏慰位位萎蟽蔚喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰 魏蔚蠁维位喂 蟽慰蠀, 伪蠀蟿萎 蟿畏 蟽魏苇蠄畏 蟺蠅蟼 蟺慰蟿苇 未蔚谓 蟺蔚蟻委碌蔚谓蔚蟼 蠈蟿喂 蟿伪 尾喂尾位委伪 碌蟺慰蟻慰蠉谓 谓伪 蟽慰蠀 蟿慰 魏维谓慰蠀谓 伪蠀蟿蠈!禄 Elizabeth Strout (尾蟻伪尾蔚委慰 螤慰蠉位喂蟿味蔚蟻)
芦螚 纬蟻伪蠁萎 蟿畏蟼 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 未蔚 纬谓蠅蟻委味蔚喂 蠈蟻喂伪, 碌蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 慰未畏纬萎蟽蔚喂 蟿畏谓 魏维胃蔚 蟽魏苇蠄畏 蟽蟿慰 蟻畏尉喂魏苇位蔚蠀胃慰 伪蟺慰蟿苇位蔚蟽碌伪 魏伪喂 伪谓蟿委蟽蟿慰喂蠂伪 谓伪 纬蠀蟻委蟽蔚喂 蟺委蟽蠅 蟽蟿畏谓 蟺喂慰 伪魏蟻伪委伪 蟿畏蟼 伪蟻蠂萎...禄 The New Yorker
芦螆谓伪 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰蠉蟻纬畏碌伪, 蟺苇蟻伪 伪蟺蠈 蠈蟻喂伪 魏伪喂 蔚委未畏禄. Il Salvagente
芦螣喂 纬蠀谓伪委魏蔚蟼 蟿畏蟼 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 蔚委谓伪喂 蟺蟻伪纬碌伪蟿喂魏维 苇蟻纬伪 蟿苇蠂谓畏蟼!禄 El Pais
芦桅伪谓蟿伪蟽蟿蔚委蟿蔚 蟿畏谓 韦味苇喂谓 螌蟽蟿蔚谓 胃蠀碌蠅碌苇谓畏 魏伪喂 胃伪 苇蠂蔚蟿蔚 碌喂伪 喂未苇伪 蟿慰蠀 蟺蠈蟽慰 蔚魏蟻畏魏蟿喂魏维 蟽蟺慰蠀未伪委伪 蔚委谓伪喂 伪蠀蟿萎 畏 韦蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪 蟿畏蟼 螡维蟺慰位畏蟼!禄 The Australian
芦螝伪喂 蟿蔚位喂魏维 蟿慰 蟺蟻伪纬碌伪蟿喂魏蠈 胃苇碌伪 蟿畏蟼 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿慰 蟺蔚蟻喂胃蠋蟻喂慰 蟺慰蠀 苇蠂蔚喂 慰 魏伪胃苇谓伪蟼 伪蟺蠈 碌伪蟼, 蟿蠈蟽慰 碌蔚纬维位慰 魏伪喂 蟿蠈蟽慰 蔚位维蠂喂蟽蟿慰, 谓伪 未喂伪碌慰蟻蠁蠋蟽蔚喂 慰 委未喂慰蟼 蟿畏谓 蠉蟺伪蟻尉萎 蟿慰蠀. 螝喂 伪蠀蟿蠈 蟿慰 蟺蔚蟻喂胃蠋蟻喂慰 蔚尉蔚蟿维味蔚喂 伪蟺蠈 魏维胃蔚 蟿慰蠀 维蟺慰蠄畏, 蟺慰位喂蟿喂魏萎, 蟺蟻慰蟽蠅蟺喂魏萎, 蠀蟺伪蟻尉喂伪魏萎... 螝伪蟿维 尾维胃慰蟼 伪蠀蟿萎 畏 韦蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪 蟿畏蟼 螡维蟺慰位畏蟼 胃伪 碌蟺慰蟻慰蠉蟽蔚 谓伪 慰谓慰碌伪蟽蟿蔚委 畏 蟿蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪 蟿畏蟼 蔚位蔚蠀胃蔚蟻委伪蟼禄. Le Monde des Livres
芦螡伪 未喂伪蟺慰蟿委蟽蔚喂蟼 蟿畏 碌蠀胃慰蟺位伪蟽委伪 碌蔚 蟿畏谓 伪未喂维位蠀蟿畏 未蠉谓伪碌畏 蟿畏蟼 味蠅萎蟼, 谓伪 蟿畏谓 魏维谓蔚喂蟼 谓伪 蔚委谓伪喂 蠈蠂喂 伪蟺位维 位苇尉蔚喂蟼 蟽蟿慰 蠂伪蟻蟿委 伪位位维 蔚蟽蠅蟿蔚蟻喂魏萎 未蠉谓伪碌畏, 伪蠀蟿蠈 蔚委谓伪喂 蟿慰 碌蔚纬伪位蠉蟿蔚蟻慰 蔚蟺委蟿蔚蠀纬碌伪 蟿畏蟼 蟿苇蠂谓畏蟼...禄 Financial Times
芦螚 维纬谓蠅蟽蟿畏 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 蔚谓蠈蟼 未喂维蟽畏碌慰蠀 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰蠀蟻纬萎碌伪蟿慰蟼... 螚 螆位蔚谓伪 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 伪谓伪纬谓蠅蟻委味蔚蟿伪喂 蟽蔚 蟺伪纬魏蠈蟽碌喂慰 蔚蟺委蟺蔚未慰 蠅蟼 碌喂伪 蟽蟺慰蠀未伪委伪 蟽蠀纬纬蟻伪蠁苇伪蟼 蟿畏蟼 蔚蟺慰蠂萎蟼 碌伪蟼. 螝伪谓蔚委蟼 碌伪蟼 蠈碌蠅蟼 未蔚 纬谓蠅蟻委味蔚喂 蟿畏谓 蟿伪蠀蟿蠈蟿畏蟿维 蟿畏蟼 魏伪喂 蔚魏蔚委谓畏 蔚委谓伪喂 伪蟺慰蠁伪蟽喂蟽碌苇谓畏 谓伪 碌畏谓 蟿畏谓 伪蟺慰魏伪位蠉蠄蔚喂禄. The Sunday Times
芦螌,蟿喂 魏伪位蠉蟿蔚蟻慰 未喂维尾伪蟽伪 蠁苇蟿慰蟼禄. Richard Flanagan
芦螚 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 碌喂位维蔚喂 纬喂伪 蟿喂蟼 纬蠀谓伪委魏蔚蟼 魏伪喂 蟿畏 蠁喂位委伪 碌蔚 伪蟽蠉位位畏蟺蟿畏 未蠉谓伪碌畏禄. Gwyneth Paltrow
芦螖喂伪尾维味慰谓蟿伪蟼 蟿畏 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 胃蠀碌萎胃畏魏伪 伪蠀蟿萎 蟿畏 蟽蠂蔚未蠈谓 蟺伪喂未喂维蟽蟿喂魏畏 苇尉伪蠄畏 谓伪 未喂伪尾维蟽蔚喂蟼 蟿畏谓 蔚蟺蠈碌蔚谓畏 蟽蔚位委未伪, 伪蠀蟿萎 蟿畏谓 伪委蟽胃畏蟽畏 蠈蟿喂 蟿伪 碌维蟿喂伪 蟽慰蠀 苇蠂慰蠀谓 尉蔚魏慰位位萎蟽蔚喂 伪蟺蠈 蟿慰 魏蔚蠁维位喂 蟽慰蠀, 伪蠀蟿萎 蟿畏 蟽魏苇蠄畏 蟺蠅蟼 蟺慰蟿苇 未蔚谓 蟺蔚蟻委碌蔚谓蔚蟼 蠈蟿喂 蟿伪 尾喂尾位委伪 碌蟺慰蟻慰蠉谓 谓伪 蟽慰蠀 蟿慰 魏维谓慰蠀谓 伪蠀蟿蠈!禄 Elizabeth Strout (尾蟻伪尾蔚委慰 螤慰蠉位喂蟿味蔚蟻)
芦螚 纬蟻伪蠁萎 蟿畏蟼 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 未蔚 纬谓蠅蟻委味蔚喂 蠈蟻喂伪, 碌蟺慰蟻蔚委 谓伪 慰未畏纬萎蟽蔚喂 蟿畏谓 魏维胃蔚 蟽魏苇蠄畏 蟽蟿慰 蟻畏尉喂魏苇位蔚蠀胃慰 伪蟺慰蟿苇位蔚蟽碌伪 魏伪喂 伪谓蟿委蟽蟿慰喂蠂伪 谓伪 纬蠀蟻委蟽蔚喂 蟺委蟽蠅 蟽蟿畏谓 蟺喂慰 伪魏蟻伪委伪 蟿畏蟼 伪蟻蠂萎...禄 The New Yorker
芦螆谓伪 伪蟻喂蟽蟿慰蠉蟻纬畏碌伪, 蟺苇蟻伪 伪蟺蠈 蠈蟻喂伪 魏伪喂 蔚委未畏禄. Il Salvagente
芦螣喂 纬蠀谓伪委魏蔚蟼 蟿畏蟼 桅蔚蟻蟻维谓蟿蔚 蔚委谓伪喂 蟺蟻伪纬碌伪蟿喂魏维 苇蟻纬伪 蟿苇蠂谓畏蟼!禄 El Pais
芦桅伪谓蟿伪蟽蟿蔚委蟿蔚 蟿畏谓 韦味苇喂谓 螌蟽蟿蔚谓 胃蠀碌蠅碌苇谓畏 魏伪喂 胃伪 苇蠂蔚蟿蔚 碌喂伪 喂未苇伪 蟿慰蠀 蟺蠈蟽慰 蔚魏蟻畏魏蟿喂魏维 蟽蟺慰蠀未伪委伪 蔚委谓伪喂 伪蠀蟿萎 畏 韦蔚蟿蟻伪位慰纬委伪 蟿畏蟼 螡维蟺慰位畏蟼!禄 The Australian
440 pages, ebook
First published October 19, 2011
39455 people are currently reading
398565 people want to read
About the author
Elena Ferrante
51听books18.3k听followersElena Ferrante is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of Neapolitan Novels are her most widely known works.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40,511 reviews
February 11, 2015
I received this book as a Christmas present from my boss over a year ago. In fact, everyone in the office received a copy 鈥� that鈥檚 how much our boss wanted us to read it. Before you start wondering what sort of wonderful place I worked at, let me clarify it was a literary agency, so such things were totally commonplace. So despite the terrible cover, and a rather idiotic blurb I knew it would be a fine book.
No review of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 book is complete without a mention of how no one knows who Ferrante is or even if she exists as an individual woman at all. Personally, I find this whole mystery of little interest as I share her view that all that the author wants to say she should say in the book and there is no need for the entire marketing circus.
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 Naples novels have been compared to Knausgaard鈥檚 magnum opus because both authors can be characterised by their hyperreal scrutiny which seemingly can only be achieved in autobiographical novels. The autobiographical component is official in case of Knausgaard and alleged in 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚. Additionally, Knausgaard has happily joined the marketing circus, which is why I find 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 presumed exhibitionism a lot more palatable.
These books defiantly ignore all creative writing advice and cheerfully tell and not show, abandon all sensible plot structure and introduce as many characters as they feel like, not really caring whether that whole cast is in any way necessary. Neither do they have time for stylistic flourishes. 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose is bare; the language takes a back seat and is nothing more than a tool to the narrative that is pushed forward by its own urgency. What we are left with, though, is so vivid and authentic that no carefully polished novel could compete with it. This is great news. Rejoice, people, because in the age when it is possible to get a DEGREE in novel writing (without having to write anything of significance), comes a book which just doesn鈥檛 give a shit and still manages to steal the hearts of thousands.
I don鈥檛 suppose I have to explain what this book is about, because you have other reviews for that. But in short it鈥檚 about the intense friendship and rivalry between two girls growing up in the impoverished outskirts of Naples. You might argue it鈥檚 a book about female experience, and to an extent it certainly is, but judging by how much men love this book, I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 rather universal. But then, I generally feel female experience, once stripped of all telling signs could be pretty universal, because, you know, women are people too. Anyway, to me this book was more about class than gender. That constant anger, violence, the 鈥榣et鈥檚 get them before they get us鈥� feel permeates the novel. And the moral, if 鈥楳y Brilliant Friend鈥� has a moral at all, is that you can take a girl out of the Naples slums, but you can鈥檛 take the Naples slums out of the girl. Make no mistake, though. This is by no means an emotionally manipulative misery memoir. This is a story of childhood that simply doesn鈥檛 know it鈥檚 underprivileged.
No review of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 book is complete without a mention of how no one knows who Ferrante is or even if she exists as an individual woman at all. Personally, I find this whole mystery of little interest as I share her view that all that the author wants to say she should say in the book and there is no need for the entire marketing circus.
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 Naples novels have been compared to Knausgaard鈥檚 magnum opus because both authors can be characterised by their hyperreal scrutiny which seemingly can only be achieved in autobiographical novels. The autobiographical component is official in case of Knausgaard and alleged in 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚. Additionally, Knausgaard has happily joined the marketing circus, which is why I find 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 presumed exhibitionism a lot more palatable.
These books defiantly ignore all creative writing advice and cheerfully tell and not show, abandon all sensible plot structure and introduce as many characters as they feel like, not really caring whether that whole cast is in any way necessary. Neither do they have time for stylistic flourishes. 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose is bare; the language takes a back seat and is nothing more than a tool to the narrative that is pushed forward by its own urgency. What we are left with, though, is so vivid and authentic that no carefully polished novel could compete with it. This is great news. Rejoice, people, because in the age when it is possible to get a DEGREE in novel writing (without having to write anything of significance), comes a book which just doesn鈥檛 give a shit and still manages to steal the hearts of thousands.
I don鈥檛 suppose I have to explain what this book is about, because you have other reviews for that. But in short it鈥檚 about the intense friendship and rivalry between two girls growing up in the impoverished outskirts of Naples. You might argue it鈥檚 a book about female experience, and to an extent it certainly is, but judging by how much men love this book, I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 rather universal. But then, I generally feel female experience, once stripped of all telling signs could be pretty universal, because, you know, women are people too. Anyway, to me this book was more about class than gender. That constant anger, violence, the 鈥榣et鈥檚 get them before they get us鈥� feel permeates the novel. And the moral, if 鈥楳y Brilliant Friend鈥� has a moral at all, is that you can take a girl out of the Naples slums, but you can鈥檛 take the Naples slums out of the girl. Make no mistake, though. This is by no means an emotionally manipulative misery memoir. This is a story of childhood that simply doesn鈥檛 know it鈥檚 underprivileged.
December 28, 2015
I have been studying Italian in my free time and so decided to try reading one of the most popular Italian writers of today: Elena Ferrante. There have been many articles about this author's mysterious anonymity. Her real identity is unknown except to her publisher because she wishes to have a normal life. I get that. Still, it only adds to the intrigue, as you can't help but wonder who writes these marvelous books. My Brilliant Friend is not the sort of book I would normally pick up as I prefer fantasy fiction. This is contemporary realistic fiction about two women who grow up together in the 1950s and 1960s in a poor neighborhood in Naples. The cast of characters is large, and for me, an American reader, I was missing some cultural context that made it a little bewildering at first. I read the book in English (because my Italian is not that good yet) and the style was both deeply intimate and jarringly matter-of-fact. The narrator Elena tells us everything about her upbringing in a neighborhood where harsh poverty is the norm and family violence is unremarkable, even, for instance, when a father sends a daughter flying out a second story window. Elena grows up side by side with her friend/foil/personal albatross Lila, who is naturally brilliant at everything and more beautiful than Elena, but who is held down by circumstances to work in her father's shoe store while Elena has a chance to escape her life through education. The book is a blow-by-blow confessional, following the two girls from their earliest memories through their early adulthood. The short chapters keep the pages turning, and by the end of the novel I found myself very involved in the lives of the characters. It is epic in the best sense of the word, and yet quiet and personal in its scope. At the end, there is a cliffhanger so brutal I immediately had to go and buy the next volume of this series. Wow, cliffhangers work! I should try them some time . . .
September 30, 2014
I tried. I tried. I tried. For 200 pages I tried to see what it is about this writer that gets such acclaim, but with 130 pages to go, I abandoned it - there are just too many other books in my waiting pile that I want to read.
This book was chosen for book club which is why I persisted so long (I normally stop reading a book pretty quickly if it doesn't engage me).
I didn't develop any concern for the characters, and found it really repetitive - different stage school/same response from parents/same competitiveness with Lila/ it just went on and on and didn't seem to GO anywhere. It was supposed to be the story of a friendship from childhood until womanhood, set in Naples in the 1950's - but I then discovered this book only goes up until the two girls are 16 - there is a sequel - and at that point I decided OH ENOUGH! I realised I was not even going to get some sort of satisfaction from finishing it. Endless minor characters proved annoying and I gave up trying to keep up with who they were (despite the list in the front of the book) as well as all the interludes with various boys.
This book was chosen for book club which is why I persisted so long (I normally stop reading a book pretty quickly if it doesn't engage me).
I didn't develop any concern for the characters, and found it really repetitive - different stage school/same response from parents/same competitiveness with Lila/ it just went on and on and didn't seem to GO anywhere. It was supposed to be the story of a friendship from childhood until womanhood, set in Naples in the 1950's - but I then discovered this book only goes up until the two girls are 16 - there is a sequel - and at that point I decided OH ENOUGH! I realised I was not even going to get some sort of satisfaction from finishing it. Endless minor characters proved annoying and I gave up trying to keep up with who they were (despite the list in the front of the book) as well as all the interludes with various boys.
November 5, 2021
Anne of Green Gables if it was set in a rough Italian neighborhood and written by Donna Tartt.
September 12, 2024
鈥�What you do, I do.鈥�
A lifelong friend is a truly special bond. With roots of friendship growing from a shared childhood soil, continuing to coil around one another鈥檚 lives through all the pruning of teenage years into adulthood, and having weathering the storms across the years together, it is a bond that bears many secrets and scars but also deep understanding. A lifetime contained in a companionship. My Brilliant Friend, the first of the Neapolitan Quartet from Elena Ferrante introduces us to Elena Greco and Raffaella Cerullo鈥擫en霉 and Lila, though everyone else calls her Lina鈥攁s adult Elena plunges us back through her memories to trace the trajectories of their lives. It is a brilliant novel, easily one of my favorites I read this year and one that consumed my thoughts and emotions in its epic of adolescence. Here we find life in a changing world as 鈥�a sticky, jumbled reality鈥� and watch the ways various ambitions play out to survive it. Across the pages of My Brilliant Friend, we experience a vastness of a community through a portrait of friendship, with 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose perfectly expressing naked honesty and heartfelt struggles to achieve in a violent, patriarchal community and comprehend oneself as an individual instead of merely in the context of a close companion.
鈥�There was something unbearable in the things, in the people, in the buildings, in the streets that, only if you reinvented it all, as in a game, became acceptable. The essential, however, was to know how to play, and she and I, only she and I, knew how to do it.鈥�
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 My Brilliant Friend moves at the slow yet steady pace of life through the days of childhood into adolescence. The pace and introspective narration鈥攚hich sets Len霉鈥檚 sharp mind like a scalpel upon all she encounters鈥攍ulls the reader into an intimacy with the characters as if you, too, have grown up alongside them and each moment of anger or betrayal hits all the harder. While the novel contains multitudes in its thematic scope鈥攃ommunity amidst violence and class disparity, the struggles of girlhood in an atmosphere of oppressive masculinity, education, language, and more鈥攖he heart beating boldly at the core of this impressive work is an exploration of friendship. A very complex friendship at that, so much so that Ferrante 鈥� in its first rough draft, the story of Lila and Len霉 fit very easily into a single, substantial volume,鈥� but upon writing realized how much nuance needed to be investigated until it became a four novel epic.
