Soon to be an HBO series, book one in the New York Times bestselling Neapolitan quartet about two friends growing up in post-war Italy is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted family epic by Italy’s most beloved and acclaimed writer, Elena Ferrante, “one of the great novelists of our time.” (Roxana Robinson, The New York Times) Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the … vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its protagonists, the fiery and unforgettable Lila, and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflictual friendship. Book one in the series follows Lila and Elena from their first fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.
Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists.
“An intoxicatingly furious portrait of enmeshed friends,” writes Entertainment Weekly. “Spectacular,” says Maureen Corrigan on NPR’s Fresh Air. “A large, captivating, amiably peopled bildungsroman,” writes James Wood in The New Yorker
Ferrante is one of the world’s great storytellers. With My Brilliant Friend she has given her readers an abundant, generous, and masterfully plotted page-turner that is also a stylish work of literary fiction destined to delight readers for many generations to come.
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First of a classic four-book series.
Ferrante’s writing is exceptional and she conveys many truths about human nature (as well as the transformations in Italy after WW II). Highly recommended (but be prepared for a few unsettling scenes).
Memorable characters – well developed.
One of my favorite series. All four books twice
All of the books in the Neapolitan series are so well written and translated. The deep twists and turns of friendship are not always what they seem. There’s quite a lot to read between the lines here. Beautiful story- sometimes tragic- other times glorious. Read all of them.
The entire series is brilliant. And the ending…oh my god.
Wonderful series!
I didn’t like this book.
This series was great. Felt very real-lifelike. Read every single one.
Long and unsatisfying
This is a book in which you will find some interesting AKA “survival of the fittest ” characters, not necessarily likeable but honestly portrayed.
This book didn’t go deep enough into the characters-I didn’t connect well with the story.
Just didn’t click for me.
Real women leading the way
An excellent source book for women’s studies and sociological patterns.
Intelligent. Insightful. Thought Provoking.
Elena Ferrante will be remembered as one of the greatest novelists of all time.
Where does one start to describe this book that pierces the heart and mind with a mixture of conflicting emotions as the reader struggles to take sides and assign culpability in this truly amazing coming of age story set in the outskirts of Naples, Italy in the 1950s and 1960s? We meet the main characters Elena (Lenu), the narrator, and her best friend Raffaella (Lila), as primary grade students with a complex relationship of perpetual duality: love/frustration, support/disinterest, trust/suspicion, understanding/judgment, admiration/resentment, emulation/rejection, cooperation/independence. The real question: Which one is truly the brilliant friend?
The characters are complex. In their early years, although opposite in personality and family circumstances, they are on the same plane. By the time middle school comes about, Lenu is a quiet, shy, studious, secretive, passive aggressive, pleasing follower while Lila is a boisterous, confrontational, elusive, rebellious, self-taught leader. Lenu’s family allows her to complete high school while Lila’s family demands that she leave school after the elementary level to help in the family business. As youngsters, Lenu is the pretty one, while as teenagers, Lila develops into the seductress. The more demanding and manipulative she is, the more the boys adore Lila. Both girls give off conflicting messages as they engage in a rivalry to establish themselves as the superior one. Lila is the first to marry at age sixteen. Despite Lila’s apparent independent strength, she is the one who is entrapped by the norms of the society in which they live, while Lenu’s education appears to open her mind to the possibility of a different way of life. This book is an excellent source for a course on women’s studies, the plight of women, or sociology in a male dominated society.
As in any poor neighborhood where the residents are struggling for basic existence, living in close quarters, and searching for ways to make money to improve their lives and provide for their families, illegal activities and violent episodes mar the tranquility of daily life. Point, counterpoint. The residents of this embroiled village victimize each other. Who else is there in this static town where new people do not move in and residents hardly move out? Today you’re up. Tomorrow you’re down. But not for long. And so it goes.
It appears that the representation of everyday life in this part of Italy, while not flattering, is accurate. Major and minor characters are complex. They seem real. Could it be that they are truly a figment of the author’s imagination?
I happened to read this book coincidentally as the HBO mini-series of the same name aired. The series is true to the book. Many of the lines were taken straight from the book dialogue spoken in Neapolitan dialect with English subtitles. A few minor details were changed, but too few to mention. Hearing the familiar Neapolitan dialect which I learned from exposure to my Neapolitan mother and grandmother made the series all the more enjoyable for me. All in all, a brilliantly written book has been made into an equally brilliant mini-series. I believe we can expect a host of awards for this one.
Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym for an author who wishes to remain invisible. As a matter of fact, writing is not her full time job. She writes these wonderful books in her spare time—when she’s not at her day job. Is she even really a woman? No one knows. In any event, her Neapolitan Novels series contains four books: My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child. Although I do not know the time frame for these HBO presentations, we can expect at least the next two books to be made into mini-series to give us closure on Lenu and Lila’s story. I look forward to reading and reviewing the next three books.
I enjoyed this book as it described the friendship between the two girls. I read the follow-up book about the girls as young adults but did not find it nearly as good.
I never finished this book due to the confusing style of writing. Actually figuring out why her friend was brilliant is still a mystery to me.
I was working at a bookstore and everyone was asking for this book. Since I wanted to know what the fuss was about (and since it was also my job), I decided I was going to read them. Boy was I not disappointed. The story takes place in Italy in the 50s and follows the story of two friends all through their lives. Honestly, one of the best reads I’ve done. All the books of this serie are amazing. Read them and enjoy the ride.
The first in Elena Ferrante’sNeapolitan series introduces us to Lila Cerullo and Lenu Greco, growing up in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. Lila’s father is a shoemaker – Lenu’s a porter at the city hall. But meet, too, Don Achille Carracci, ogre of fairy tales; the carpenter’s family and many other neighbours – and Melina, the mad widow. And please take a walk with the two little girls as they set out to find the sea. Delightful.
Also have read the other three books in the series and can’t want to watch the next three Broadcasts of the series as it it a wonderful series!