Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Storia del nuovo cognome

I adored this book.

I received the first of the Neapolitan Quarter as a Christmas gift and devoured it, but the second instalment I loved even more. I read this in almost one sitting!

This book made me feel a lot of things…

I went through a bit of a rollercoaster with almost every single character, on one page feeling compassion and empathy for their struggles, by the next feeling utterly enraged by their pettiness and self-centred attitudes.

With Lina, for example, you can’t help but feeling a heartfelt sense of pity given how quickly her young marriage descends into a prison of abuse and unhappiness. At the same time, there were parts of this book where her treatment of Elena really disgusted me, and I wanted to scream at Elena to stop letting her friend walk all over her. But in this novel, as in life, nothing is simple - and that really comes through in the realism of Ferrantes writing.

Every character is so well-written, so believable and so enraging at times that you can’t help but be absorbed by their lives, by a story where not very much happens in terms of plot, but where I was totally glued to the page.

This book often gets sold as a book about female friendship, and I suppose that is true at the most basic level. But the parts that I found most compelling dealt with 1960s Italy, especially through the prism of class. Without being didactic, I think it was a beautiful exploration of how culture, family, friendships, social relations, communities and art are all affected by our class and our upbringing.

Despite her great success by going to University and writing a novel, Elena is almost constantly frozen by what I can only describe as “imposter” syndrome. She had a constant feeling of self doubt, never feeling good enough, that always seems to harken back to her competitive relationship with Lina or her embarrassment and shame about her own background. Lina, on the other hand, despite gaining wealth and success, feels trapped in a loveless and abusive marriage due to her social conditions. She is eventually able to break free, but not without huge consequences that affect her life and that of her whole family and community.

I was totally immersed in this book. Can’t wait to read the third instalment.

Content Warnings

augie_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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heyheykk's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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risemini's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.25

Content Warnings

verahuerlimann's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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yumaa's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

anahisa's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

disrespectfully, I need nino sarratore to drop dead !

ahhhhh the drama in this installment was crazy. Lila + Lenu make me insane, actually. They’re relationship is so complex. The girls are fighting, battling the shared restrictions of their environment in very different ways, and remain inseparable despite the animosity between them!

your honor, they love each other, I know it! They’re just so, so bad at expressing it, and men 😐 keep getting in the way!!!

Content Warnings

iuniper's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It took me two volumes to understand the brilliance of this story, the exquisite craft hidden in the plain words, the gripping power of these characters' lives. They are raw and flawed and powerful. They explode off the page in their complexity, pulling you in into their world, in the Napoli of the 60s. Elena Greco tells the story with the precision of a surgeon. She analyses her feelings and the world surrounding her as if she were in the OR, dissecting every single thought that passes through her mind, trying to understand its origin in an attempt to understand herself better, and the world. But she is not a Mary Sue. Elena Ferrante knows how to expose her protagonist's biases and flaws and flawed judgement through clear, raw writing. Lenu and Lila are two stories that mirror each other, two peas in the same pond. They both lied to become part of a world that was outside their reach. They both were disappointed, heartbroken, angry. They both wanted to become better than the sum of their parts, their history, of their family. They grow apart, and they grow closer because, in the end, they only have each other. I am so excited to read the next books.

Hands down one of the best books I have read in recent years.

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