鈥�I had grown up with those boys, I considered their behavoir normal, their violent language was mine.鈥�
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 use of language is so direct, gritty and raw, often launching into a series of astute observations that leave you breathless. She has an unmistakable skill for crafting dynamic characters, their actions reading as so intimate and honest and the relationships so emotionally charged and complex. I enjoy how through the novel we see the side-characters also grow from children to young adults, not with a straight trajectory of unified personality but more a messy and amorphous growth that, in hindsight we can detect the a linearity but in the present can often be surprising much like how growing up with someone really is.The novel figures prominently into the story and multiple themes, and I felt there was an kinship of emotional resonance between Alcott鈥檚 work and 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 in the way we are privy to the complexities of interpersonal relationships as they navigate towards adulthood.
鈥�I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence.鈥�
The story takes us into a neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples in the 1950s and into the violence of abuse, power and poverty. It is also the childhood home of the author, and while she doesn鈥檛 see the violence there as unique, it does register more strongly in contrast to the beauty of the region:
We witness violence as rather commonplace, even amongst the children (a key early bonding moment between Lila and Len霉 involves throwing rocks at boys), and toxic masculinity runs rampant. Told through the perspective of a child, we see how all the ugliness feels a natural part of their world, inseparable from daily life. Though early on we see a key realization when Len霉 is shocked to find that Don Achille, the 鈥�ogre of fables鈥� is actually 鈥�a little out of proportion, but ordinary.鈥� Violence is everywhere and commonplace reality is far more menacing than any mythical creature.
Class divide is also inextricably linked here. Frequently we see resentments over class, or feelings of inadequacy, manifest into anger and violence. Or how those in power protect themselves through violence and intimidation. There are also deep resentments over the past and several characters have an awakening of the former sins in their community wrapped up in national politics and abuse against their own neighbors. It is not far out from the downfall of Mussolini and the fascists, which still casts a dark shadow over everything.
Though in hard times, one often finds a companion to bear the burden and what better companion for the perceptive Len霉 than Lila, a girl seemingly misunderstood but in whom Len霉 find 鈥�the characteristic of absolute determination.鈥� Their dynamic across the years is something that will forever shake inside me and I found it such a powerful expression of the ways we tend to perceive ourselves through the fragments reflected back by others. Their bond is both companionship and competition, at least how Len霉 perceives it, and she spends her life in constant self-comparison to Lila. It is powerfully portrayed how she always feels second best to her friend, and while she also find strength through Lila she also seems to be creating a sense of identity that can only be understood in the context of Lila. In this way, she is fearful of anything that separates them, finding that if Lila has a life without her she will lose sight of her own self as well.
鈥� She stopped to wait for me, and when I reached her she gave me her hand. This gesture changed everything between us forever.鈥�
It is a novel teeming with comparisons and her entire coming-of-age is always measured against her friend. Len霉鈥檚 constant self-assesment of her body is contrasted to Lila鈥攕he develops earlier but feels slighted that Lila is uninterested in this only to later feel less attractive once Lila matures鈥攁s well as her academic success, feeling Lila鈥檚 studies of language despite not attending school surpass her own abilities and, essentially, Len霉鈥檚 sense of self-worth is that no matter how good she is, Lila is always better. I particularly enjoyed how language is so central to the book, but also an aspect that is both connection and competition. This is most notable when her pride in her own writing is shattered by a single letter from Lila she perceives as superior. It is suspected later that Lila reading Len霉鈥檚 article causes her to realize Len霉 has indeed surpassed her, but we only understand Lila through Len霉鈥檚 gaze. Ferrante has said the original draft intended to give Lila a voice, but she realized it is more effective to be confined to Len霉鈥檚 impressions and anxieties so Lila remains as mysterious to us as she is to Len霉.
鈥�She was struggling to find, from inside the cage in which she was enclosed, a way of being all her own, that was still obscure to her.鈥�
Returning to , I find it telling that it was this book that set them off on their goals to create鈥攖o write novels for both but later Lila changes towards wanting to create her own style of shoe鈥攁nd how, like the sister鈥檚 in Alcott鈥檚 work, they take different paths to try and overcome a society that has little room for the ambitions of women. The theme of trying to break outside the socioeconomic or gender barriers seems metaphored in Lila's condition where she sees the world as 'dissolving barriers.' For Len霉 it is a path of academics, pursuing and achieving far beyond the usual room given to girls. Yet, by the end, we see it has alienated her from the life of her neighborhood. Lila abandons school but chases a dream to create and rise out of poverty through marriage (also to escape a worse relationship). They both discover that they are judged for these paths and Len霉鈥檚 fear that she is never good enough suddenly opens into a different anxiety that she is too good for her own contemporaries that 'I had also been following daily a path that they were completely ignorant of,' and now 'I had to suppress myself.' Which is altogether a tragic thought as, now that she finally has something to be proud of as an achievement of her own not in the shadow of Lila, it is something beyond comprehension of her peers and makes her feel alienated. Her own teacher had long warned her away from Lila, seeing Lila as just another person who will be wasted in the whirlwind of poverty and violence that seems inescapable.
The threat of violence and masculinity is constantly thwarting them. Lenu鈥檚 own struggles with her feelings for Nino are complicated by the sexual advances of his father, for instance. Lila is stuck in a bad situation because the wealthy and abusive Marcello holds his power over the fate of her family if she does not marry him. The shoes, which are a symbol of hope and ambition throughout the novel, are later transformed into a symbol of betrayal and a warning that all ambition and advancement is gatekept by men and at the mercy of larger powers of wealth.
鈥�She gave off a glow that seemed a violent slap in the face of the poverty of the neighborhood.鈥�
I adored this novel. I've had quite the run of great books at the end of this year and this is another headed straight to my "favorites" list. It is gritty, it is shocking, it is emotionally introspective, it is a stunning look at a whole community and most strikingly, everything about it feels so true and honest and intimate. I felt for Lenu every step of the way, I felt her hopes and Lila鈥檚 frustrations as if they were my own Ferrante drew me in so deeply into her work. There are some absolutely breathtaking moments of writing here, the whole final sequence especially had me shivering in literary glee and tension, particularly the moment where we get an unexpected insight on the 鈥榖rilliant friend鈥� of the title. For me, My Brilliant Friend was just that: brilliant. I鈥檓 already diving into the second volume and Lenu, Lila and the cast of character鈥檚 around Naples have completely stolen my heart.
5/5
鈥�We were little animals frightened of our own mediocrity.鈥�
A lifelong friend is a truly special bond. With roots of friendship growing from a shared childhood soil, continuing to coil around one another鈥檚 lives through all the pruning of teenage years into adulthood, and having weathering the storms across the years together, it is a bond that bears many secrets and scars but also deep understanding. A lifetime contained in a companionship. My Brilliant Friend, the first of the Neapolitan Quartet from Elena Ferrante introduces us to Elena Greco and Raffaella Cerullo鈥擫en霉 and Lila, though everyone else calls her Lina鈥攁s adult Elena plunges us back through her memories to trace the trajectories of their lives. It is a brilliant novel, easily one of my favorites I read this year and one that consumed my thoughts and emotions in its epic of adolescence. Here we find life in a changing world as 鈥�a sticky, jumbled reality鈥� and watch the ways various ambitions play out to survive it. Across the pages of My Brilliant Friend, we experience a vastness of a community through a portrait of friendship, with 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose perfectly expressing naked honesty and heartfelt struggles to achieve in a violent, patriarchal community and comprehend oneself as an individual instead of merely in the context of a close companion.
鈥�There was something unbearable in the things, in the people, in the buildings, in the streets that, only if you reinvented it all, as in a game, became acceptable. The essential, however, was to know how to play, and she and I, only she and I, knew how to do it.鈥�
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 My Brilliant Friend moves at the slow yet steady pace of life through the days of childhood into adolescence. The pace and introspective narration鈥攚hich sets Len霉鈥檚 sharp mind like a scalpel upon all she encounters鈥攍ulls the reader into an intimacy with the characters as if you, too, have grown up alongside them and each moment of anger or betrayal hits all the harder. While the novel contains multitudes in its thematic scope鈥攃ommunity amidst violence and class disparity, the struggles of girlhood in an atmosphere of oppressive masculinity, education, language, and more鈥攖he heart beating boldly at the core of this impressive work is an exploration of friendship. A very complex friendship at that, so much so that Ferrante 鈥� in its first rough draft, the story of Lila and Len霉 fit very easily into a single, substantial volume,鈥� but upon writing realized how much nuance needed to be investigated until it became a four novel epic.
鈥�I had grown up with those boys, I considered their behavoir normal, their violent language was mine.鈥�
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 use of language is so direct, gritty and raw, often launching into a series of astute observations that leave you breathless. She has an unmistakable skill for crafting dynamic characters, their actions reading as so intimate and honest and the relationships so emotionally charged and complex. I enjoy how through the novel we see the side-characters also grow from children to young adults, not with a straight trajectory of unified personality but more a messy and amorphous growth that, in hindsight we can detect the a linearity but in the present can often be surprising much like how growing up with someone really is.The novel figures prominently into the story and multiple themes, and I felt there was an kinship of emotional resonance between Alcott鈥檚 work and 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 in the way we are privy to the complexities of interpersonal relationships as they navigate towards adulthood.
鈥�I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence.鈥�
The story takes us into a neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples in the 1950s and into the violence of abuse, power and poverty. It is also the childhood home of the author, and while she doesn鈥檛 see the violence there as unique, it does register more strongly in contrast to the beauty of the region:
Since it is a city by nature of astonishing beauty, the ugly 鈥� criminality, violence, corruption, connivance, the aggressive fear in which we live defenseless, the deterioration of democracy 鈥� stands out more clearly.鈥�
-Ferrante, in conversation with
We witness violence as rather commonplace, even amongst the children (a key early bonding moment between Lila and Len霉 involves throwing rocks at boys), and toxic masculinity runs rampant. Told through the perspective of a child, we see how all the ugliness feels a natural part of their world, inseparable from daily life. Though early on we see a key realization when Len霉 is shocked to find that Don Achille, the 鈥�ogre of fables鈥� is actually 鈥�a little out of proportion, but ordinary.鈥� Violence is everywhere and commonplace reality is far more menacing than any mythical creature.
鈥�I would have liked the nice manners that the teacher and the priest preached, but I felt that those ways were not suited to our neighborhood, even if you were a girl.鈥�
Class divide is also inextricably linked here. Frequently we see resentments over class, or feelings of inadequacy, manifest into anger and violence. Or how those in power protect themselves through violence and intimidation. There are also deep resentments over the past and several characters have an awakening of the former sins in their community wrapped up in national politics and abuse against their own neighbors. It is not far out from the downfall of Mussolini and the fascists, which still casts a dark shadow over everything.
Though in hard times, one often finds a companion to bear the burden and what better companion for the perceptive Len霉 than Lila, a girl seemingly misunderstood but in whom Len霉 find 鈥�the characteristic of absolute determination.鈥� Their dynamic across the years is something that will forever shake inside me and I found it such a powerful expression of the ways we tend to perceive ourselves through the fragments reflected back by others. Their bond is both companionship and competition, at least how Len霉 perceives it, and she spends her life in constant self-comparison to Lila. It is powerfully portrayed how she always feels second best to her friend, and while she also find strength through Lila she also seems to be creating a sense of identity that can only be understood in the context of Lila. In this way, she is fearful of anything that separates them, finding that if Lila has a life without her she will lose sight of her own self as well.
鈥� She stopped to wait for me, and when I reached her she gave me her hand. This gesture changed everything between us forever.鈥�
It is a novel teeming with comparisons and her entire coming-of-age is always measured against her friend. Len霉鈥檚 constant self-assesment of her body is contrasted to Lila鈥攕he develops earlier but feels slighted that Lila is uninterested in this only to later feel less attractive once Lila matures鈥攁s well as her academic success, feeling Lila鈥檚 studies of language despite not attending school surpass her own abilities and, essentially, Len霉鈥檚 sense of self-worth is that no matter how good she is, Lila is always better. I particularly enjoyed how language is so central to the book, but also an aspect that is both connection and competition. This is most notable when her pride in her own writing is shattered by a single letter from Lila she perceives as superior. It is suspected later that Lila reading Len霉鈥檚 article causes her to realize Len霉 has indeed surpassed her, but we only understand Lila through Len霉鈥檚 gaze. Ferrante has said the original draft intended to give Lila a voice, but she realized it is more effective to be confined to Len霉鈥檚 impressions and anxieties so Lila remains as mysterious to us as she is to Len霉.
鈥�She was struggling to find, from inside the cage in which she was enclosed, a way of being all her own, that was still obscure to her.鈥�
Returning to , I find it telling that it was this book that set them off on their goals to create鈥攖o write novels for both but later Lila changes towards wanting to create her own style of shoe鈥攁nd how, like the sister鈥檚 in Alcott鈥檚 work, they take different paths to try and overcome a society that has little room for the ambitions of women. The theme of trying to break outside the socioeconomic or gender barriers seems metaphored in Lila's condition where she sees the world as 'dissolving barriers.' For Len霉 it is a path of academics, pursuing and achieving far beyond the usual room given to girls. Yet, by the end, we see it has alienated her from the life of her neighborhood. Lila abandons school but chases a dream to create and rise out of poverty through marriage (also to escape a worse relationship). They both discover that they are judged for these paths and Len霉鈥檚 fear that she is never good enough suddenly opens into a different anxiety that she is too good for her own contemporaries that 'I had also been following daily a path that they were completely ignorant of,' and now 'I had to suppress myself.' Which is altogether a tragic thought as, now that she finally has something to be proud of as an achievement of her own not in the shadow of Lila, it is something beyond comprehension of her peers and makes her feel alienated. Her own teacher had long warned her away from Lila, seeing Lila as just another person who will be wasted in the whirlwind of poverty and violence that seems inescapable.
鈥�At that moment I knew what the plebs were, much more clearly than when, years earlier, she had asked me. The plebs were us. The plebs were that fight for food and wine, that quarrel over who should be served first and better, that dirty floor on which the waiters clattered back and forth, those increasingly vulgar toasts. The plebs were my mother, who had drunk wine and now was leaning against my father鈥檚 shoulder, while he, serious, laughed, his mouth gaping, at the sexual allusions of the metal dealer. They were all laughing, even Lila, with the expression of one who has a role and will play it to the utmost.鈥�
The threat of violence and masculinity is constantly thwarting them. Lenu鈥檚 own struggles with her feelings for Nino are complicated by the sexual advances of his father, for instance. Lila is stuck in a bad situation because the wealthy and abusive Marcello holds his power over the fate of her family if she does not marry him. The shoes, which are a symbol of hope and ambition throughout the novel, are later transformed into a symbol of betrayal and a warning that all ambition and advancement is gatekept by men and at the mercy of larger powers of wealth.
鈥�She gave off a glow that seemed a violent slap in the face of the poverty of the neighborhood.鈥�
I adored this novel. I've had quite the run of great books at the end of this year and this is another headed straight to my "favorites" list. It is gritty, it is shocking, it is emotionally introspective, it is a stunning look at a whole community and most strikingly, everything about it feels so true and honest and intimate. I felt for Lenu every step of the way, I felt her hopes and Lila鈥檚 frustrations as if they were my own Ferrante drew me in so deeply into her work. There are some absolutely breathtaking moments of writing here, the whole final sequence especially had me shivering in literary glee and tension, particularly the moment where we get an unexpected insight on the 鈥榖rilliant friend鈥� of the title. For me, My Brilliant Friend was just that: brilliant. I鈥檓 already diving into the second volume and Lenu, Lila and the cast of character鈥檚 around Naples have completely stolen my heart.
5/5
鈥�We were little animals frightened of our own mediocrity.鈥�
December 22, 2021
1 "sweet Jesus...this is the first of four books" stars !!!
2018 Read I was Most Afraid to Hate Award
First of all a bit of translation
In English we say blahblahblah. In Italian they say blablabla.
Ms. Ferrante separates this book into two sections: Childhood (18 chapters) and Adolescence (62 chapters)
Childhood Ch 1 to 9
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablablablablablablablablab and blablablablabla
Jaidee: God I hope this gets better
Childhood Ch 10-14
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablablablabla and blablablablabla
Jaidee: This is boring me to tears !
Adolescence Ch 1 - 12
Ms. Ferrante writes: bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla
Jaidee: What's with the three creepy little girls with crinoline on the cover?
Adolescence Ch 13-36
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablablablablabalbla blablablabla bla bla bla
Jaidee: Oh I guess this about a lot of blablabla....when does it get good....forty three people and their mother insisted that I read this !!
Adolescence Ch 37 to 54
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablabla blabla bla blabla bla
Jaidee: Please let this be over and What the fuck am I missing....oh yes maybe a few blablablas !!
Adolescence Ch 54 to 62
Ms. Ferrante writes: Bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla !!!
Jaidee: Am I in Purgatory ??
I am guessing the content of Books 2 through 4 will be
Blablablablablabla and more blablablablablabla
I will not be finding out !
I say Bleh Bleh Blech !!
2018 Read I was Most Afraid to Hate Award
First of all a bit of translation
In English we say blahblahblah. In Italian they say blablabla.
Ms. Ferrante separates this book into two sections: Childhood (18 chapters) and Adolescence (62 chapters)
Childhood Ch 1 to 9
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablablablablablablablablab and blablablablabla
Jaidee: God I hope this gets better
Childhood Ch 10-14
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablablablabla and blablablablabla
Jaidee: This is boring me to tears !
Adolescence Ch 1 - 12
Ms. Ferrante writes: bla bla bla bla bla bla blabla
Jaidee: What's with the three creepy little girls with crinoline on the cover?
Adolescence Ch 13-36
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablablablablabalbla blablablabla bla bla bla
Jaidee: Oh I guess this about a lot of blablabla....when does it get good....forty three people and their mother insisted that I read this !!
Adolescence Ch 37 to 54
Ms. Ferrante writes: blablabla blabla bla blabla bla
Jaidee: Please let this be over and What the fuck am I missing....oh yes maybe a few blablablas !!
Adolescence Ch 54 to 62
Ms. Ferrante writes: Bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla !!!
Jaidee: Am I in Purgatory ??
I am guessing the content of Books 2 through 4 will be
Blablablablablabla and more blablablablablabla
I will not be finding out !
I say Bleh Bleh Blech !!
Read
April 12, 2017type, edit, delete,
undo delete,
type, edit, delete..
deep breath
start again
type, edit, delete鈥�
make a coffee
type, edit, delete鈥�
pour a drink
type, edit, delete..
desperation sets in
The dog ate my review!
鈥︹赌︹赌︹赌︹赌︹赌�................................
Why, why, why can鈥檛 I find any words to say about this book?
The problem is I don鈥檛 know what I feel about it. In fact, the book has left me without any feelings, good or bad. It has left me blank. I鈥檓 not used to feeling blank after reading.
I read 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 last year and I was excited while reading - I felt every line of it intensely. I was so stimulated by the writing - the words and the dramatic tone seemed to match the episodes of the narrative quite perfectly - that I started writing the review even before I鈥檇 finished reading the book.
With this one, I skimmed, I nodded off, I left it down often and only reluctantly picked it up again. I finally finished it on a flight after I鈥檇 deliberately not carried any other reading material with me.
In my desperation to find something to say about the book,I even thought about rereading it鈥�
undo delete,
type, edit, delete..
deep breath
start again
type, edit, delete鈥�
make a coffee
type, edit, delete鈥�
pour a drink
type, edit, delete..
desperation sets in
鈥︹赌︹赌︹赌︹赌︹赌�................................
