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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
I can see why people love Elena Ferrante’s writing - the way she puts words together is pretty magical - but I found this book overall to be very strange. I couldn’t empathize with the main character at all. The middle half of the book was literally a long description of a fever dream which was perhaps too effective, it made me feel weird to read haha. An interesting commentary on separation / abandonment, but it wasn’t for me.
This is a simple yet profound novel about abandonment and grief. I can tell Elena didn't write this to get a sensational reaction from her readers. I can also tell she didn't make any of it up. Knowing that Ferrante has shunned public attention and has managed to keep her real identity concealed from her readers confirms this for me.
When I heard about this story I knew I had to read it to judge it for myself. I know what pain and abandonment feels like. I knew I had to read it to be able to verify if her story is true, and now I know it is. Extremely vulgar at times but was relevant to her pain and rage.
The character of Olga often shifted from numbing moments of temporary acceptance to an emotionally blinding yet hallucinatory state of being. Olga was ugly yet disturbingly honest.
I was unconvinced however that the love she had for her husband could suddenly die in just only 4 short months. The neglect of the children was understandable. Although repulsive, her sleeping with that neighbor of hers was also understandable, but it seemed dysfunctional and perverted.
If someone were to ask me what I enjoyed most about this story, I would have to say that it was written by an Italian person and so the emotions and reactions were of a European intensity. I don't quite know how to explain it but Olga reacted with the brutality and savagery it deserved, exactly how I think all women should react to a situation like that. Only here in America are women programmed into behaving perfectly proper after such a traumatic insulting injury. Where I come from you find where your husband is and you stab him in his sleep with no thought or conscience about anyone or anything.
When I heard about this story I knew I had to read it to judge it for myself. I know what pain and abandonment feels like. I knew I had to read it to be able to verify if her story is true, and now I know it is. Extremely vulgar at times but was relevant to her pain and rage.
The character of Olga often shifted from numbing moments of temporary acceptance to an emotionally blinding yet hallucinatory state of being. Olga was ugly yet disturbingly honest.
I was unconvinced however that the love she had for her husband could suddenly die in just only 4 short months. The neglect of the children was understandable. Although repulsive, her sleeping with that neighbor of hers was also understandable, but it seemed dysfunctional and perverted.
If someone were to ask me what I enjoyed most about this story, I would have to say that it was written by an Italian person and so the emotions and reactions were of a European intensity. I don't quite know how to explain it but Olga reacted with the brutality and savagery it deserved, exactly how I think all women should react to a situation like that. Only here in America are women programmed into behaving perfectly proper after such a traumatic insulting injury. Where I come from you find where your husband is and you stab him in his sleep with no thought or conscience about anyone or anything.
I can’t think of anything brilliant to say about this book, so I’ll just share some of my favorite quotes:
“Existence is this, I thought, a start of joy, a stab of pain, an intense pleasure, veins that pulse under the skin, there is no other truth to tell.”
“I was not always equal to the loving and efficient appearance I wished to have.”
“But what frightened me above all was the nearly imperceptible images of the mind, the scarce syllables. A thought that I couldn’t fix on sufficed, a simple violet flash of meanings, a green hieroglyphic of the brain, for the bad feeling to reappear and panic to mount.”
“The dog had fallen through a hole in the net of events. We leave so many of them, lacerations of negligence, when we out together cause and effect. The essential thing was that the string, the weave that now supported me, should hold.”
“I decided, enough pain. To the lips of their nocturnal happiness I would attach those of my revenge. I was not the woman who breaks into pieces under the blows of abandonment and absence, who goes mad, who dies. Only a few fragments had splintered off, for the rest I was well. I was whole, whole I would remain. To those who hurt me, I react giving back in kind. I am the queen of spades, I am the wasp that stings, I am the dark serpent. I am the invulnerable animal who passes through fire and is not burned.”
Yes, there’s more than that.
“Existence is this, I thought, a start of joy, a stab of pain, an intense pleasure, veins that pulse under the skin, there is no other truth to tell.”
“I was not always equal to the loving and efficient appearance I wished to have.”
“But what frightened me above all was the nearly imperceptible images of the mind, the scarce syllables. A thought that I couldn’t fix on sufficed, a simple violet flash of meanings, a green hieroglyphic of the brain, for the bad feeling to reappear and panic to mount.”
“The dog had fallen through a hole in the net of events. We leave so many of them, lacerations of negligence, when we out together cause and effect. The essential thing was that the string, the weave that now supported me, should hold.”
“I decided, enough pain. To the lips of their nocturnal happiness I would attach those of my revenge. I was not the woman who breaks into pieces under the blows of abandonment and absence, who goes mad, who dies. Only a few fragments had splintered off, for the rest I was well. I was whole, whole I would remain. To those who hurt me, I react giving back in kind. I am the queen of spades, I am the wasp that stings, I am the dark serpent. I am the invulnerable animal who passes through fire and is not burned.”
Yes, there’s more than that.
love the concept of finding yourself after you’ve lost it in a relationship
rip doggy
rip doggy
como elena consegue penetrar profundamente na nossa mente, na nossa alma e estender os pensamentos e desejos mais escondidos diante de nós como se não fosse nada. fiquei atordoada com este livro, fiquei triste e sofri como Olga, como pode que a mulher tenha sido criado para ser apenas um apêndice que sem o objeto principal, deixa de existir, deixando apenas rastros estrondosos
dark
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Moving and dripping with despair
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes