Scan barcode
radfordmanor's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Grief, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
ingridced's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Physical abuse and Transphobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
flucillie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
there’s so much nuance and no one was truly the villain. everyone had their own faults and did not necessarily (ish) want to cause harm. it’s a rollercoaster of emotions: trust, betrayal, and hope.
it follows a point in our lives when all we talk about is marriage, and then babies, and then the accomplishments and failures of our children, and then deaths.
ferrante intertwined the personal and the public so intricately. clearly, the external stressors forced the characters to act the way they did and believe the ideologies they had.
what really shined in this book was the complex female friendships. its sad but we end up competing with other women (whether deliberate or as a consequence) to gain some crumbs of rewards from this patriarchal society. despite the competition, we still find some comfort and solidarity in one another. ferrante illustrated so painfully realistically well the desperation to be desired by men. i felt so disgusted in my own skin knowing i pulled shit like that just to get attention and affection from men i barely burned for. it’s even more barf barf barf how at every turn, men will disappoint you and weaponize their incompetence and violent masculinity against you. it’s not surprising anymore (seeing this depicted in so many media and played out in my own life) but i’m still here hoping someone will prove me wrong wRONG ??!? 🫢
some people found the ending lackluster and vague. i think it was perfect for this story. life is exactly like that, vague. we will never get a definite answer from elena, our narrator, as she has finally decided to stop thinking about lila, the subject of the entire series, and has no more words left to immortalize her.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Gun violence and Homophobia
aegireads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia
quickermorequickly's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ferrante does unsettling very, very well. Reading this series (as well as The Days of Abandonment) is like taking stiff shots of very different, equally strong emotions, and then realizing you're drunk, and stumbling through a sinister amusement park. In a good way, I swear!
I found Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and The Story of the Lost Child to be less enchanting than the earlier installments of the series, if only because I haven't yet been through most of those life stages yet and so the pings of deep recognition or identification were less frequent. But I think the more time I spend on this planet seeing sad and strange things happen, the more I will recognize.
Hats off to Ann Goldstein for this very long project of translation.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Toxic friendship, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness
Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Outing