Why, why, why can鈥檛 I find any words to say about this book?
The problem is I don鈥檛 know what I feel about it. In fact, the book has left me without any feelings, good or bad. It has left me blank. I鈥檓 not used to feeling blank after reading.
I read 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 last year and I was excited while reading - I felt every line of it intensely. I was so stimulated by the writing - the words and the dramatic tone seemed to match the episodes of the narrative quite perfectly - that I started writing the review even before I鈥檇 finished reading the book.
With this one, I skimmed, I nodded off, I left it down often and only reluctantly picked it up again. I finally finished it on a flight after I鈥檇 deliberately not carried any other reading material with me.
In my desperation to find something to say about the book,
April 3, 2024
The thing about this book is that the more that happened, the less I liked it.
At the beginning of this book, there was no plot. Just vibes. Just two kids existing in Italy and being good at school. Sometimes they go into the sewer, where they are convinced a Pennywise-esque interpretation of their scary neighbor has made his weird little home. Sometimes they throw rocks at children, or have rocks thrown at them. These are fun moments.
But they are just events with no throughline. The writing is pretty, the characters are intriguing, the shifting dynamics are present and accounted for, and there is very little story or tension or anything to pull you along.
That's my kind of book.
Then these characters grow up (gross) and fall in love (disgusting) and have a story! Of all things!
The betrayal when, past the halfway point, this suddenly had a plot...devastating.
No one has been as upset and surprised as I was at the inevitability of adulthood's approach since Peter Pan.
Bottom line: Go back to the good stuff!!!! (No stuff.)
(But the non-no stuff stuff was still good stuff.)
-----------------
pre-review
crazy that i just lived my entire childhood, adolescence, and teenager-dom in italy today alone.
review to come / 3.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
I'M DOING IT!!!
clear ur shit prompt 4: a book people talk about
follow my progress
-----------------
pre-review
something i love to do is read the first few pages of a book in a bookstore, convince myself i cannot live without it, purchase it, and then let it sit on my shelves without reading it for months on end.
At the beginning of this book, there was no plot. Just vibes. Just two kids existing in Italy and being good at school. Sometimes they go into the sewer, where they are convinced a Pennywise-esque interpretation of their scary neighbor has made his weird little home. Sometimes they throw rocks at children, or have rocks thrown at them. These are fun moments.
But they are just events with no throughline. The writing is pretty, the characters are intriguing, the shifting dynamics are present and accounted for, and there is very little story or tension or anything to pull you along.
That's my kind of book.
Then these characters grow up (gross) and fall in love (disgusting) and have a story! Of all things!
The betrayal when, past the halfway point, this suddenly had a plot...devastating.
No one has been as upset and surprised as I was at the inevitability of adulthood's approach since Peter Pan.
Bottom line: Go back to the good stuff!!!! (No stuff.)
(But the non-no stuff stuff was still good stuff.)
-----------------
pre-review
crazy that i just lived my entire childhood, adolescence, and teenager-dom in italy today alone.
review to come / 3.5 stars
-----------------
currently-reading updates
I'M DOING IT!!!
clear ur shit prompt 4: a book people talk about
follow my progress
-----------------
pre-review
something i love to do is read the first few pages of a book in a bookstore, convince myself i cannot live without it, purchase it, and then let it sit on my shelves without reading it for months on end.
November 18, 2018
UPDATED November 2018: here鈥檚 my review of the new HBO miniseries. Hint: It鈥檚 just as good as the book!
My Brilliant Friend, a.k.a. My Brilliant New Obsession
Believe all the hype. This is a rich, immersive, deeply satisfying book that, like many great novels, captures a particular time and place with complete authority. I can鈥檛 wait to read the other books in the series.
In a dirt poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples in the 1950s, bright working class girls Elena Greco (our narrator) and bestie Lila Cerrullo survive childhood and adolescence, learning how to navigate school, boys, sex and the limited opportunities available to them because of their class and gender.
Initially I found the book disorienting. The prologue is set decades later and involves people we don鈥檛 yet know. Lila has disappeared and Elena is trying to discover what happened to her. Presumably these books are her way of finding that out.
And once the story proper begins, it takes a while to keep all the names straight. Who is Nino, again? Enzo? What are the grocers called? (It doesn鈥檛 help that only Elena calls her friend Lila; everyone else calls her Lina, and her birth name is Rafaella! Also: Elena is often called Lenu.) An index of the family names at the beginning proves very helpful.
But Elena 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose is ravishing. It鈥檚 graceful without being precious, mature and knowing while still immediate and visceral. She literally plunges you into the lives of these children. Family vendettas take on the power of myth; middle school is a fraught war zone where learning goes beyond what鈥檚 in the books; each change in the girls' bodies is registered and assessed in terms of their newfound power (or lack of it).
Late childhood and early adolescence can be a painful time; the stakes are high; your identity isn鈥檛 yet formed. There鈥檚 a sense of danger lurking everywhere. One month that boy in class could be a friendly ally; a few months later he might spit at your feet, ignore you and take up your best friend. Every situation, not just a class assignment, is a problem to be solved.
Near the end of the book, the way one character orchestrates her way out of one engagement and into another is worthy of something from The Godfather movies.
In its insights, rich texture and violence 鈥� murder, threats, being thrown out of a window 鈥� the book reminded me of Alice Munro鈥檚 early masterpiece .
And several things will continue to haunt me:
鈥� The girls鈥� first trip outside their neighbourhood 鈥� when they 鈥渞un away鈥�
鈥� How the title is mentioned in the final section of the book (this makes you wonder who, exactly, is the 鈥渂rilliant鈥� one)
鈥� A scene in which the neighbourhood鈥檚 teens, all dressed up, cross into a fancier part of town and realize, with insecurity and anger, how limited their world and lives are
鈥� The climactic wedding scene, in which all the threads of the story come together 鈥� sex, romance, class, destiny 鈥� up until the surprising twist in the final line, which will make you reconsider a big chunk of the story
鈥� Elena鈥檚 introduction to the pleasures (and dangers) of sexuality
鈥� The idea of how we sometimes act to impress friends, mimic being courageous by thinking of others' actions, or more subtly, do things while imagining our friends doing them
鈥� The longings, fears and sheer awkwardness of adolescence
鈥� The legacy of fascism, complete with stories about what family did what to whom, and the changing nature of Italian society
鈥� The idea of how education gets you ahead but also alienates you from the class you might soon be leaving behind
Ferrante (a pen name) has structured the book so carefully that an early sequence in which the girls try to retrieve their dolls in a sewer contains, in miniature, everything that the book will eventually deal with: lost innocence, petty jealousy, money, imagination, sinister men, courage, and the way that one person鈥檚 account of the facts can vary drastically with the so-called truth.
Now that I've come down with "Ferrante fever," I look forward to the next novel, .
My Brilliant Friend, a.k.a. My Brilliant New Obsession
Believe all the hype. This is a rich, immersive, deeply satisfying book that, like many great novels, captures a particular time and place with complete authority. I can鈥檛 wait to read the other books in the series.
In a dirt poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples in the 1950s, bright working class girls Elena Greco (our narrator) and bestie Lila Cerrullo survive childhood and adolescence, learning how to navigate school, boys, sex and the limited opportunities available to them because of their class and gender.
Initially I found the book disorienting. The prologue is set decades later and involves people we don鈥檛 yet know. Lila has disappeared and Elena is trying to discover what happened to her. Presumably these books are her way of finding that out.
And once the story proper begins, it takes a while to keep all the names straight. Who is Nino, again? Enzo? What are the grocers called? (It doesn鈥檛 help that only Elena calls her friend Lila; everyone else calls her Lina, and her birth name is Rafaella! Also: Elena is often called Lenu.) An index of the family names at the beginning proves very helpful.
But Elena 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose is ravishing. It鈥檚 graceful without being precious, mature and knowing while still immediate and visceral. She literally plunges you into the lives of these children. Family vendettas take on the power of myth; middle school is a fraught war zone where learning goes beyond what鈥檚 in the books; each change in the girls' bodies is registered and assessed in terms of their newfound power (or lack of it).
Late childhood and early adolescence can be a painful time; the stakes are high; your identity isn鈥檛 yet formed. There鈥檚 a sense of danger lurking everywhere. One month that boy in class could be a friendly ally; a few months later he might spit at your feet, ignore you and take up your best friend. Every situation, not just a class assignment, is a problem to be solved.
Near the end of the book, the way one character orchestrates her way out of one engagement and into another is worthy of something from The Godfather movies.
In its insights, rich texture and violence 鈥� murder, threats, being thrown out of a window 鈥� the book reminded me of Alice Munro鈥檚 early masterpiece .
And several things will continue to haunt me:
鈥� The girls鈥� first trip outside their neighbourhood 鈥� when they 鈥渞un away鈥�
鈥� How the title is mentioned in the final section of the book (this makes you wonder who, exactly, is the 鈥渂rilliant鈥� one)
鈥� A scene in which the neighbourhood鈥檚 teens, all dressed up, cross into a fancier part of town and realize, with insecurity and anger, how limited their world and lives are
鈥� The climactic wedding scene, in which all the threads of the story come together 鈥� sex, romance, class, destiny 鈥� up until the surprising twist in the final line, which will make you reconsider a big chunk of the story
鈥� Elena鈥檚 introduction to the pleasures (and dangers) of sexuality
鈥� The idea of how we sometimes act to impress friends, mimic being courageous by thinking of others' actions, or more subtly, do things while imagining our friends doing them
鈥� The longings, fears and sheer awkwardness of adolescence
鈥� The legacy of fascism, complete with stories about what family did what to whom, and the changing nature of Italian society
鈥� The idea of how education gets you ahead but also alienates you from the class you might soon be leaving behind
Ferrante (a pen name) has structured the book so carefully that an early sequence in which the girls try to retrieve their dolls in a sewer contains, in miniature, everything that the book will eventually deal with: lost innocence, petty jealousy, money, imagination, sinister men, courage, and the way that one person鈥檚 account of the facts can vary drastically with the so-called truth.
Now that I've come down with "Ferrante fever," I look forward to the next novel, .
July 15, 2024
Edit July 2024: I finally got the time to peruse the NY Times The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. I read 28 of them, 4 from top 10, in case you were wondering. I was quite surprised (an not necessary in a good way) that this novel took the top spot. It is a beautifully written novel, I do not deny that, but the best of the 21st century? Not by a long shot. I have a strong feeling that half of the authors's popularity comes from the mystery surrounding her/his identity. The fact that there are two more books by the author on this list confirms my theory, more than refutes it. Anyway, I have many doubts about the merit of about a third of the books on this list but, hey, I am no author or expert of literature.
Review in English (Romanian below)
Read in Romanian, translated from Italian by Cerasela Barbone and audiobook narrated by Adriana Muraru
Finally! I read something by the mysterious Italian writer,Elena Ferrante, who seems to be worshiped by everyone. Honestly, I was expecting to hate the novel, as I seem to do with a lot of hyped authors. The subject was not necessary something I thought I would enjoy and Naples is not my favourite city in the world. For the first 50 pages or so I thought, ok, another book about families and friendship. However, the writing slowly grew on me and I became enamoured by the novel. Somehow, the author made an old and overdone subject feel fresh although not much happens. How? Was it the matter of fact writing style about horrible people and events? Was it the complex and realistic portrayal of a friendship, with its love, jealousy and sometimes-even hate? Was it the excellent and vivid portrayal of Napoli and its culture, so well done that you could see yourself there, smelling and feeling what the characters did? Maybe all of it, or none. What鈥檚 certain is that I am sold and I am looking forward to reading the next volume which I already bought in Italian.
Recenzie in romana
Citit in Romana, tradus din italiana Cerasela Barbone si audiobook narat de Adriana Muraru
In sfarsit am citit ceva scris de misterioasa si prea-slavita autoare italiana, Elena Ferrante. Sincer, ma asteptam sa urasc cartea, cum mi se intampla destul de des cu scrierile prea laudate. Subiectul nu mi se parea prea interesant iar Napoli nu este orasul meu preferat. In primele 50 de pagini mi-am zis, ok, o alta carte despre familii si prietenia intre fete/femei. Totusi, scriitura m-a prins incet cu incetul si m-am indragostit de carte. Cumva, autorul transforma un subiect banal si folosit des, in ceva prospat. Cum? Poate de vina este scrisul direct, natural despre persoane si evenimente nu prea placute. Sau poate respunzator este portretul realist si complex al prieteniei dintre Lila si Elena, cu momente de dragoste, gelozie si chiar ura? Oare o fi descrierea excelenta a orasului Napoli, astfel incat sa te simti acolo, ca vezi, mirosi si traiesti impreuna cu personajele cartii? Poate toate aceste motive, sau poate nici unul. Ceea ce este cert este ca autoarea m-a castigat si deabia astept sa conntinui cu al doilea volum.
Review in English (Romanian below)
Read in Romanian, translated from Italian by Cerasela Barbone and audiobook narrated by Adriana Muraru
Finally! I read something by the mysterious Italian writer,Elena Ferrante, who seems to be worshiped by everyone. Honestly, I was expecting to hate the novel, as I seem to do with a lot of hyped authors. The subject was not necessary something I thought I would enjoy and Naples is not my favourite city in the world. For the first 50 pages or so I thought, ok, another book about families and friendship. However, the writing slowly grew on me and I became enamoured by the novel. Somehow, the author made an old and overdone subject feel fresh although not much happens. How? Was it the matter of fact writing style about horrible people and events? Was it the complex and realistic portrayal of a friendship, with its love, jealousy and sometimes-even hate? Was it the excellent and vivid portrayal of Napoli and its culture, so well done that you could see yourself there, smelling and feeling what the characters did? Maybe all of it, or none. What鈥檚 certain is that I am sold and I am looking forward to reading the next volume which I already bought in Italian.
Recenzie in romana
Citit in Romana, tradus din italiana Cerasela Barbone si audiobook narat de Adriana Muraru
In sfarsit am citit ceva scris de misterioasa si prea-slavita autoare italiana, Elena Ferrante. Sincer, ma asteptam sa urasc cartea, cum mi se intampla destul de des cu scrierile prea laudate. Subiectul nu mi se parea prea interesant iar Napoli nu este orasul meu preferat. In primele 50 de pagini mi-am zis, ok, o alta carte despre familii si prietenia intre fete/femei. Totusi, scriitura m-a prins incet cu incetul si m-am indragostit de carte. Cumva, autorul transforma un subiect banal si folosit des, in ceva prospat. Cum? Poate de vina este scrisul direct, natural despre persoane si evenimente nu prea placute. Sau poate respunzator este portretul realist si complex al prieteniei dintre Lila si Elena, cu momente de dragoste, gelozie si chiar ura? Oare o fi descrierea excelenta a orasului Napoli, astfel incat sa te simti acolo, ca vezi, mirosi si traiesti impreuna cu personajele cartii? Poate toate aceste motive, sau poate nici unul. Ceea ce este cert este ca autoarea m-a castigat si deabia astept sa conntinui cu al doilea volum.
December 27, 2022
賴匕賴 乇賵丕賷丞賱丕 賷賲賰賳 乇賮囟賴丕..賱賲 賷賰鬲亘賴丕 乇噩賱 丕賵 廿賲乇兀丞亘賱 賰鬲亘賴丕 賯乇賷賳/ 卮賷胤丕賳 賱賷馗賴乇 禺賮丕賷丕 賲馗賱賲丞 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱丕賳孬賶
賴匕丕 賱賷爻 爻乇丿丕 丕賵 亘賵丨丕 毓丕丿賷丕..亘賱 賳丕賮匕丞 毓賱賶 囟賲賷乇 丕賳孬賷 賲賳匕 胤賮賵賱鬲賴丕 賱卮賷禺賵禺鬲賴丕 貨毓賳 賰賱 賲丕 賷賳賴卮賳丕 賲賳 丕賱丿丕禺賱..
:鬲丨賰賷 賱賳丕 丕賷賱賷賳丕 睾乇賷賰賵 亘氐乇丕丨丞 賱丕 ..賱丕 "亘卮乇丕爻丞"毓賳 賱賷賱丕 卮賷乇賱賵
賰孬賷乇丕 賲丕 禺賳賯鬲賳賷 丕賳丕 賳賷乇丞 孬賱丕孬丞 兀爻卅賱丞 賵 丕噩丕亘鬲賳賷 毓賳賴丕亘亘爻丕胤丞 氐丿賷賯鬲賷 丕賱賲匕賴賱丞
賴賱 賰丕賳 賲氐賷乇賷 爻賷鬲睾賷乇
賱賵 賰賳鬲 丕賰孬乇 匕賰丕亍 賵 丕賯乇亘 賱賱毓亘賯乇賷丞責
賱賵 賱賲 丕丨馗 亘賴匕丕 丕賱兀亘 丕賱賳丕噩丨 丕賱賱丕賲毓 責
賱賵 賱賲 丕禺鬲乇 丕禺鬲賷丕乇丕賸 賲氐賷乇賷賸丕 睾亘賷丕 賮賷 賲乇丕賴賯鬲賷 賵 丕禺鬲乇鬲 亘毓賯賱丕賳賷丞責
賮賷 卮賲丕賱 丕賮乇賷賯賷丕 丕賵 噩賳賵亘 丕賲乇賷賰丕 丕賵 賯丕賴乇丞 丕賱賲毓夭 丕賵 噩賳賵亘 丕賷胤丕賱賷丕
賮賷 賲胤賱毓 丕賱禺賲爻賷賳丕鬲 丕賵 丕禺乇 丕賱鬲爻毓賷賳丕鬲 丕賱賮賯乇 賷賵丨丿 丕賱賴賲賵賲 賵 丕賱賳馗乇丞 賱賱丕賳孬賶 賵丕丨丿丞 賵 卮賯丕丐賴丕 賵 亘賱丕丐賴丕 賵 賳噩丕鬲賴丕 賵 爻賯賵胤賴丕 丿丕卅賲丌 賵 丕亘丿丕 爻賷馗賱賵丕 賮賷 丕賷丿賷 丕賱乇噩丕賱..丌亘丕亍 賰丕賳賵丕 丕賲 丕丨亘丕亍 ..丕禺賵丞 丕賵 丨鬲賶 丕亘賳丕亍 ..丕毓丿丕亍 丕賵 丕氐丿賯丕亍
鈾≠傎堌ж关� 丕賱睾賷乇丞 丕賱丕乇亘毓賵賳鈾�
賮賷 賲胤賱毓 丕賱禺賲爻賷賳丕鬲 賵 賮賷 丕毓賯丕亘 丨乇亘 毓丕賱賲賷丞丕孬賯賱鬲 毓賱賶 丕禺賱丕賯賷丕鬲 賵 賲亘丕丿賶亍 丕賴賱 丕賵乇賵亘丕 賳賳胤賱賯 亘禺胤賵丕鬲 毓賳賷賮丞 賱賱賲丿乇爻丞 賲毓 丕賷賱賷賳丕 丕亘賳丞 亘賵丕亘 丕賱亘賱丿賷丞 賮賷 賲胤賱毓 氐丿丕賯鬲賴丕 賲毓 賱賷賱丕 丕亘賳丞 丕爻賰丕賮賷 丕賱丨賷 丕賱賳丕亘賵賱鬲丕賳賷 丕賱賮賯賷乇
賰賲 賰丕賳鬲 賱賷賱丕 賲賰鬲賮賷丞 亘匕丕鬲賴丕 賲賳匕 爻賳 丕賱爻丕丿爻丞..
賰賲 賰丕賳鬲 廿賷賱賷賳丕 鬲爻鬲賲丿 賯賷賲鬲賴丕 賲賳 賳馗乇丞 丕賱丕禺乇賷賳
賱賳卮賴丿 氐乇丕毓丕 賯丿乇賷丕 亘賷賳 丕賱丨馗 賵 丕賱卮胤丕乇丞
亘賷賳 丕賱毓亘賯乇賷丞 賵 丕賱廿噩鬲賴丕丿
亘賷賳 丕賱爻賲賵 賵 丕賱禺亘孬 賵 丕賱丿賳丕亍丞
亘賷賳 丕賱禺賷乇 丕賱匕賷 賷丨賲賱 賲匕丕賯 丕賱卮乇
賵 丕賱丨亘 丕賱鬲丕卅賴 賮賷 爻乇丕丿賷亘 丕賱睾賷乇丞
鈽嗁佡勜嗀ж� 丿丕卅賲丕 賱賱毓丕卅賱丞 鈽�
毓亘乇 毓卮乇 爻賳賵丕鬲 賳卮賴丿 丕爻鬲賲乇丕乇 丕丨丿賶 丕賱賮鬲丕鬲賷賳 賮賷 丕賱丿乇丕爻丞 亘鬲賮賵賯 賵 丕爻鬲孬賲丕乇 丕賱丕禺乇賶 賱賵賯鬲賴丕 亘卮賰賱 賷賲賳丨賴丕 噩丕匕亘賷丞 賲睾賳丕胤賷爻賷丞 丕爻鬲孬賳丕卅賷丞
丕丨丿丕賴賲丕 毓丕胤賮賷丞 鬲乇賮囟 丕爻乇鬲賴丕 匕丕鬲 丕賱賲賳亘鬲 丕賱丨賯賷乇
賵 丕賱丕禺乇賶 毓賯賱丕賳賷丞 鬲爻鬲亘爻賱 賱鬲睾賷乇 賵丕賯毓 兀爻乇鬲賴丕 丕賱賮賯賷乇
鈽� 賰賳 胤賷亘丕 賵 丕丨乇氐 毓賱賶 丕賱丕 賷毓乇賮 丕丨丿 丕賳賰 胤賷亘鈽�
賯丿 賱丕 賷氐丿賯 丕賱亘毓囟 丕賳 丕賱胤亘丕毓/丕賱賲氐賷乇 鬲鬲噩賱賶 賳賴丕卅賷丕 賮賷 爻賳12/13賱匕丕 鬲賯丕爻 亘乇丕毓丞 丕賱丕丿賷亘 亘丕爻鬲毓丕丿鬲賴 賱禺賱噩丕鬲 賳賮爻 丕賱胤賮賱 亘鬲噩乇丿賴丕 賵 毓亘賵乇賴 賱賱賳囟噩 貨賵 賰丕鬲亘鬲賳丕 賴賳丕 鬲賮賵賯鬲 :亘賵賯丕丨丞
鈽嗀з勜焚娯�..丕賱卮乇爻..丕賱賯亘賷丨鈽�
乇賵丕賷鬲賳丕 毓賳 丕賱馗賱 賵 丕賱賳賵乇 ..毓賳 卮毓賵乇 賲賳 賷丨賷丕 賲賯賴賵乇丕 賮賷 馗賱 賲賳 賲賳丨鬲賴 丕賱丕賯丿丕乇 亘爻禺丕亍 :毓賯賱丕 賵 噩賲丕賱丕 賵 卮禺氐賷丞 丨丕夭賲丞 賰丕爻丨丞
毓賳 卮毓賵乇 丕賱丕睾鬲乇丕亘 賵 丕賱賵丨丿丞 丕賱匕賷 鬲賲賳丨賴 賱賰:丕賱賯賲丞
毓賳 丕賱丕賳爻賱丕禺 賲賳 丕賴丕賳丕鬲 賲鬲賰乇乇丞 賵 賯亘丨 丕賱噩賴賱
毓賳 賲爻賲賷丕鬲 丕爻鬲睾賱丕賱賰 賱賱丕禺乇賷賳 賵 丕爻鬲睾賱丕賱賴賲 賱賰
毓賳 丕賱鬲賵賯 賱丕賳 鬲賰賵賳 賲賯亘賵賱丕賸..賲丨亘賵亘丕..賵 賲賳鬲賲賷丕
乇賵丕賷丞 :賲匕賴賱丞 鬲乇賰鬲賳賷 丕賳丕 賵 氐丿賷賯賷 丕賱毓夭賷夭 賰賲丕賱 氐亘乇賷 賲鬲爻丕亍賱賷賳 : 賲賳 賴賵 丨賯丕 丕賱胤賷亘 賴賳丕 賵 賲賳 丕賱卮乇爻 賵 賲賳 丕賱賯亘賷丨 責
賴匕丕 賱賷爻 爻乇丿丕 丕賵 亘賵丨丕 毓丕丿賷丕..亘賱 賳丕賮匕丞 毓賱賶 囟賲賷乇 丕賳孬賷 賲賳匕 胤賮賵賱鬲賴丕 賱卮賷禺賵禺鬲賴丕 貨毓賳 賰賱 賲丕 賷賳賴卮賳丕 賲賳 丕賱丿丕禺賱..
:鬲丨賰賷 賱賳丕 丕賷賱賷賳丕 睾乇賷賰賵 亘氐乇丕丨丞 賱丕 ..賱丕 "亘卮乇丕爻丞"毓賳 賱賷賱丕 卮賷乇賱賵
賰孬賷乇丕 賲丕 禺賳賯鬲賳賷 丕賳丕 賳賷乇丞 孬賱丕孬丞 兀爻卅賱丞 賵 丕噩丕亘鬲賳賷 毓賳賴丕亘亘爻丕胤丞 氐丿賷賯鬲賷 丕賱賲匕賴賱丞
賴賱 賰丕賳 賲氐賷乇賷 爻賷鬲睾賷乇
賱賵 賰賳鬲 丕賰孬乇 匕賰丕亍 賵 丕賯乇亘 賱賱毓亘賯乇賷丞責
賱賵 賱賲 丕丨馗 亘賴匕丕 丕賱兀亘 丕賱賳丕噩丨 丕賱賱丕賲毓 責
賱賵 賱賲 丕禺鬲乇 丕禺鬲賷丕乇丕賸 賲氐賷乇賷賸丕 睾亘賷丕 賮賷 賲乇丕賴賯鬲賷 賵 丕禺鬲乇鬲 亘毓賯賱丕賳賷丞責
賮賷 卮賲丕賱 丕賮乇賷賯賷丕 丕賵 噩賳賵亘 丕賲乇賷賰丕 丕賵 賯丕賴乇丞 丕賱賲毓夭 丕賵 噩賳賵亘 丕賷胤丕賱賷丕
賮賷 賲胤賱毓 丕賱禺賲爻賷賳丕鬲 丕賵 丕禺乇 丕賱鬲爻毓賷賳丕鬲 丕賱賮賯乇 賷賵丨丿 丕賱賴賲賵賲 賵 丕賱賳馗乇丞 賱賱丕賳孬賶 賵丕丨丿丞 賵 卮賯丕丐賴丕 賵 亘賱丕丐賴丕 賵 賳噩丕鬲賴丕 賵 爻賯賵胤賴丕 丿丕卅賲丌 賵 丕亘丿丕 爻賷馗賱賵丕 賮賷 丕賷丿賷 丕賱乇噩丕賱..丌亘丕亍 賰丕賳賵丕 丕賲 丕丨亘丕亍 ..丕禺賵丞 丕賵 丨鬲賶 丕亘賳丕亍 ..丕毓丿丕亍 丕賵 丕氐丿賯丕亍
鈾≠傎堌ж关� 丕賱睾賷乇丞 丕賱丕乇亘毓賵賳鈾�
賮賷 賲胤賱毓 丕賱禺賲爻賷賳丕鬲 賵 賮賷 丕毓賯丕亘 丨乇亘 毓丕賱賲賷丞丕孬賯賱鬲 毓賱賶 丕禺賱丕賯賷丕鬲 賵 賲亘丕丿賶亍 丕賴賱 丕賵乇賵亘丕 賳賳胤賱賯 亘禺胤賵丕鬲 毓賳賷賮丞 賱賱賲丿乇爻丞 賲毓 丕賷賱賷賳丕 丕亘賳丞 亘賵丕亘 丕賱亘賱丿賷丞 賮賷 賲胤賱毓 氐丿丕賯鬲賴丕 賲毓 賱賷賱丕 丕亘賳丞 丕爻賰丕賮賷 丕賱丨賷 丕賱賳丕亘賵賱鬲丕賳賷 丕賱賮賯賷乇
賰賲 賰丕賳鬲 賱賷賱丕 賲賰鬲賮賷丞 亘匕丕鬲賴丕 賲賳匕 爻賳 丕賱爻丕丿爻丞..
賰賲 賰丕賳鬲 廿賷賱賷賳丕 鬲爻鬲賲丿 賯賷賲鬲賴丕 賲賳 賳馗乇丞 丕賱丕禺乇賷賳
賱賳卮賴丿 氐乇丕毓丕 賯丿乇賷丕 亘賷賳 丕賱丨馗 賵 丕賱卮胤丕乇丞
亘賷賳 丕賱毓亘賯乇賷丞 賵 丕賱廿噩鬲賴丕丿
亘賷賳 丕賱爻賲賵 賵 丕賱禺亘孬 賵 丕賱丿賳丕亍丞
亘賷賳 丕賱禺賷乇 丕賱匕賷 賷丨賲賱 賲匕丕賯 丕賱卮乇
賵 丕賱丨亘 丕賱鬲丕卅賴 賮賷 爻乇丕丿賷亘 丕賱睾賷乇丞
鈽嗁佡勜嗀ж� 丿丕卅賲丕 賱賱毓丕卅賱丞 鈽�
毓亘乇 毓卮乇 爻賳賵丕鬲 賳卮賴丿 丕爻鬲賲乇丕乇 丕丨丿賶 丕賱賮鬲丕鬲賷賳 賮賷 丕賱丿乇丕爻丞 亘鬲賮賵賯 賵 丕爻鬲孬賲丕乇 丕賱丕禺乇賶 賱賵賯鬲賴丕 亘卮賰賱 賷賲賳丨賴丕 噩丕匕亘賷丞 賲睾賳丕胤賷爻賷丞 丕爻鬲孬賳丕卅賷丞
丕丨丿丕賴賲丕 毓丕胤賮賷丞 鬲乇賮囟 丕爻乇鬲賴丕 匕丕鬲 丕賱賲賳亘鬲 丕賱丨賯賷乇
賵 丕賱丕禺乇賶 毓賯賱丕賳賷丞 鬲爻鬲亘爻賱 賱鬲睾賷乇 賵丕賯毓 兀爻乇鬲賴丕 丕賱賮賯賷乇
鈽� 賰賳 胤賷亘丕 賵 丕丨乇氐 毓賱賶 丕賱丕 賷毓乇賮 丕丨丿 丕賳賰 胤賷亘鈽�
賯丿 賱丕 賷氐丿賯 丕賱亘毓囟 丕賳 丕賱胤亘丕毓/丕賱賲氐賷乇 鬲鬲噩賱賶 賳賴丕卅賷丕 賮賷 爻賳12/13賱匕丕 鬲賯丕爻 亘乇丕毓丞 丕賱丕丿賷亘 亘丕爻鬲毓丕丿鬲賴 賱禺賱噩丕鬲 賳賮爻 丕賱胤賮賱 亘鬲噩乇丿賴丕 賵 毓亘賵乇賴 賱賱賳囟噩 貨賵 賰丕鬲亘鬲賳丕 賴賳丕 鬲賮賵賯鬲 :亘賵賯丕丨丞
鈽嗀з勜焚娯�..丕賱卮乇爻..丕賱賯亘賷丨鈽�
乇賵丕賷鬲賳丕 毓賳 丕賱馗賱 賵 丕賱賳賵乇 ..毓賳 卮毓賵乇 賲賳 賷丨賷丕 賲賯賴賵乇丕 賮賷 馗賱 賲賳 賲賳丨鬲賴 丕賱丕賯丿丕乇 亘爻禺丕亍 :毓賯賱丕 賵 噩賲丕賱丕 賵 卮禺氐賷丞 丨丕夭賲丞 賰丕爻丨丞
毓賳 卮毓賵乇 丕賱丕睾鬲乇丕亘 賵 丕賱賵丨丿丞 丕賱匕賷 鬲賲賳丨賴 賱賰:丕賱賯賲丞
毓賳 丕賱丕賳爻賱丕禺 賲賳 丕賴丕賳丕鬲 賲鬲賰乇乇丞 賵 賯亘丨 丕賱噩賴賱
毓賳 賲爻賲賷丕鬲 丕爻鬲睾賱丕賱賰 賱賱丕禺乇賷賳 賵 丕爻鬲睾賱丕賱賴賲 賱賰
毓賳 丕賱鬲賵賯 賱丕賳 鬲賰賵賳 賲賯亘賵賱丕賸..賲丨亘賵亘丕..賵 賲賳鬲賲賷丕
乇賵丕賷丞 :賲匕賴賱丞 鬲乇賰鬲賳賷 丕賳丕 賵 氐丿賷賯賷 丕賱毓夭賷夭 賰賲丕賱 氐亘乇賷 賲鬲爻丕亍賱賷賳 : 賲賳 賴賵 丨賯丕 丕賱胤賷亘 賴賳丕 賵 賲賳 丕賱卮乇爻 賵 賲賳 丕賱賯亘賷丨 責
September 18, 2012
The entire time I spent reading this book I asked myself "What is wrong with this book? Why am I having so much trouble getting into it?". It is incredibly slow-paced, but I also believe the Italian-to-English translation must be flawed. Many of the sentences were confusing and even contradictory. The redeeming factor, and the reason I gave it two stars instead of one, was that the Italian atmosphere was strongly prevalent and somewhat enjoyable - I learned what living in Naples in the 50s must have been like.
December 19, 2022
I haven't read literally fiction in a while and wow I had missed it!
Complex female friendship, great writing and... one hell of an ending.
I need to continue ASAP.
*It made it to my best books of 2022:
Complex female friendship, great writing and... one hell of an ending.
I need to continue ASAP.
*It made it to my best books of 2022:
November 22, 2023
From the age of two until twelve, I lived in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. During the Industrial Revolution, Merthyr had briefly been the iron capital of the world, but things didn't work out; iron ore became harder to mine, the people running the refining works didn't adopt modern methods quickly enough, the town was too far from the sea. Everything fell apart, and by the 1930s unemployment was running at 80%. When I arrived with my parents in 1960, things had become a little better, but the town was still one of the poorest in Britain.
Why did we move there? It was the time of the counter-culture: some idealistic peace protesters had decided to found a commune - I still have no idea why they chose Merthyr - and my parents wanted to join them. The members of the commune didn't get on, the usual story, and after a couple of years they disbanded. We were stuck in Merthyr, and that's where I grew up. I attended primary school at Heolgerrig, a little village just outside town. In summer, I walked to and from school, a pleasant trip that lasted about forty minutes. In winter, my siblings and I took the bus.
There were two kinds of children at Heolgerrig. The smaller group was the contingent of middle-class kids, most of whom lived on the new estate just down the road from the school. They spoke normal English, though with a Welsh accent, and their parents had white-collar jobs. A couple of other kids also belonged to this group; the one I remember best was Avril Griffiths, the vicar's daughter. Avril was a fat, priggish girl with an annoying manner, whom I hated for all of the five years we were in the same class together. Her younger brother, Wayne, was a bully, and I hated him too. But the majority of the class was quite different. They were the children of the local working class, spoke Welsh by preference, and were poor, dirty and violent.
Violence was an integral part of school life. There were fights all the time in the playground, and they weren't friendly; the kids generally wanted to hurt each other. The teachers made frequent use of physical punishment when they thought things were getting out of hand, or sometimes, I thought, just because they were crazy too. There was one particularly dangerous teacher called Mr Haines. He would yell at us when we didn't understand his questions: his favorite expression was "Blocks of wood!" I can hear him yelling it now. He liked to use his cane. The boys, even at age eight or nine, were already fond of playing sexual games. One day, the biggest gang started a game called "Kiss chase", which involved kidnapping girls and dragging them back to the boys' lavatory. I never learned exactly what happened to them there, but when Mr Haines found out he completely lost it and thrashed all the boys who had taken part. I now realise that he only hit the poor, Welsh-speaking boys. I never got hit.
But this kind of violence was only a kind of muted background noise behind the real incidents, surprisingly many of which involved permanent disfigurement or death. One boy in the class above me managed to put an eye out using some wood-carving tools; another was killed when he was showing off by the side of the road and fell in front of a car. A particularly memorable and gruesome story started when the school decided to retire the ancient classroom furniture, units which had the seat attached to the desk with a heavy cast-iron frame, and replace them with modern tubular steel tables and plastic chairs. We didn't much like the change, but the upside was that the old desks had not been taken away. They were stacked in a shed out at the side of the yard, and they made a great climbing-frame. Unfortunately, they had not been stacked very carefully. One day a pile collapsed and killed a young child, not one I knew. A couple of weeks later, a fire started during the middle of the night and burned down half the school. It only occurred to me much later that these two events might have been linked. All of the foregoing, however, were still comparatively minor incidents. The big one happened at 9.15 am on October 21 1966 in Aberfan, a few miles down the road from us. A large slag-heap, which hadn't been properly maintained, suddenly turned into a landslide as a result of heavy rainfall. It buried the local school and killed (I just looked it up in Wikipedia) 116 children and 28 adults. My father wanted to go and help with the search and rescue effort; we started crying and made such a fuss that we managed to dissuade him.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I liked this novel very much. It reminded me of my childhood.
[To Le nouveau nom]
Why did we move there? It was the time of the counter-culture: some idealistic peace protesters had decided to found a commune - I still have no idea why they chose Merthyr - and my parents wanted to join them. The members of the commune didn't get on, the usual story, and after a couple of years they disbanded. We were stuck in Merthyr, and that's where I grew up. I attended primary school at Heolgerrig, a little village just outside town. In summer, I walked to and from school, a pleasant trip that lasted about forty minutes. In winter, my siblings and I took the bus.
There were two kinds of children at Heolgerrig. The smaller group was the contingent of middle-class kids, most of whom lived on the new estate just down the road from the school. They spoke normal English, though with a Welsh accent, and their parents had white-collar jobs. A couple of other kids also belonged to this group; the one I remember best was Avril Griffiths, the vicar's daughter. Avril was a fat, priggish girl with an annoying manner, whom I hated for all of the five years we were in the same class together. Her younger brother, Wayne, was a bully, and I hated him too. But the majority of the class was quite different. They were the children of the local working class, spoke Welsh by preference, and were poor, dirty and violent.
Violence was an integral part of school life. There were fights all the time in the playground, and they weren't friendly; the kids generally wanted to hurt each other. The teachers made frequent use of physical punishment when they thought things were getting out of hand, or sometimes, I thought, just because they were crazy too. There was one particularly dangerous teacher called Mr Haines. He would yell at us when we didn't understand his questions: his favorite expression was "Blocks of wood!" I can hear him yelling it now. He liked to use his cane. The boys, even at age eight or nine, were already fond of playing sexual games. One day, the biggest gang started a game called "Kiss chase", which involved kidnapping girls and dragging them back to the boys' lavatory. I never learned exactly what happened to them there, but when Mr Haines found out he completely lost it and thrashed all the boys who had taken part. I now realise that he only hit the poor, Welsh-speaking boys. I never got hit.
