From one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, comes this ravishing and generous-hearted novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, as their friendship, beautifully and meticulously rendered, becomes a not always perfect shelter from hardship. Ferrante has created a memorable portrait of two women, but My Brilliant Friend is also the story of a nation. Through the lives of Elena and Lila, Ferrante gives her readers the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country undergoing momentous change.
--front flap
Well I can see why this is popular. When you so perfectly combine lifelong friendship and post-war Italy you can't miss.
Does everyone have the brilliant friend? The friend who you share a unique understanding of the world with that no one else seems to grasp? The friend that makes you feel both less and more than what you are?
That's nice to know, it's a friendship you don't see in literature enough.
Also, surely I'm not the only one that absolutely loved when Ferrante did that thing that some novels do, where it turns out the brilliant friend in the title wasn't who you expected. As the Elena of my duo, I appreciated the ego stroke.
Elena Ferrante goitizenaren atzean nor ezkutatzen den zehazki ez dakigun arren, deskribapenetarako gaitasun paregabea duen idazle batekin topo egiten dugu.
Nik italieraz irakurri nituen tetralogia honetako lau liburuak baina Igela argitaletxeak euskarara itzulita argitaratu ditu. Napoli inguruak eta protagonistaren bilakaera gertu gertutik ezagutzeko aukera ematen digu testuak, behin eta berriz itzultzeko moduko bidaia polit polit bat!
Ben scritto ma per me, parecchio noioso. Ritmo da Oblomov. Esasperazione del dettaglio insignificante, più che una prova d’autore, una prova per il lettore
On first reading this book, it felt like nothing more than an easy read about growing up in Naples. On one level, it’s exactly that. Never while I was reading this did it feel like a lot of work.
As I read, though, I began to realize just how much artistry there was in making for this easy to read. While this is a story about growing up in Naples, it’s so much more.
I had a very different childhood than the one described here. A key part of Ferrante’s art is making her characters relatable while also bringing Naples in the 1950s to vivid life.
Ferrante’s story is very aware that we are born into other people’s stories. those stories influence and inform our own stories. She describes growing up and slowly coming to understand that parents, teachers and other adults have their own stories much of which are …
On first reading this book, it felt like nothing more than an easy read about growing up in Naples. On one level, it’s exactly that. Never while I was reading this did it feel like a lot of work.
As I read, though, I began to realize just how much artistry there was in making for this easy to read. While this is a story about growing up in Naples, it’s so much more.
I had a very different childhood than the one described here. A key part of Ferrante’s art is making her characters relatable while also bringing Naples in the 1950s to vivid life.
Ferrante’s story is very aware that we are born into other people’s stories. those stories influence and inform our own stories. She describes growing up and slowly coming to understand that parents, teachers and other adults have their own stories much of which are hidden just out of view. We see children, over and over, wanting to escape the stories their parents have imposed on them.
This is also a ok about books and falling in love with them. Ferrante describes an intense and shared relationship with a book that is read to tatters, memorized and internalized. She describes the elation of discovering new books. She chronicles the slow and arduous process of becoming a writer.
Above all, this is a tender and honest book about friendship. It’s about the fierce love and intense jealously of having a close friend. It’s about the pain of seeing them grow in a different direction than you while simultaneously wanting to establish your own identity. It’s about the enduring impact that a close friend has on your life. It was impossible to read this without thinking about my own best friend: how much I miss him and the part he played in helping me become the person I am today.
If you’ve ever had a very close friend, this book is for you. Reading it will never feel like hard work, but you will come away enriched by the experience.
Brilliant book. First of series. Story of two girls, told in first person by one of them, as they grow up in poor neighbourhood of Italy. Although the two girls are equally academically brilliant, the story-teller remains in school to the end of the book but the other, who over-shadows her, quits to get married. Tells of struggles of small business owners (cobbler, grocery store,...) and their families. Not a lot different from my English neighbourhood. Lots of insight into social conditions and the thinking of girls growing up.
Really excellent. Rich textured prose, deep characters. It's difficult (and interesting!) to navigate my own feelings about Elena and Lila. Do I like one or the other? Do I like either? Why do I feel any way about the other, through the lens of Elena.