But this kind of violence was only a kind of muted background noise behind the real incidents, surprisingly many of which involved permanent disfigurement or death. One boy in the class above me managed to put an eye out using some wood-carving tools; another was killed when he was showing off by the side of the road and fell in front of a car. A particularly memorable and gruesome story started when the school decided to retire the ancient classroom furniture, units which had the seat attached to the desk with a heavy cast-iron frame, and replace them with modern tubular steel tables and plastic chairs. We didn't much like the change, but the upside was that the old desks had not been taken away. They were stacked in a shed out at the side of the yard, and they made a great climbing-frame. Unfortunately, they had not been stacked very carefully. One day a pile collapsed and killed a young child, not one I knew. A couple of weeks later, a fire started during the middle of the night and burned down half the school. It only occurred to me much later that these two events might have been linked. All of the foregoing, however, were still comparatively minor incidents. The big one happened at 9.15 am on October 21 1966 in Aberfan, a few miles down the road from us. A large slag-heap, which hadn't been properly maintained, suddenly turned into a landslide as a result of heavy rainfall. It buried the local school and killed (I just looked it up in Wikipedia) 116 children and 28 adults. My father wanted to go and help with the search and rescue effort; we started crying and made such a fuss that we managed to dissuade him.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was that I liked this novel very much. It reminded me of my childhood.
[To Le nouveau nom]
December 4, 2022
LA SMARGINATURA
Herbert List. Foto usata per il flano dell'adattamento teatrale in lingua inglese della tetralogia ferrantiana.
Ho l鈥檌mpressione che Elena Ferrante ami spiazzare il lettore, e da lettore, trovo che essere spiazzato sia una bella sensazione.
All鈥檌nizio di questo romanzo c鈥櫭� un ricco elenco di famiglie e nomi e relazioni: ma non serve, non 猫 necessario, si segue agevolmente il racconto anche senza consultarlo.
Nell鈥檈lenco sono compresi molti personaggi femminili e maschili: ma gli uomini (maschi?) fanno la solita misera figura che fanno nelle opere di questa misteriosa scrittrice 鈥� e tutti, incluse le tante donne, sono solo contorno, perch茅 la narrazione ha ben al centro, senza deviazioni, due bambine che vediamo diventare adolescenti e giovani donne, Lila ed Elena detta Lenuccia o Len霉. Questa 猫 la loro storia, quella della loro amicizia e della loro vita.
Si parte dall鈥檕ggi, tra Torino e Napoli, con l鈥檌o narrante gi脿 sessantenne.
Ma si dimentica presto il prologo, e Torino scompare, l鈥檃zione rimane a Napoli, in un rione di periferia e di povert脿, si piomba e ci si immerge negli anni Cinquanta.
E come dicevo, presto il prologo sparisce dalla nostra attenzione, e ci si concentra su cosa succede, e molto si aspetta cosa succeder脿. Si ha voglia di conoscere qualcosa che in fondo sappiamo gi脿.
Tra Lila ed Elena, io lettore avrei definito 鈥榓mica geniale鈥� la prima: invece, 猫 proprio Lila a usare questa espressione per Elena, l鈥檌o narrante.
脠 la storia della loro amicizia, dicevo: un鈥檃micizia che all鈥檌nizio sembra difficile, le due si tengono distanti, quasi separate 鈥� ma si guardano, si studiano, come se si prendessero le misure.
E proprio quella pi霉 tosta, Lila, spesso definita cattiva, descritta aspra forte determinata fino alla violenza, proprio lei sar脿 la prima a tendere la mano.
Anche questo momento 猫 spiazzante, arriva non previsto. Bello.
In una storia cos矛 calata nella Napoli povera del dopoguerra, aspettarsi dialoghi in dialetto 猫 scontato. Invece, Ferrante evita, accenna appena, e rimane agganciata alla lingua comune. Come Lila, Elena Ferrante parla attraverso la scrittura: 鈥on lasciava traccia di innaturalezza, non si sentiva l鈥檃rtificio della parola scritta. Leggevo e intanto vedevo, sentivo lei.
Si respira cinema, le immagini sono incise, nitide, anche piacevolmente stereotipate: proiettare Sofia Loren o una Magnani scesa all鈥檕mbra del Vesuvio 猫 automatico.
Per貌, 猫 questione di poco, e Ferrante cambia prospettiva, perennemente affascinata da cosa c鈥櫭� dietro e sotto, dal lato oscuro, come la figlia del suo penultimo romanzo, la parte cattiva, il lato indegno, perfino meschino.
Come tra Lila e Len霉 la grande amicizia 猫 basata su un gioco continuo di scambio e rovesciamento, Ferrante sorprende e confonde senza nascondere, racconta personaggi che nessuna forma pu貌 contenere, che prima o poi possono spaccare tutto un鈥檃ltra volta, come succede alla pentola di rame - con un'ansia particolare, quasi urgenza di tirare fuori, spiegare, che regala a queste pagine una piacevolezza di lettura inaspettata.
Non ho nostalgia della nostra infanzia, 猫 piena di violenza. Ci succedeva di tutto, in casa e fuori, ogni giorno, ma non ricordo di aver mai pensato che la vita che c鈥檈ra capitata fosse particolarmente brutta. La vita era cos矛 e basta, crescevamo con l鈥檕bbligo di renderla difficile agli altri prima che gli altri la rendessero difficile a noi. Certo, a me sarebbero piaciuti i modi gentili che predicavano la maestra e il parroco, ma sentivo che quei modi non erano adatti al nostro rione, anche se eri femmina. Le donne combattevano tra loro pi霉 degli uomini, si prendevano per i capelli, si facevano male. Far male era una malattia.
James Franco e la Ferrante Fever.
Herbert List. Foto usata per il flano dell'adattamento teatrale in lingua inglese della tetralogia ferrantiana.
Ho l鈥檌mpressione che Elena Ferrante ami spiazzare il lettore, e da lettore, trovo che essere spiazzato sia una bella sensazione.
All鈥檌nizio di questo romanzo c鈥櫭� un ricco elenco di famiglie e nomi e relazioni: ma non serve, non 猫 necessario, si segue agevolmente il racconto anche senza consultarlo.
Nell鈥檈lenco sono compresi molti personaggi femminili e maschili: ma gli uomini (maschi?) fanno la solita misera figura che fanno nelle opere di questa misteriosa scrittrice 鈥� e tutti, incluse le tante donne, sono solo contorno, perch茅 la narrazione ha ben al centro, senza deviazioni, due bambine che vediamo diventare adolescenti e giovani donne, Lila ed Elena detta Lenuccia o Len霉. Questa 猫 la loro storia, quella della loro amicizia e della loro vita.
Si parte dall鈥檕ggi, tra Torino e Napoli, con l鈥檌o narrante gi脿 sessantenne.
Ma si dimentica presto il prologo, e Torino scompare, l鈥檃zione rimane a Napoli, in un rione di periferia e di povert脿, si piomba e ci si immerge negli anni Cinquanta.
E come dicevo, presto il prologo sparisce dalla nostra attenzione, e ci si concentra su cosa succede, e molto si aspetta cosa succeder脿. Si ha voglia di conoscere qualcosa che in fondo sappiamo gi脿.
Tra Lila ed Elena, io lettore avrei definito 鈥榓mica geniale鈥� la prima: invece, 猫 proprio Lila a usare questa espressione per Elena, l鈥檌o narrante.
脠 la storia della loro amicizia, dicevo: un鈥檃micizia che all鈥檌nizio sembra difficile, le due si tengono distanti, quasi separate 鈥� ma si guardano, si studiano, come se si prendessero le misure.
E proprio quella pi霉 tosta, Lila, spesso definita cattiva, descritta aspra forte determinata fino alla violenza, proprio lei sar脿 la prima a tendere la mano.
Anche questo momento 猫 spiazzante, arriva non previsto. Bello.
In una storia cos矛 calata nella Napoli povera del dopoguerra, aspettarsi dialoghi in dialetto 猫 scontato. Invece, Ferrante evita, accenna appena, e rimane agganciata alla lingua comune. Come Lila, Elena Ferrante parla attraverso la scrittura: 鈥on lasciava traccia di innaturalezza, non si sentiva l鈥檃rtificio della parola scritta. Leggevo e intanto vedevo, sentivo lei.
Si respira cinema, le immagini sono incise, nitide, anche piacevolmente stereotipate: proiettare Sofia Loren o una Magnani scesa all鈥檕mbra del Vesuvio 猫 automatico.
Per貌, 猫 questione di poco, e Ferrante cambia prospettiva, perennemente affascinata da cosa c鈥櫭� dietro e sotto, dal lato oscuro, come la figlia del suo penultimo romanzo, la parte cattiva, il lato indegno, perfino meschino.
Come tra Lila e Len霉 la grande amicizia 猫 basata su un gioco continuo di scambio e rovesciamento, Ferrante sorprende e confonde senza nascondere, racconta personaggi che nessuna forma pu貌 contenere, che prima o poi possono spaccare tutto un鈥檃ltra volta, come succede alla pentola di rame - con un'ansia particolare, quasi urgenza di tirare fuori, spiegare, che regala a queste pagine una piacevolezza di lettura inaspettata.
Non ho nostalgia della nostra infanzia, 猫 piena di violenza. Ci succedeva di tutto, in casa e fuori, ogni giorno, ma non ricordo di aver mai pensato che la vita che c鈥檈ra capitata fosse particolarmente brutta. La vita era cos矛 e basta, crescevamo con l鈥檕bbligo di renderla difficile agli altri prima che gli altri la rendessero difficile a noi. Certo, a me sarebbero piaciuti i modi gentili che predicavano la maestra e il parroco, ma sentivo che quei modi non erano adatti al nostro rione, anche se eri femmina. Le donne combattevano tra loro pi霉 degli uomini, si prendevano per i capelli, si facevano male. Far male era una malattia.
James Franco e la Ferrante Fever.
October 7, 2018
[4.5 stars]
If I were to describe Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend in one word it would be 'mythic.' The minutiae of Elena and Lila's lives into which Ferrante dives takes on these mythic proportions, pulling the reader along on a tense and frightful story. But at first glance, the story is anything but tense and frightful. It's a story of female friendship, between two lower-class girls in Naples following WWII. Ferrante, with precision and passion, recounts the lives of these girls as anything less than ideal. There's an underlying push and pull to their friendship that goes against the expected narrative of girlhood. It's compelling and constantly teetering on the edge of disaster, again bringing back this theme of myth and how each detail lends itself to something greater, something disastrous.
We learn as the characters learn. Ferrante excels at establishing a tone fit to the story. When Elena, our narrator, is unsure, we are unsure. When she's jealous, we're jealous. She's spiteful at times, and compassionate at others. It all builds upon itself to create a vivid atmosphere that is only enhanced by the gritty Neapolitan setting.
I wasn't convinced by the first half of the book. But the second part really sold me. And I think that if I were to go back now and re-read the beginning, I'd be much more comfortable with the characters, the setting and the narrative structure. It's disconcerting and disorienting at first, getting thrown into a world with so many characters and so little hand-holding. But I appreciate Ferrante's confidence in the reader. She gives you more than you might handle, but once you get a grip on it, it's incredibly satisfying. I'm intrigued to see where the story goes, so much so that I ordered the next book in the series immediately after finishing this one. I only expect the books to get better and better; and based on what Ferrante's proved with this one, I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
First read: January 14-23, 2016
Second read: December 23-26, 2016
Third read: October 3-7, 2018
If I were to describe Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend in one word it would be 'mythic.' The minutiae of Elena and Lila's lives into which Ferrante dives takes on these mythic proportions, pulling the reader along on a tense and frightful story. But at first glance, the story is anything but tense and frightful. It's a story of female friendship, between two lower-class girls in Naples following WWII. Ferrante, with precision and passion, recounts the lives of these girls as anything less than ideal. There's an underlying push and pull to their friendship that goes against the expected narrative of girlhood. It's compelling and constantly teetering on the edge of disaster, again bringing back this theme of myth and how each detail lends itself to something greater, something disastrous.
We learn as the characters learn. Ferrante excels at establishing a tone fit to the story. When Elena, our narrator, is unsure, we are unsure. When she's jealous, we're jealous. She's spiteful at times, and compassionate at others. It all builds upon itself to create a vivid atmosphere that is only enhanced by the gritty Neapolitan setting.
I wasn't convinced by the first half of the book. But the second part really sold me. And I think that if I were to go back now and re-read the beginning, I'd be much more comfortable with the characters, the setting and the narrative structure. It's disconcerting and disorienting at first, getting thrown into a world with so many characters and so little hand-holding. But I appreciate Ferrante's confidence in the reader. She gives you more than you might handle, but once you get a grip on it, it's incredibly satisfying. I'm intrigued to see where the story goes, so much so that I ordered the next book in the series immediately after finishing this one. I only expect the books to get better and better; and based on what Ferrante's proved with this one, I'm sure I won't be disappointed.
First read: January 14-23, 2016
Second read: December 23-26, 2016
Third read: October 3-7, 2018
February 27, 2025
Review in progress鈥� I鈥檓 currently too busy picking up my jaw off of the floor.
December 2, 2015
This novel has so much violence that it should come with some kind of rating. Seriously, I had no idea it was so dangerous to grow up in Naples.
"I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence."
My Brilliant Friend is the story of two childhood friends, Elena and Lila. It is the first in a series, and I confess that when I started reading it, I did not intend to continue with them 鈥� I was just going to read this first one to see what all the fuss over Ferrante was about.
It took me a while to get into the book; there are so many families in the neighborhood, and everyone has nicknames that it was tough to remember who was who and who did what to which relative. (There is a cast of characters listed at the front of the book, but it's still confusing.) About midway through the book, I really connected with the two main characters, especially after they started going to school. I could relate to Elena's jealousy about Lila, and how she admired and imitated her strength. Occasionally Lila opens up and admits how important Elena is to her, and those moments are lovely. Ferrante's descriptions are so good that eventually it felt as if I had been living with these families.
But what exactly is the story, you ask? Well, there are lots of them. There are stories about cruel boys in the neighborhood. There are stories about Lila's dream of making it rich by designing special shoes to sell. There are stories about the competitions at school, and how Elena and Lila would push each other to learn more. There are stories of Lila's family, and how her father would abuse her when he lost his temper. There are stories about the men who pursued Lila when she became a beautiful teenager, and how she risked offending a powerful family. There is the story of Elena's first boyfriend, and how she has to navigate high school. And finally, there is the story of a wedding.
The wedding scene is what closes out this first novel, and something happens there that convinced me to read the second book. You win, Ferrante.
Update: A Few Weeks Later
I have gotten so involved in this series that I am reading Book 3 and have already ordered Book 4. My advice to those starting out is to be patient with this first novel -- a lot of the events that happen in Elena's childhood have long-lasting effects, like seeds that had to be planted so they could sprout later on. The more I read about these two women, the more I admire them. I highly recommend these Ferrante novels.
Favorite Quote
"Right away, from the first day, school had seemed to me a much nicer place than home. It was the place in the neighborhood where I felt safest, I went there with excitement. I paid attention to the lessons, I carried out with the greatest diligence everything that I was told to carry out, I learned. But most of all I liked pleasing the teacher, I liked pleasing everyone."
A Disturbing But Incredible Passage
"We lived in a world in which children and adults were often wounded, blood flowed from the wounds, they festered, and sometimes people died. One of the daughters of Signora Assunta, the fruit and vegetable seller, had stepped on a nail and died of tetanus. Signora Spagnuole's youngest child had died of croup. A cousin of mine, at the age of twenty, had gone one morning to move some rubble and that night was dead, crushed, the blood pouring out of his ears and mouth. My mother's father had been killed when he fell from a scaffolding at a building site. The father of Signor Peluso was missing an arm, the lathe had caught him unawares. The sister of Giuseppina, Signor Peluso's wife, had died of tuberculosis at twenty-two. The oldest son of Don Achille 鈥� I had never seen him, and yet I seemed to remember him 鈥� had gone to war and died twice: drowned in the Pacific Ocean, then eaten by sharks. The entire Melchiorre family had died clinging to each other, screaming with fear, in a bombardment. Old Signorina Clorinda had died inhaling gas instead of air. Guanine, who was in fourth grade when were were in first, had died one day because he had come across a bomb and touched it. Legion, with whom we had played in the courtyard, or maybe not, she was only a name, had died of typhus. Our world was like that, full of words that killed: croup, tetanus, typhus, gas, war, lathe, rubble, work, bombardment, bomb, tuberculosis, infection. With these words and those years I bring back the many fears that accompanied me all my life."
"I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence."
My Brilliant Friend is the story of two childhood friends, Elena and Lila. It is the first in a series, and I confess that when I started reading it, I did not intend to continue with them 鈥� I was just going to read this first one to see what all the fuss over Ferrante was about.
It took me a while to get into the book; there are so many families in the neighborhood, and everyone has nicknames that it was tough to remember who was who and who did what to which relative. (There is a cast of characters listed at the front of the book, but it's still confusing.) About midway through the book, I really connected with the two main characters, especially after they started going to school. I could relate to Elena's jealousy about Lila, and how she admired and imitated her strength. Occasionally Lila opens up and admits how important Elena is to her, and those moments are lovely. Ferrante's descriptions are so good that eventually it felt as if I had been living with these families.
But what exactly is the story, you ask? Well, there are lots of them. There are stories about cruel boys in the neighborhood. There are stories about Lila's dream of making it rich by designing special shoes to sell. There are stories about the competitions at school, and how Elena and Lila would push each other to learn more. There are stories of Lila's family, and how her father would abuse her when he lost his temper. There are stories about the men who pursued Lila when she became a beautiful teenager, and how she risked offending a powerful family. There is the story of Elena's first boyfriend, and how she has to navigate high school. And finally, there is the story of a wedding.
The wedding scene is what closes out this first novel, and something happens there that convinced me to read the second book. You win, Ferrante.
Update: A Few Weeks Later
I have gotten so involved in this series that I am reading Book 3 and have already ordered Book 4. My advice to those starting out is to be patient with this first novel -- a lot of the events that happen in Elena's childhood have long-lasting effects, like seeds that had to be planted so they could sprout later on. The more I read about these two women, the more I admire them. I highly recommend these Ferrante novels.
Favorite Quote
"Right away, from the first day, school had seemed to me a much nicer place than home. It was the place in the neighborhood where I felt safest, I went there with excitement. I paid attention to the lessons, I carried out with the greatest diligence everything that I was told to carry out, I learned. But most of all I liked pleasing the teacher, I liked pleasing everyone."
A Disturbing But Incredible Passage
"We lived in a world in which children and adults were often wounded, blood flowed from the wounds, they festered, and sometimes people died. One of the daughters of Signora Assunta, the fruit and vegetable seller, had stepped on a nail and died of tetanus. Signora Spagnuole's youngest child had died of croup. A cousin of mine, at the age of twenty, had gone one morning to move some rubble and that night was dead, crushed, the blood pouring out of his ears and mouth. My mother's father had been killed when he fell from a scaffolding at a building site. The father of Signor Peluso was missing an arm, the lathe had caught him unawares. The sister of Giuseppina, Signor Peluso's wife, had died of tuberculosis at twenty-two. The oldest son of Don Achille 鈥� I had never seen him, and yet I seemed to remember him 鈥� had gone to war and died twice: drowned in the Pacific Ocean, then eaten by sharks. The entire Melchiorre family had died clinging to each other, screaming with fear, in a bombardment. Old Signorina Clorinda had died inhaling gas instead of air. Guanine, who was in fourth grade when were were in first, had died one day because he had come across a bomb and touched it. Legion, with whom we had played in the courtyard, or maybe not, she was only a name, had died of typhus. Our world was like that, full of words that killed: croup, tetanus, typhus, gas, war, lathe, rubble, work, bombardment, bomb, tuberculosis, infection. With these words and those years I bring back the many fears that accompanied me all my life."
June 25, 2015
When did we all start talking about Elena Ferrante, guys? I can鈥檛 remember- was it last year? Maybe 2013? I know she鈥檚 been writing for far longer than that, but it was definitely only recently that she became A Thing. Whenever it was, we should have been talking about her sooner.
And with different words. Better words. Words whose value hasn鈥檛 been sucked out by the marketing blurbs they鈥檝e been a part of, with the same accompanying modifiers (if I never hear 鈥渃ompulsively readable鈥� again that would be okay with me, marketing departments). Too many eyes will glaze over when I use these words that would once have excited the grab-the-keys-and-run-to-the-bookstore response this book deserves. And that might make you, like me, not pick this up for absolutely years after you read this.
So I need better words. Words that will make you pick it up tomorrow. Because I still can鈥檛 believe I somehow developed the impression that this was a book that I could miss. How did I somehow think this wasn鈥檛 a series of books that I should have had on pre-order every time like it was Game of Thrones? (鈥� or, you know, something better than that given the quality of the last installment.)
But in the absence of an unused vocabulary floating around somewhere I鈥檒l try to convince you with the words I have, because- and please read this in the tone of your dad giving advice at a crucial life moment-I don鈥檛 want you to make the mistakes that I did, sonny boy.
How do I love this novel? Let me count the ways鈥�
* * *
My Brilliant Friend is the first installment of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 Neapolitan trilogy. It is an old woman鈥檚 memories of her friendship with a girl named Lila in the slums of 1950s Naples. They are both clever girls growing up in the midst of a grinding cycle of poverty and isolation generated by the problems of the post-war, post-Fascist Italian state (and the pre-war, mostly-in-name-only Italian 鈥渦nification鈥�). Both of them, along with the other children of the neighborhood, have a possibility of escaping the cycle and breaking out into the new Marshall Plan supported dolce vita- and some of the story is about that. But not mostly. Mostly it鈥檚 about what it鈥檚 like to be blessed/cursed enough to have a childhood friend who is the center of your universe, and how that friendship can literally change all the things in your life, and make you the person that you are in the process of becoming.
Straightforward enough, yes? You鈥檝e read that before. Sure鈥ut then why is it so poignant? Why did I spend hours upon hours with this book yesterday, unable to put it down? How did such an ordinary story work such undeniable magic?
There are many answers to that, but let鈥檚 start with this: The story. The plot was the most natural, organic thing I鈥檝e ever read. She started telling it and kept on doing it without pauses for literary reflections or metaphors, or for pretty much anything that might send the 鈥渙h right, this is fiction,鈥� signal to your brain. She let the damn thing be and run its course without interfering. She didn鈥檛 shy away from having her character be involved in all the quotidian things of childhood or adolescence- zits, dresses, best friends, boyfriends, finding out what bad words mean, and endless status competitions. But never once did she make it feel tired or like something I鈥檝e read a zillion times. Nobody came equipped with signifier clue words or pre-packaged, recognizable YA storylines, with immature emotional truths being repeated in italics, in between descriptions of clothing and hair. And you know what was fascinating? There totally was a popular girl everyone wanted here, there were mean bullies, nerdy intellectuals, hot jocks, slutty cheerleaders, apparently motivationlessly awful villains, and our heroine was even intellectual and had glasses. But that never occurred to me until I started to write this review.
This is mostly because Ferrante allows her characters a kind of full, honest emotional range of expression that I鈥檝e rarely seen in books about children and teenagers. She conveys the pettiness and center-of-the-universe feeling that characterizes childhood without ever quite making you detach from or become disgusted with the characters involved. When someone鈥檚 doll is thrown away, and another character retaliates, instead of rolling her eyes and refereeing whose fault it is, Ferrante just keeps staring at both characters and watching them go through that moment and what happens afterwards. There鈥檚 no adult intervention, whether that鈥檚 with an adult character or with an adult narrator.
As is typical with Ferrante, this is deliberate a choice that serves several purposes at once. One of which is to highlight the lack of fully developed adults anywhere in these children鈥檚 lives. This is one of the many effective ways Ferrante finds to seep you in the atmosphere of the Naples neighborhood where this all takes place, right from the beginning, but beautifully, dropping it in between the cracks of action and thought:
鈥淚 waited to see if Lila would have second thoughts and turn back. I knew what she wanted to do, I had hoped that she would forget about it, but in vain. The street lamps were not yet lit, nor were the lights on the stairs. From the apartments came irritable voices. To follow Lila, I had to leave the bluish light of the courtyard and enter the black of the doorway. When I finally made up my mind, I saw nothing at first, there was only an odor of old junk and DDT. Then I got used to the darkness鈥� We kept to the side where the wall was, she two steps ahead, I two steps behind, torn between shortening the distance or letting it increase. I can still feel my shoulder inching along the flaking wall and the idea that the steps were very high, higher than my own apartment across the way鈥� There was an odor of saut茅ing garlic. Maria, Don Achille鈥檚 wife, would put me in the pan of boiling oil, the children would eat me, he would suck my head the way my father did with mullets鈥︹€�
Never once does she need to set aside pages and pages of description as some authors do, because it鈥檚 given to us in pieces like that, while we鈥檙e following the action, until we have a full picture of a crumbling courtyard of a creaky old apartment building on a beaten down street in a bad part of town without ever really knowing how we got there.
She also does a lot, effectively, with repetition. Repetition shows us a lot about why the characters are the way that they are. The violence of the neighborhood, in particular, is depicted with a frighteningly normalizing banality. We see violence happen over and over again- not as an isolated, cinematic horror, the fright of one鈥檚 life- as something mentioned as an afterthought, 鈥渢hey argued, and then sometimes, after dinner, he beat her.鈥� The deliberate use of 鈥渟ometimes鈥� was chilling, like we鈥檙e not even hearing about all the other times when it happens. It鈥檚 not even worthy of comment. What鈥檚 even more terrifying is the dispassionate, impartial gaze turned on it by a narrator who has never known anything different. It only occurs to the sixty year old character who is the actual narrator of the story about two-thirds of the way through to get outside of herself and mention that she realizes now that her neighborhood was not the norm- it鈥檚 like in telling the story she put herself back under the spell and forgot that herself. It takes something 2015 Hollywood-level cinematically, publicly violent for anyone to feel the slightest bit bad about something that happens- The pernicious, weed-like growth of a particularly violent form of aggressive masculinity is at the root of most of the problem, but its societal reinforcement and indeed, the respect shown for those who display it, is shown, through this enforced repetition, to be the true cancer that not even young boys with the best of intentions and a deliberate intent to break the cycle seem to be able to escape. (Not to mention the girls who never had a chance to begin with.)
Something that further increased the powerfully true impression I got from her writing was her gentle use of not-quite chronological time. Time in the novel wavers into being, then very slowly circles back to its origin point until you鈥檝e almost forgotten where you started. But even this tried and true literary device never felt like a literary device. Again, it was so well and seamlessly executed it felt like a natural, organic process that was necessary to telling the story. It was like what happens when someone is telling you a story and realizes you don鈥檛 have the context to understand it, so they back it up and up until they feel they鈥檝e given you the whole story, and then only just remember why they were telling you the story in the first place.
But beyond that, the prose itself: Ferrante has that magical Tolstoy thing. The power of it isn鈥檛 in the individual sentence, which I guarantee you will be perfectly ordinary, but a string of sentences put together in just the right order. It is almost never going to be a striking word choice that nabs you, but rather a continuous flow that lulls you into its depths so that you鈥檙e surprised awake occasionally, just realizing that it鈥檚 happened to you. I honestly can鈥檛 think of anybody else except Tolstoy when he鈥檚 not ranting or religious, or Austen when she wasn鈥檛 being mischievous or clever, who can give the impression of being so utterly absent, as if someone simply left a kind of recorder on that would let you see what was going on inside and outside of the characters鈥� heads.
But while the plot is compelling enough, the hot, poisonous atmosphere and her rare gift for naturalistic, barely-there powerful writing are more than enough reason to show up, that's what you notice later, after you鈥檙e done and you can breathe normally again.
At the time all you really notice are these girls. It鈥檚 Lila. Lila, Lila, Lila. If you鈥檝e ever been friends with someone who was demonstrably smarter than you (or you were so convinced they were as to make no difference), then you know Lila. You know what it鈥檚 like to know that no matter what you do you鈥檒l always feel inferior- whether they praise you or encourage you or not. It makes so much sense to me that Lila was the transformative experience for Elena. She鈥檚 a heady thing for a child to experience. She is a person who is seemingly born free of gaze. She鈥檒l process what you say for the words you actually use- not the social status you have while you say it, not the yearning she has to be like you or not like you at all, nor does she care about the image she is projecting to you. One of the things the narrator worries about in Lila in 1950s Italy is that she doesn鈥檛 have the instinctive, eyes down response that the other girls do when they are getting harassed on the street. Lila threatens people with a knife, or simply asks them curious questions about what on earth they鈥檙e talking about when they do that to her. She literally stares down or completely ignores a gaze that is the all-encompassing foundation, path and walls of all the women (and, to be frank, most of the men) around her. That鈥檚 an intoxicating cocktail of a thing to be around. A possibly dangerous, even ruinous thing to be around, if you鈥檙e a smart, insecure teenager with an imagination and a constant societal message that you are not good enough.
Like Elena, the narrator. Her character development was very cleverly done. She had us, and Elena, so focused on her friend that her own story seems to happen under the radar, in asides, as if just necessary for context and to get us to the next Lila story. Which is a brilliant way to depict someone with the kind of self-esteem issues and brewing existential problems that are the major driver of most of Elena鈥檚 choices. She becomes a person somewhere along the way, without even realizing it- she builds an entire personality around Lila, the only thing she can see as worth motivating herself for in her horrible little dirty world. But it makes her beautiful moment of self-awareness at the end of the novel all the more poignant. She is shocked to discover that a disappointment she has in her own life, unrelated to Lila in any way, is important to her. This realization of her own, independent being as a person means she is able to have her first out of body experience, and look beyond the isolation and suffocation of her neighborhood to see herself with a gaze that might actually benefit her, in the end:
鈥淚 discovered that I had considered the publication of those few lines, my name in print, as a sign that I really had a destiny, that the hard work of school would surely lead upward, somewhere, that Maestra Oliviero had been right to push me forward and to abandon Lila. 鈥淒o you know what plebs are?鈥� 鈥淵es, Maestra.鈥� And at that moment I knew what plebs were, much more clearly than when, years earlier, she had asked me. The plebs were us. The plebs were that fight for food and wine, that quarrel over who should be served first and better, that dirty floor on which the waiters clattered back and forth, those increasingly vulgar toasts. The plebs were my mother, who had drunk wine and was now leaning against my father鈥檚 shoulder, while he, serious, laughed, his mouth gaping, at the sexual allusions of the metal dealer. They were all laughing, even Lila, with the expression of one who has a role and will play it to the utmost.鈥�
But most of all there is the friendship between these two girls. The content of it is some of the most honest that I鈥檝e seen. It鈥檚 neither a sentimental Victorian ode to sisterly support nor is it as cynical as some more modern reinterpretations of female friendship would suggest. It trusts you to understand that these are real people and to acknowledge that because you are willing to acknowledge it within yourself without ever telling you to acknowledge it. We know that the narrator doesn鈥檛 mean it maliciously, necessarily, when she needs a boyfriend because she thinks her friend has one, that she throws her friend鈥檚 doll down a hole because her friend did, that she feels better if she looks a little better than her sometimes. We also see that whenever something truly bad happens to her friend she notices it and she helps- she gets her through some tough situations when she has no obligation to. We also see how fixated she is on her friend, and how nothing is really worth it to her if she doesn鈥檛 share in it with her: she shows us what it means when your life is really, as literally as possible, almost entirely about your perception of another person. We see this so often in the context of romantic literature, but almost never in the context of friendship. I think the latter is far more common
I do not claim the novel is faultless. There were two moments where her assured voice broke and she fell down into the exaggerated metaphorical exercises I was so happy to see absent from most of the book. (Though one of those times is forgivable, because it came from a dramatic adolescent who dramatically drew out the metaphor herself in the weird, obsessive way that teenagers do. I also did wish that we might have spent slightly more time with the narrator herself, in her own home and her own life so that we might have gotten to know her better. But that was a reader鈥檚 wish for a sympathetic character to know herself better, mostly- that鈥檚 not what this story was about. It would have been the poorer for following what I wanted it to do. The faults were mostly the faults of the character, put there deliberately to emphasize a character trait.
So perhaps it is nearly faultless after all. What did I miss? Maybe someone else can tell me where she went wrong, because I can鈥檛 find it. Or I probably could, actually, but I think I鈥檒l be much too busy reading the next installment: The Story of a New Name. Which, I predict, is exactly what you鈥檒l be doing as soon as you finish this book.
Go on. I鈥檒l get you started鈥�..
鈥淢y friendship with Lila began the day we decided to go up the dark stairs that led, step after step, flight after flight, to the door of Don Achille鈥檚 apartment. I remember the violet light of the courtyard, the smells of a warm spring evening. The mothers were making dinner, it was time to go home, but we delayed, challenging each other, without ever saying a word, testing our courage鈥�..鈥�
(This book originally appeared on my blog at: )
June 30, 2016
Una maravilla. Elena Ferrante te tiene en tensi贸n durante todo el libro, algo ins贸lito. No hab铆a le铆do nada suyo, pero con esta me quedo con ganas no solo de terminar esta trilog铆a, si no de leer todo lo que ha publicado.
Muy recomendable. Se convierte en una adicci贸n, de las buenas, no pod铆a ya hacer nada m谩s que seguir leyendo la historia de Lena y Lila. Pero no es solo eso, me parece que Ferrante retrata las relaciones humanas en general, al hacer el retrato de estas dos amigas. Es la naturaleza humana, cuando dos personas se acercan tanto, cada una encuentra un papel que cumplir dentro de esa relaci贸n. Elena es la sensata, la que sigue estudiando, la que reflexiona todo. Lila es una tormenta en persona, su manera de llevar sus relaciones, con amigos, con familia, es violenta, pero no solo porque puede sacar un cuchillo y usarlo si es necesario, si no porque todo el tiempo est谩 como en medio de una explosi贸n.
Quer铆a esperar a conseguir los libros que siguen en espa帽ol mejor, que lo le铆 en ingl茅s (aunque la traducci贸n no est谩 nada mal), pero no creo que vaya a aguantar.
La recomiendo con todo.
------------
Segunda lectura, despu茅s de haber le铆do toda la serie. Si se sostiene! :D lo sigo recomendando.
Muy recomendable. Se convierte en una adicci贸n, de las buenas, no pod铆a ya hacer nada m谩s que seguir leyendo la historia de Lena y Lila. Pero no es solo eso, me parece que Ferrante retrata las relaciones humanas en general, al hacer el retrato de estas dos amigas. Es la naturaleza humana, cuando dos personas se acercan tanto, cada una encuentra un papel que cumplir dentro de esa relaci贸n. Elena es la sensata, la que sigue estudiando, la que reflexiona todo. Lila es una tormenta en persona, su manera de llevar sus relaciones, con amigos, con familia, es violenta, pero no solo porque puede sacar un cuchillo y usarlo si es necesario, si no porque todo el tiempo est谩 como en medio de una explosi贸n.
Quer铆a esperar a conseguir los libros que siguen en espa帽ol mejor, que lo le铆 en ingl茅s (aunque la traducci贸n no est谩 nada mal), pero no creo que vaya a aguantar.
La recomiendo con todo.
------------
Segunda lectura, despu茅s de haber le铆do toda la serie. Si se sostiene! :D lo sigo recomendando.
March 7, 2016
鈥淚 am made and remade continually. Different people draw different words from me.鈥� So said Virginia Woolf and this, the forging of identity in relationship, is very much the theme of Elena 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 compelling novel. Elena, the narrator of the novel, is in first grade when we first meet her. She lives in a violent and impoverished working class district of Naples where kindred spirits or role models are hard to find. Certainly not her mother 鈥� 鈥淢y mother did her best to make me understand that I was superfluous in her life. I wasn鈥檛 agreeable to her nor was she to me. I found her body repulsive.鈥� Then she meets Lila. Lila is a wild child with exalted sensibility and intelligence for her age. In Lila Elena finally identifies an ideal she can aspire to. The portrait of Elena and Lila鈥檚 bond is the novel鈥檚 masterstroke. As all around them the somewhat coarse uneducated boys of the neighbourhood seek to distort and shape the girls to suit their own masculine vanity 鈥� 鈥渄issolve the margins鈥� of separation - the two girls forge an independence of spirit that is nurtured by the inspiration they find in each other. They create a compelling and exciting inner world together, a stage on which they both are able to dramatise themselves as the heroines of their own fate. The novel is the story of their friendship and Elena鈥檚 attempts to transcend her background of thrift and mean spirited bullying.
It鈥檚 an unusual and highly distinctive novel (visually reminiscent of de Sica鈥檚 early brilliant films). Essentially because of the intensity and lucidity of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose. She manages to write about the most prosaic detail with a kind of hallucinatory urgency and as such her voice hits exactly the right notes in expressing the joys and torments of adolescence when every day seems to hold moments of both pivotal humiliation and triumph, moments few adults are capable of perceiving. Thus the narrative is a constant high tension wire where the mundane relentlessly spills over into epiphany or violence. There鈥檚 a passage when Elena is writing about Lila鈥檚 prose style which would serve as the perfect eulogy of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose style 鈥� 鈥淪he expressed herself in sentences that were well constructed, and without error, even though she had stopped going to school, but 鈥� further 鈥� she left no trace of effort, you weren鈥檛 aware of the artifice of the written word. I read and I saw her, heard her. The voice set in the writing overwhelmed me, enthralled me even more than when we talked face to face; it was completely cleansed of the dross of speech, the confusion of the oral.鈥�
It鈥檚 an unusual and highly distinctive novel (visually reminiscent of de Sica鈥檚 early brilliant films). Essentially because of the intensity and lucidity of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose. She manages to write about the most prosaic detail with a kind of hallucinatory urgency and as such her voice hits exactly the right notes in expressing the joys and torments of adolescence when every day seems to hold moments of both pivotal humiliation and triumph, moments few adults are capable of perceiving. Thus the narrative is a constant high tension wire where the mundane relentlessly spills over into epiphany or violence. There鈥檚 a passage when Elena is writing about Lila鈥檚 prose style which would serve as the perfect eulogy of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 prose style 鈥� 鈥淪he expressed herself in sentences that were well constructed, and without error, even though she had stopped going to school, but 鈥� further 鈥� she left no trace of effort, you weren鈥檛 aware of the artifice of the written word. I read and I saw her, heard her. The voice set in the writing overwhelmed me, enthralled me even more than when we talked face to face; it was completely cleansed of the dross of speech, the confusion of the oral.鈥�
February 1, 2019
Much has been said about this book, the first of the Naples trilogy, and by many.
I opened this novel with the expectation to be enthralled in a world I could relate to, with characters that would bring back echoes of my own childhood and adolescence and also hoping to be surprised by 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 unique conception of friendship.
It turns out the book did nothing of the sort. That doesn鈥檛 mean I can鈥檛 understand why some readers feel attracted to it, as I detect a sort of addictiveness in 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 style that I can鈥檛 rightly place. My fault, probably.
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 ability to paint a dexterous tableau vivant of Naples in the mid-fifties is undeniable; its gratuitous gender violence, the pressing presence of the Camorra that threatens the lives of young and old in a modest working neighborhood, the weight of a patriarchal system that harasses girls of all ages鈥� it all leaps off the page, and yet, and yet鈥�
My reservations arise from the lack of emotion with which all the above is framed by the two protagonists of the story: Lenu and Lila. They couldn鈥檛 be more different, Lila is daring, kind of a rebel, Lenu is dependant, a follower. And still, who is the 鈥渂rilliant friend鈥� in this story? The narrator or the narrated? Ferrante seems to suggest that Lila鈥檚 potential is subdued by her circumstances, but Lenu manages to flourish in them, as if she sucked her friend鈥檚 talent in spite of her apparent dominance over everybody around her.
Promising, right?
There is basis for a great story in this novel, one that could easily portray the true meaning of friendship, including its ugly side marred by envy and jealousy, but my response is undermined by the way in which Ferrante carried it through, which was, in my opinion, insipid in literary terms. Flat. Lifeless. I wasn鈥檛 pulled into the story, I couldn鈥檛 empathize with neither of the characters and I did find little narrative beauty in 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 unpolished sentences.
I鈥檒l confess that the last page didn鈥檛 urge me to get the next installment; I just felt relieved to see the abrupt ending that gave me the perfect excuse to let these two girls go on their ways without me.
Closing the book felt like having eaten a bunch of junk food, easy to gobble up but knowing it will provide little nourishment to one鈥檚 body鈥r reading soul, in this case. So, no harm in doing that from time to time, but not on a daily basis.
I opened this novel with the expectation to be enthralled in a world I could relate to, with characters that would bring back echoes of my own childhood and adolescence and also hoping to be surprised by 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 unique conception of friendship.
It turns out the book did nothing of the sort. That doesn鈥檛 mean I can鈥檛 understand why some readers feel attracted to it, as I detect a sort of addictiveness in 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 style that I can鈥檛 rightly place. My fault, probably.
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 ability to paint a dexterous tableau vivant of Naples in the mid-fifties is undeniable; its gratuitous gender violence, the pressing presence of the Camorra that threatens the lives of young and old in a modest working neighborhood, the weight of a patriarchal system that harasses girls of all ages鈥� it all leaps off the page, and yet, and yet鈥�
My reservations arise from the lack of emotion with which all the above is framed by the two protagonists of the story: Lenu and Lila. They couldn鈥檛 be more different, Lila is daring, kind of a rebel, Lenu is dependant, a follower. And still, who is the 鈥渂rilliant friend鈥� in this story? The narrator or the narrated? Ferrante seems to suggest that Lila鈥檚 potential is subdued by her circumstances, but Lenu manages to flourish in them, as if she sucked her friend鈥檚 talent in spite of her apparent dominance over everybody around her.
Promising, right?
There is basis for a great story in this novel, one that could easily portray the true meaning of friendship, including its ugly side marred by envy and jealousy, but my response is undermined by the way in which Ferrante carried it through, which was, in my opinion, insipid in literary terms. Flat. Lifeless. I wasn鈥檛 pulled into the story, I couldn鈥檛 empathize with neither of the characters and I did find little narrative beauty in 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 unpolished sentences.
I鈥檒l confess that the last page didn鈥檛 urge me to get the next installment; I just felt relieved to see the abrupt ending that gave me the perfect excuse to let these two girls go on their ways without me.
Closing the book felt like having eaten a bunch of junk food, easy to gobble up but knowing it will provide little nourishment to one鈥檚 body鈥r reading soul, in this case. So, no harm in doing that from time to time, but not on a daily basis.
dnf
January 26, 2015I just don't get the hype. I found the writing (or translation) incredibly choppy and the story overlong, repetitive and incoherent at times.
There must be better writers in Italy than Ferrante.
There must be better writers in Italy than Ferrante.
December 31, 2016
"It was as if, because of an evil spell, the joy or sorrow of one required the sorrow or joy of the other; even our physical aspect, it seemed to me, shared in that swing."
Elena and Lila, a friendship born of necessity 鈥� the need to find another human soul that understands us, our longings and sorrows - someone to emulate, someone that drives each of us to become our very best self. These two girls, born into poverty in 1950s Naples, forge a relationship that is both captivating and completely authentic. There is something about a novel told from the point of view of an adult looking back at his or her childhood that thoroughly captures my attention and feels so convincing. Even if I cannot relate to the circumstances or the surroundings, the emotions are so very real and bring back such sharp memories of my own inexperience and innocent yearnings.
With keen insight and skillful writing, Elena Ferrante has crafted a vivid account of two young lives struggling to rise above the usual fate of those born into such harsh conditions. The impoverishment and violence of the neighborhood are part of the daily fabric of Elena and Lila鈥檚 lives, but they dream of a life elevated above those around them. The key to achieving this dream 鈥� education. "In that last year of elementary school, wealth became our obsession. We talked about it the way characters in novels talk about searching for treasure鈥� Then, I don鈥檛 know why, things changed and we began to link school to wealth. We thought that if we studied hard we would be able to write books and that the books would make us rich. Wealth was still the glitter of gold coins stored in countless chests, but to get there all you had to do was go to school and write a book." Oh yes, there was a time when I believed diligent studying would achieve similar results! What little girl doesn鈥檛 dream of becoming rich or famous?! Both girls work hard, but it is quite evident that Lila is the dominant one in the relationship 鈥� academics come easy to her and Elena finds herself wanting to reach those same heights. She often feels inferior to Lila and it becomes her goal to keep up with her, but believing she can never surpass the brilliance of her friend.
Of course, the competition between two coming-of-age girls doesn鈥檛 just end at schoolwork. The fragility of such a relationship is further tested by the attraction they hold for the boys of the neighborhood. In this arena, Elena perhaps feels she has an advantage over Lila: "In general I was the pretty one, while she was skinny, like a salted anchovy, she gave off an odor of wildness, she had a long face, narrow at the temples, framed by two bands of smooth black hair." However, true to the nature of girlhood, feelings of inadequacy settle in and Elena feels second-string once again. "But Lila now had retaken the upper hand, satisfaction had magnified her beauty, while I, overwhelmed by schoolwork, exhausted by my frustrated love for Nino, was growing ugly again. My healthy color faded, the acne returned. And suddenly one morning the specter of glasses appeared."
I couldn鈥檛 help but wish that Elena would stand up for herself, value herself as an individual separate from her attachment to Lila. Lila, the leader and Elena, the follower 鈥� certainly a familiar dynamic in a friendship. I wonder who benefits most from these friendships. Perhaps Elena needed the competition to drive her own ambition and rise above her circumstances. But Lila too needed someone to ground her, give her some sense of stability in her own life. I think perhaps such relationships are fluid 鈥� giving and receiving on both ends at different times, always changing along with the trials and tribulations each experiences. Ferrante does an exceptional job of examining the complexities of friendships and this is what I found to be the most fascinating aspect of this novel. The ending leaves one with a question and the desire to grab the second book in the series. Without a doubt, I will do exactly that. I am eager to follow not just Elena and Lila鈥檚 friendship but also to learn more about the fate of the large cast of characters 鈥� especially Nino, Stefano, Rino, Pasquale, Antonio, and even the city of Naples itself.
Elena and Lila, a friendship born of necessity 鈥� the need to find another human soul that understands us, our longings and sorrows - someone to emulate, someone that drives each of us to become our very best self. These two girls, born into poverty in 1950s Naples, forge a relationship that is both captivating and completely authentic. There is something about a novel told from the point of view of an adult looking back at his or her childhood that thoroughly captures my attention and feels so convincing. Even if I cannot relate to the circumstances or the surroundings, the emotions are so very real and bring back such sharp memories of my own inexperience and innocent yearnings.
With keen insight and skillful writing, Elena Ferrante has crafted a vivid account of two young lives struggling to rise above the usual fate of those born into such harsh conditions. The impoverishment and violence of the neighborhood are part of the daily fabric of Elena and Lila鈥檚 lives, but they dream of a life elevated above those around them. The key to achieving this dream 鈥� education. "In that last year of elementary school, wealth became our obsession. We talked about it the way characters in novels talk about searching for treasure鈥� Then, I don鈥檛 know why, things changed and we began to link school to wealth. We thought that if we studied hard we would be able to write books and that the books would make us rich. Wealth was still the glitter of gold coins stored in countless chests, but to get there all you had to do was go to school and write a book." Oh yes, there was a time when I believed diligent studying would achieve similar results! What little girl doesn鈥檛 dream of becoming rich or famous?! Both girls work hard, but it is quite evident that Lila is the dominant one in the relationship 鈥� academics come easy to her and Elena finds herself wanting to reach those same heights. She often feels inferior to Lila and it becomes her goal to keep up with her, but believing she can never surpass the brilliance of her friend.
Of course, the competition between two coming-of-age girls doesn鈥檛 just end at schoolwork. The fragility of such a relationship is further tested by the attraction they hold for the boys of the neighborhood. In this arena, Elena perhaps feels she has an advantage over Lila: "In general I was the pretty one, while she was skinny, like a salted anchovy, she gave off an odor of wildness, she had a long face, narrow at the temples, framed by two bands of smooth black hair." However, true to the nature of girlhood, feelings of inadequacy settle in and Elena feels second-string once again. "But Lila now had retaken the upper hand, satisfaction had magnified her beauty, while I, overwhelmed by schoolwork, exhausted by my frustrated love for Nino, was growing ugly again. My healthy color faded, the acne returned. And suddenly one morning the specter of glasses appeared."
I couldn鈥檛 help but wish that Elena would stand up for herself, value herself as an individual separate from her attachment to Lila. Lila, the leader and Elena, the follower 鈥� certainly a familiar dynamic in a friendship. I wonder who benefits most from these friendships. Perhaps Elena needed the competition to drive her own ambition and rise above her circumstances. But Lila too needed someone to ground her, give her some sense of stability in her own life. I think perhaps such relationships are fluid 鈥� giving and receiving on both ends at different times, always changing along with the trials and tribulations each experiences. Ferrante does an exceptional job of examining the complexities of friendships and this is what I found to be the most fascinating aspect of this novel. The ending leaves one with a question and the desire to grab the second book in the series. Without a doubt, I will do exactly that. I am eager to follow not just Elena and Lila鈥檚 friendship but also to learn more about the fate of the large cast of characters 鈥� especially Nino, Stefano, Rino, Pasquale, Antonio, and even the city of Naples itself.
August 13, 2023
Born into a poor and violent neighbourhood, plagued by death, most people accept their fate, some dream, and a few make plans. For Elena, the narrator, studying hard becomes the likely route out. Lila, the shoe-mender鈥檚 daughter, hopes her fantastical shoe designs will one day bring wealth. Footwear is a transformative element in so many myths and fairytales, it seems apt: Hermes/Mercury, Cinderella, The Elves and the Shoemaker, Puss in Boots, The Wizard of Oz, and The Red Shoes.
Image: Mythical winged sandals ()
This charts the early years of Elena and Lila鈥檚 lives, as friends and rivals, bonded forever, whatever the future may hold.
Location: time and place
鈥�We lived in a world in which children and adults were often wounded, blood flowed from the wounds, they festered, and sometimes people died.鈥�
The setting is utterly alien: 1950s (mostly) in an impoverished, closely interconnected neighbourhood of Naples, where people speak a slum dialect rather than 鈥渟chool Italian鈥�, and the Neapolitan equivalent of the mafia, , hold sway.
鈥�There were no written rules, everyone knew that鈥檚 how it was.鈥�
But it鈥檚 so vividly portrayed, filled with universal experiences (childhood friendships and fears, mythologising, dares, competitiveness, battles with parents, shame, showing off, puberty, sexual stirrings, fashion, slut and fag-shaming, manipulative and difficult relationships), that there鈥檚 familiarity too - despite the normalised violence and abuse.
Roots and routes
School gives Elena the possibility of a different life, but it increasingly distances her from those she is growing up with.
鈥�I had grown up with these boys, I considered their behaviour normal, their violent language was mine. But for six years now I had also been following daily a path that they were completely ignorant of鈥� With them鈥� I had to suppress myself.鈥�
When Don Sarratore publishes a book of poems and moves to a better area, she begins to believe it is possible to escape one鈥檚 roots - for people like her to succeed, even by writing (she doesn鈥檛 seem to consider it might be easier for a man).
鈥�Was it possible that only our neighborhood was filled with conflicts and violence, while the rest of the city was radiant and benevolent?鈥�
Nevertheless, Elena鈥檚 childhood means that long after she鈥檚 moved away, violence, death, and poverty are among 鈥�the many fears that accompanied me all my life鈥�.
Yin and yang
鈥�A continuous game of exchanges and reversals.鈥�
Again and again, Lila鈥檚 and Elena鈥檚 experiences switch: when one is happy or pretty or popular, the other is not - until it flips.
Yet despite that, broad differences persist. Lila is wild and angry, brilliant and, eventually, beautiful. By age six, she鈥檚 taught herself to read, despite living in a barely literate household. Elena is scared and in awe of her, but decides to accept Lila鈥檚 superiority, while being determined to keep up with her:
鈥�That was my way of reacting to envy, and hatred, and of suffocating them.鈥�
Even in the context of school work, the vocabulary is violent.
鈥�My life was splendid but uneventful鈥� while hers was dark but full.鈥�
It seems that Lila is the brilliant one, going to waste, while Elena succeeds through hard graft and being allowed to continue in school. But it鈥檚 Lila who tells Elena, 鈥�You鈥檙e my brilliant friend鈥�.
Dissolving margins
In childhood, the girls are constrained within their tiny neighbourhood, but as teens they occasionally venture to more affluent areas.
鈥�It was like crossing a border. I remember a dense crowd and a sort of humiliating difference鈥� The women: they were absolutely different from us. They seemed to have breathed another air鈥� They didn鈥檛 see any of the five of us.
This is a grimly and sublimely realistic novel, with an intriguing exception: Lila鈥檚 occasional experience of 鈥渄issolving margins鈥�. It could be a type of migraine or a touch of magical-realism. Either way, it鈥檚 also a metaphor for the boundaries and breaches that run through the book.
Image: Children playing in the street in Naples, c1950 ()
Scale
When I opened this medium-length novel, I was startled by the dauntingly long cast list. When I finished, I was startled that it just stopped, in the middle of a big celebration, with trouble brewing. That鈥檚 because this is actually an epic novel published in 4 volumes, following Elena and Lila, born in Naples c1944, from childhood to old age. This one has a short present-day prologue, 60 pages about their childhood, and 240 of their adolescence. I will get the other three volumes.
Quotes
鈥� 鈥淭rained by our school books to speak with great skill about what we had never seen we were excited by the invisible.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淪he took the facts and in a natural way charged them with tension; she intensified reality as she reduced it to words.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭he sea. But what a sea. It was very rough, and loud; the wind took your breath away, pasted your clothes to your body and blew the hair off your forehead鈥� The waves rolled in like blue metal tubes carrying an egg white of foam on their peaks, then broke in a thousand glittering splinters and came up the street.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淚 lay in the sun reading, dissolving into the pages like a jellyfish.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淚 was terrified鈥� by the horror it created, but the pleasure that I nevertheless felt.鈥� [a brave, but plausible description of a teen being gently (only in a physical sense) sexually assaulted]
鈥� 鈥淪he gave off a glow that seemed a violent slap in the face of the poverty of the neighborhood.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭he embarrassment of gazing with pleasure at her body鈥� I was washing her鈥� just so that [person] could sully her.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭o listen to him lighted up my mind almost the way Lila once had.鈥�
The Neapolitan quartet
1. My Brilliant Friend, read November 鈥�22, 4* (this review).
2. The Story of a New Name, read April 鈥�23, 4*, review HERE.
3. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, tbr.
4. The Story of the Lost Child, tbr.
Who's the 鈥渂rilliant鈥� one?
In book 1, Lila calls Elena her brilliant friend.
In book 2, their old teacher says that Lila was the best student she ever taught.
Image: Mythical winged sandals ()
This charts the early years of Elena and Lila鈥檚 lives, as friends and rivals, bonded forever, whatever the future may hold.
Location: time and place
鈥�We lived in a world in which children and adults were often wounded, blood flowed from the wounds, they festered, and sometimes people died.鈥�
The setting is utterly alien: 1950s (mostly) in an impoverished, closely interconnected neighbourhood of Naples, where people speak a slum dialect rather than 鈥渟chool Italian鈥�, and the Neapolitan equivalent of the mafia, , hold sway.
鈥�There were no written rules, everyone knew that鈥檚 how it was.鈥�
But it鈥檚 so vividly portrayed, filled with universal experiences (childhood friendships and fears, mythologising, dares, competitiveness, battles with parents, shame, showing off, puberty, sexual stirrings, fashion, slut and fag-shaming, manipulative and difficult relationships), that there鈥檚 familiarity too - despite the normalised violence and abuse.
Roots and routes
School gives Elena the possibility of a different life, but it increasingly distances her from those she is growing up with.
鈥�I had grown up with these boys, I considered their behaviour normal, their violent language was mine. But for six years now I had also been following daily a path that they were completely ignorant of鈥� With them鈥� I had to suppress myself.鈥�
When Don Sarratore publishes a book of poems and moves to a better area, she begins to believe it is possible to escape one鈥檚 roots - for people like her to succeed, even by writing (she doesn鈥檛 seem to consider it might be easier for a man).
鈥�Was it possible that only our neighborhood was filled with conflicts and violence, while the rest of the city was radiant and benevolent?鈥�
Nevertheless, Elena鈥檚 childhood means that long after she鈥檚 moved away, violence, death, and poverty are among 鈥�the many fears that accompanied me all my life鈥�.
Yin and yang
鈥�A continuous game of exchanges and reversals.鈥�
Again and again, Lila鈥檚 and Elena鈥檚 experiences switch: when one is happy or pretty or popular, the other is not - until it flips.
Yet despite that, broad differences persist. Lila is wild and angry, brilliant and, eventually, beautiful. By age six, she鈥檚 taught herself to read, despite living in a barely literate household. Elena is scared and in awe of her, but decides to accept Lila鈥檚 superiority, while being determined to keep up with her:
鈥�That was my way of reacting to envy, and hatred, and of suffocating them.鈥�
Even in the context of school work, the vocabulary is violent.
鈥�My life was splendid but uneventful鈥� while hers was dark but full.鈥�
It seems that Lila is the brilliant one, going to waste, while Elena succeeds through hard graft and being allowed to continue in school. But it鈥檚 Lila who tells Elena, 鈥�You鈥檙e my brilliant friend鈥�.
Dissolving margins
In childhood, the girls are constrained within their tiny neighbourhood, but as teens they occasionally venture to more affluent areas.
鈥�It was like crossing a border. I remember a dense crowd and a sort of humiliating difference鈥� The women: they were absolutely different from us. They seemed to have breathed another air鈥� They didn鈥檛 see any of the five of us.
This is a grimly and sublimely realistic novel, with an intriguing exception: Lila鈥檚 occasional experience of 鈥渄issolving margins鈥�. It could be a type of migraine or a touch of magical-realism. Either way, it鈥檚 also a metaphor for the boundaries and breaches that run through the book.
Image: Children playing in the street in Naples, c1950 ()
Scale
When I opened this medium-length novel, I was startled by the dauntingly long cast list. When I finished, I was startled that it just stopped, in the middle of a big celebration, with trouble brewing. That鈥檚 because this is actually an epic novel published in 4 volumes, following Elena and Lila, born in Naples c1944, from childhood to old age. This one has a short present-day prologue, 60 pages about their childhood, and 240 of their adolescence. I will get the other three volumes.
Quotes
鈥� 鈥淭rained by our school books to speak with great skill about what we had never seen we were excited by the invisible.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淪he took the facts and in a natural way charged them with tension; she intensified reality as she reduced it to words.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭he sea. But what a sea. It was very rough, and loud; the wind took your breath away, pasted your clothes to your body and blew the hair off your forehead鈥� The waves rolled in like blue metal tubes carrying an egg white of foam on their peaks, then broke in a thousand glittering splinters and came up the street.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淚 lay in the sun reading, dissolving into the pages like a jellyfish.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淚 was terrified鈥� by the horror it created, but the pleasure that I nevertheless felt.鈥� [a brave, but plausible description of a teen being gently (only in a physical sense) sexually assaulted]
鈥� 鈥淪he gave off a glow that seemed a violent slap in the face of the poverty of the neighborhood.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭he embarrassment of gazing with pleasure at her body鈥� I was washing her鈥� just so that [person] could sully her.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭o listen to him lighted up my mind almost the way Lila once had.鈥�
The Neapolitan quartet
1. My Brilliant Friend, read November 鈥�22, 4* (this review).
2. The Story of a New Name, read April 鈥�23, 4*, review HERE.
3. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, tbr.
4. The Story of the Lost Child, tbr.
Who's the 鈥渂rilliant鈥� one?
In book 1, Lila calls Elena her brilliant friend.
In book 2, their old teacher says that Lila was the best student she ever taught.
August 28, 2024
What touched me most in this book is the brutally honest portrayal of girlhood. The shameful thoughts that come with it, the jealousy, the feeling of competition with your own sex and the need for approval of men, against your better judgment. They are the thoughts we do not speak out loud because we hate ourselves for them as we get older, and know better - but Elena Ferrante laid them all bare in this book and I love her all the more for it.
March 13, 2018
Early in Emily Bront毛's Wuthering Heights, the narrator arrives at the eponymous farmhouse and has the following exchange with the Earnshaws' servant, Joseph:
Charming. Now imagine, for a moment, that the scene had instead been written like this:
It's more immediately comprehensible, certainly; but it's productive to think about what might have been lost in such a version. This is somewhat the situation you are in with Elena Ferrante's novels, in which the use of 鈥榙ialect鈥� is made to assume gigantic significance, while never actually being shown to us.
At first I thought the constant dialogue tags 鈥� 鈥榮he said in Italian鈥�, 鈥榟e replied in dialect鈥� 鈥� were a device of the translator to show where Ferrante herself was switching between standard Italian and Neapolitan. But no; in fact, the original writing is all in purest Italian and those markers (in dialetto, in italiano) are just the same for Italian readers as they are for me. While I was reading, and enjoying, this book, I was also struggling to work out what about this was bothering me.
The thing is, casual readers would be forgiven for thinking that Ferrante's 鈥榙ialect鈥� is some ungrammatical or degraded urban street version of Italian; in fact, of course, Neapolitan is a sister-language with a long, proud literary and administrative history. The Kingdom of Naples isn't some medieval nonentity 鈥� it lasted right up to the Risorgimento, and didn't really join 鈥業taly鈥� until 1861. Neapolitan is no more a dialect than the Florentine dialect which has been enshrined (arbitrarily) as standard Italian. (At unification, by the way, the proportion of Italians who spoke 鈥業talian鈥� has been estimated at no more than 2.5 percent.)
I put 鈥榙ialogue鈥� in inverted commas before because the words 鈥榣anguage鈥� and 鈥榙ialect鈥� do not have any scientific meaning in linguistics, and the decision to call something a dialect is, in the end, a sociopolitical one. We see in this book that people speak 鈥榩ure Italian鈥�, 鈥榞ood Italian鈥�, but 鈥榬ough dialect鈥�, 鈥榯he thickest dialect鈥�; Neapolitan is what they use for shouting, swearing, insulting, getting excited. Len霉's boyfriend frustrates her because 鈥榟e never abandoned dialect, and in dialect it was hard to discuss the corruption of earthly justice鈥� and other high-flown intellectual topics; when he falls out with her (though this is actually at the start of the second book, not this one), it's specifically because 鈥榟e heard scarcely any dialect in [Len霉's] voice, he noted the long sentence, the subjunctives, and he lost his temper鈥�. Even the toastmaster at Lila's wedding is originally chosen on the grounds that he 鈥榟ad married a Florentine woman and had taken on the local accent鈥�.
Of course, people really do look down on minority languages, they really are associated with poor education and low social status, and to that extent Ferrante is reflecting the reality of the situation. (In Naples as everywhere else 鈥� my wife was always told off at school in Edinburgh if she ever used 鈥榟eid鈥� for 鈥榟ead鈥� or 鈥榢en鈥� for 鈥榢now鈥�.) And yet so much of the novel is about overturning preconceptions about Len霉's friends and neighbours, about restoring some respect to the lives of the working class in this neighbourhood; the novel aims to give a voice to a community that a lot of people do not hear from or understand. While this is often powerfully done, the book itself, on a sociolinguistic level, is profoundly conservative. Something about this friction sat uneasily with me and modulated the way I was reacting to the story.
News that RAI and HBO are producing a TV series of these books raises my hopes that a screen version will 鈥� perversely 鈥� foreground the language issue in a way that the literary version doesn't quite. Since it's being made in Italian, it's hard to imagine that the producers could duck the issue of using Neapolitan in the way that Ferrante can duck it in text 鈥� as a regional language, its use in oral contexts like film and music (鈥橭 sole mio, most famously) is, I suppose, more acceptable than in print. I get a sense of how Lila and Antonio and the Solaras sound 鈥� but it's distant, even allowing for the fact that I'm reading in translation. Maybe, on screen, I'll feel like I'm finally hearing their voices.
鈥榃hat are ye for?鈥� he shouted. 鈥楾' maister's down i' t' fowld. Go round by th' end o' t' laith, if ye went to spake to him.鈥�
鈥業s there nobody inside to open the door?鈥� I hallooed, responsively.
鈥楾here's nobbut t' missis; and shoo'll not oppen 't an ye mak' yer flaysome dins till neeght.鈥�
Charming. Now imagine, for a moment, that the scene had instead been written like this:
鈥榃hat do you want?鈥� he shouted in dialect. 鈥楾he master's down in the fold. Go round past the end of the barn if you want to speak to him.鈥�
鈥業s there nobody inside to open the door,鈥� I hallooed, responsively, in English.
鈥楾here's no one but the mistress; and she won't open even if you make that dreadful noise until nighttime.鈥�
It's more immediately comprehensible, certainly; but it's productive to think about what might have been lost in such a version. This is somewhat the situation you are in with Elena Ferrante's novels, in which the use of 鈥榙ialect鈥� is made to assume gigantic significance, while never actually being shown to us.
At first I thought the constant dialogue tags 鈥� 鈥榮he said in Italian鈥�, 鈥榟e replied in dialect鈥� 鈥� were a device of the translator to show where Ferrante herself was switching between standard Italian and Neapolitan. But no; in fact, the original writing is all in purest Italian and those markers (in dialetto, in italiano) are just the same for Italian readers as they are for me. While I was reading, and enjoying, this book, I was also struggling to work out what about this was bothering me.
The thing is, casual readers would be forgiven for thinking that Ferrante's 鈥榙ialect鈥� is some ungrammatical or degraded urban street version of Italian; in fact, of course, Neapolitan is a sister-language with a long, proud literary and administrative history. The Kingdom of Naples isn't some medieval nonentity 鈥� it lasted right up to the Risorgimento, and didn't really join 鈥業taly鈥� until 1861. Neapolitan is no more a dialect than the Florentine dialect which has been enshrined (arbitrarily) as standard Italian. (At unification, by the way, the proportion of Italians who spoke 鈥業talian鈥� has been estimated at no more than 2.5 percent.)
I put 鈥榙ialogue鈥� in inverted commas before because the words 鈥榣anguage鈥� and 鈥榙ialect鈥� do not have any scientific meaning in linguistics, and the decision to call something a dialect is, in the end, a sociopolitical one. We see in this book that people speak 鈥榩ure Italian鈥�, 鈥榞ood Italian鈥�, but 鈥榬ough dialect鈥�, 鈥榯he thickest dialect鈥�; Neapolitan is what they use for shouting, swearing, insulting, getting excited. Len霉's boyfriend frustrates her because 鈥榟e never abandoned dialect, and in dialect it was hard to discuss the corruption of earthly justice鈥� and other high-flown intellectual topics; when he falls out with her (though this is actually at the start of the second book, not this one), it's specifically because 鈥榟e heard scarcely any dialect in [Len霉's] voice, he noted the long sentence, the subjunctives, and he lost his temper鈥�. Even the toastmaster at Lila's wedding is originally chosen on the grounds that he 鈥榟ad married a Florentine woman and had taken on the local accent鈥�.
Of course, people really do look down on minority languages, they really are associated with poor education and low social status, and to that extent Ferrante is reflecting the reality of the situation. (In Naples as everywhere else 鈥� my wife was always told off at school in Edinburgh if she ever used 鈥榟eid鈥� for 鈥榟ead鈥� or 鈥榢en鈥� for 鈥榢now鈥�.) And yet so much of the novel is about overturning preconceptions about Len霉's friends and neighbours, about restoring some respect to the lives of the working class in this neighbourhood; the novel aims to give a voice to a community that a lot of people do not hear from or understand. While this is often powerfully done, the book itself, on a sociolinguistic level, is profoundly conservative. Something about this friction sat uneasily with me and modulated the way I was reacting to the story.
News that RAI and HBO are producing a TV series of these books raises my hopes that a screen version will 鈥� perversely 鈥� foreground the language issue in a way that the literary version doesn't quite. Since it's being made in Italian, it's hard to imagine that the producers could duck the issue of using Neapolitan in the way that Ferrante can duck it in text 鈥� as a regional language, its use in oral contexts like film and music (鈥橭 sole mio, most famously) is, I suppose, more acceptable than in print. I get a sense of how Lila and Antonio and the Solaras sound 鈥� but it's distant, even allowing for the fact that I'm reading in translation. Maybe, on screen, I'll feel like I'm finally hearing their voices.
July 21, 2015
A not so satisfying read for me. By many other accounts, a great book and writer. The first part of a trilogy beginning with childhood girlfriends who, come to find out, don鈥檛 get past the age of 16 in this first installment. And therein lies my problem with it. I wanted it to move into their adult years and become more interesting and relevant to me personally. I should state that I rarely enjoy reading about childhood from the child鈥檚 perspective for an entire book. For the duration, it read like the early pages of a novel you鈥檙e trying to get through so you can get to the main storyline. Half way in and beyond, I鈥檓 still reading about translating latin and struggling with studying and class exams along with the onset of puberty and its challenges. Reflections of poor children growing up in tough surroundings during a six year period of time. Then it ends abruptly, like part I of a big novel with no part II. I can say that if I was willing to read the second book I might enjoy it as it was just getting interesting. Not within my personal interest radar. But it looks like I鈥檓 in the minority.
April 20, 2015
My Brilliant Friend, the first in Elena 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 quartet about best friends from a Naples ghetto, is a novel about power: who holds it, how it is won and lost, and what happens when power shifts occur. It is a story of violence: domestic and cultural, physical and emotional. All this, in a novel about two young girls exploring friendship and adolescence in post-war southern Italy.
Elena Greco and Lila Cerrullo are daughters of working class families, growing up in a crowded, poor, electrifying neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples in the mid-1950s. Elena recounts their adolescence from the remove of middle age, stating:
Parents beat their children, brothers beat their sisters, husbands beat their wives, and the wealthy Solara brothers keep iron rods in the boot of their sports car, so handy for street fights.
But Elena and Lila are part of a blossoming generation, one that鈥攍ike the city of Naples itself鈥攊s rising out of the traditions of violence and oppression that go hand in hand with poverty into something brighter. Or so it appears at the beginning. By the end of this first installment of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 epic Neapolitan series, it seems Fate lifts up one of these young women while holding the other hostage to her culture.
Lila is a force that defies definition. A scrawny child, she is like an orphan in a Victorian melodrama: all skin and bones, street smarts and fearlessness. The neighborhood and its residents鈥攆rom her family, her schoolmates and teachers to the boys who are enchanted by the flare of her intelligence and her eventual swan-like beauty鈥攁re blank slates upon which Lila mercilessly etches her vision, her truth.
And yet, such promise in a young girl with a sparkling intellect is thwarted by her own ambition. Money is what Lila seeks to yank her from the doom of the women around her: marriage and children before they are twenty, followed by decades of drudgery, their beauty a brief flame snuffed out by duty, submission, ignorance. Lila鈥檚 childhood dream of becoming a famous novelist is replaced by the more practical plans of starting a luxury shoe business with her troubled older brother, Rino. But even that scheme is pounded out of possibility by their cobbler father, until one of Lila鈥檚 suitors steps in with salvation. Ironically, it is Lila鈥檚 beauty that offers her the kind of power she can鈥檛 reach even with her preternatural intelligence.
The tension of female friendship has rarely been so sharply and tenderly displayed in literature. Elena is objective neither with herself nor with Lila, and the push-pull of loathing and love is keenly felt. From the moment Lila drops Elena鈥檚 beloved doll into a hole, your sympathies are torn between these two girls, one so cruel and strong and vulnerable, the other na茂ve and graceless. Elena follows in Lila鈥檚 wake, helpless against Lila鈥檚 fierce charisma. Although it is Elena who is granted the opportunity to pursue an education beyond middle school, it is Lila who directs her learning. Lila quizzes her, mocks her, competes with her. It is Lila who learns her Latin declensions first, and best. If Elena studies Greek, Lila checks out the available dictionaries from the library. By high school, Elena finds herself formulating her thoughts and arguments as Lila would, using her diction. Elena moves forward in guilt mixed with a sense of triumph鈥攊t is she who is offered the education, despite knowing the Lila is her intellectual superior.
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 writing is stripped to the bone, but the marrow within is so rich and satisfying. This world of post-war Naples is vivid and visceral, every line colored in with careful detail. Elena returns from several weeks of summer holiday to find
The family dynamics (and there is a helpful Index of Characters at the beginning) are free-ranging and messy, feeding directly into the sea of village life鈥攕ecrets are on full display, feuds are fast and furious, and allegiances change as peace is brokered, then broken. These characters will consume your heart.
My Brilliant Friend ends with Lila seeming to give into the inevitable: marriage at the age of sixteen. But recall that this is a story of power. And this story has only just begun.
Elena Greco and Lila Cerrullo are daughters of working class families, growing up in a crowded, poor, electrifying neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples in the mid-1950s. Elena recounts their adolescence from the remove of middle age, stating:
I feel no nostalgia for our childhood: it was full of violence. ... Life was like that, that's all, we grew up with the duty to make it difficult for others before they made it difficult for us.
Parents beat their children, brothers beat their sisters, husbands beat their wives, and the wealthy Solara brothers keep iron rods in the boot of their sports car, so handy for street fights.
But Elena and Lila are part of a blossoming generation, one that鈥攍ike the city of Naples itself鈥攊s rising out of the traditions of violence and oppression that go hand in hand with poverty into something brighter. Or so it appears at the beginning. By the end of this first installment of 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 epic Neapolitan series, it seems Fate lifts up one of these young women while holding the other hostage to her culture.
Lila is a force that defies definition. A scrawny child, she is like an orphan in a Victorian melodrama: all skin and bones, street smarts and fearlessness. The neighborhood and its residents鈥攆rom her family, her schoolmates and teachers to the boys who are enchanted by the flare of her intelligence and her eventual swan-like beauty鈥攁re blank slates upon which Lila mercilessly etches her vision, her truth.
And yet, such promise in a young girl with a sparkling intellect is thwarted by her own ambition. Money is what Lila seeks to yank her from the doom of the women around her: marriage and children before they are twenty, followed by decades of drudgery, their beauty a brief flame snuffed out by duty, submission, ignorance. Lila鈥檚 childhood dream of becoming a famous novelist is replaced by the more practical plans of starting a luxury shoe business with her troubled older brother, Rino. But even that scheme is pounded out of possibility by their cobbler father, until one of Lila鈥檚 suitors steps in with salvation. Ironically, it is Lila鈥檚 beauty that offers her the kind of power she can鈥檛 reach even with her preternatural intelligence.
...something had begun to emanate from Lila's mobile body that males sensed, an energy that dazed them, like the swelling sound of beauty arriving. The music had to stop before they returned to themselves, with uncertain smiles and extravagant applause.
The tension of female friendship has rarely been so sharply and tenderly displayed in literature. Elena is objective neither with herself nor with Lila, and the push-pull of loathing and love is keenly felt. From the moment Lila drops Elena鈥檚 beloved doll into a hole, your sympathies are torn between these two girls, one so cruel and strong and vulnerable, the other na茂ve and graceless. Elena follows in Lila鈥檚 wake, helpless against Lila鈥檚 fierce charisma. Although it is Elena who is granted the opportunity to pursue an education beyond middle school, it is Lila who directs her learning. Lila quizzes her, mocks her, competes with her. It is Lila who learns her Latin declensions first, and best. If Elena studies Greek, Lila checks out the available dictionaries from the library. By high school, Elena finds herself formulating her thoughts and arguments as Lila would, using her diction. Elena moves forward in guilt mixed with a sense of triumph鈥攊t is she who is offered the education, despite knowing the Lila is her intellectual superior.
贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 writing is stripped to the bone, but the marrow within is so rich and satisfying. This world of post-war Naples is vivid and visceral, every line colored in with careful detail. Elena returns from several weeks of summer holiday to find
...the sun had made me shining blonde, but my face, my arms, my legs were as if painted with dark gold. As long as I had been immersed in the colors of Ischia, amid sunburned faces, my transformation had seemed suitable; now, restored to the context of the neighborhood, where every face, every street had a sick pallor, it seemed to me excessive, anomalous.
The family dynamics (and there is a helpful Index of Characters at the beginning) are free-ranging and messy, feeding directly into the sea of village life鈥攕ecrets are on full display, feuds are fast and furious, and allegiances change as peace is brokered, then broken. These characters will consume your heart.
My Brilliant Friend ends with Lila seeming to give into the inevitable: marriage at the age of sixteen. But recall that this is a story of power. And this story has only just begun.
November 25, 2018
What you should know:
The book is fantastic, and I couldn鈥檛 help but absorb it in just a few days. I feel like it really got at the core of human insecurity, gender and income inequality, female friendships, and our hierarchy of needs. Somehow it鈥檚 also a page-turner and an engaging story. It blows my mind that all of those things are possible in one short novel. I guarantee that it鈥檒l get under your skin and soak in.
Ferrante vs. Knausgaard:
Even though I鈥檝e only read this first novel in the sequence, it鈥檚 hard for me to resist the urge to compare 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 Neapolitan series to Knausgaard鈥檚 My Struggle.
Both series are: multi-volume, non-English, first person page-turner novels spanning several decades of their character鈥檚 lives, first published in English in 2012, with subsequent volumes appearing annually. They both feature straightforward, simple prose, detailing the ins and outs of their characters鈥� lives, and are deeply, sometimes disturbingly honest in tone. They both tackle a lot of the same themes, but from inside different experiences. If you enjoyed one, I鈥檇 highly recommend the other. Especially if you're a guy who enjoyed Knausgaard, you owe it to yourself to read something similar, but from a female perspective. 贵别谤谤补苍迟别鈥檚 writing really put me inside that experience in an empathic way.
They are also vastly different from one another: The Neapolitan Novels are fictitious, set in Italy, viscerally violent, told in a mostly linear, chronological order, feature short chapters, supposedly , are written pseudonymously, and have a tight focus on the friendship between two female characters over the years.
My Struggle is wildly non-linear, purportedly autobiographical, set mostly in Norway, meandering, has no chapters whatsoever, steeped in nostalgia, and is tightly focused on Knausgaard's view of his general failings as a man, before, after, and during his journey toward becoming a writer.
For more on the similarities between the two works, I鈥檇 suggest Joshua Rathman鈥檚 terrific essay for The New Yorker:
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