Reviews

La vie mensongère des adultes by Elena Ferrante

pagesintranslation's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content

robyn1998's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-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

3.0

 I wasn't particularly keen on this. The family was almost unbelievably melodramatic and there were lots of repetitive ruminations on things that seemingly didn't matter at all. I usually like how Elena Ferrante uses motifs, like the shoes in My Brilliant Friend, but every time the bracelet was mentioned here I wanted to roll my eyes. It's still a passable book but I just expected more from Elena Ferrante. 
 Also, I found Marisa Tomei's narration intensely irritating and overblown which probably detracted from my enjoyment.

gadicohen93's review against another edition

3.0

The book started out strongly — we're in the mind of a Neapolitan preteen who starts discovering dark secrets about her family, personified in the character of her aunt. The unadorned writing spurts out with the breathless impatience of a teenager's diary. The aunt is an intriguing character. Turns in the plot, little dark asides, mysterious hints kept me engaged.

At some point, though, the book veers off of this thread and meanders into other characters, growth in other directions. The narrator fully becomes jaded. The writing loses the punchiness of the first half, the plot loses its enigma.

bennibarzy's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jlsjourneys's review against another edition

4.0

I love Ferrante, the exceptional way she gets into the inner life of women & how we live in relationship with each other. This is described as a story of a adolescent girl on the cusp of adulthood; and wow - the adulthood around her is rather bleak, and so is much of this book. The ending was … well, let’s go with “upsetting.” Not a hopeful book, and not Ferrante’s best IMHO, but still worth the read for her fans.

leah_alexandra's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

Ferrante can seriously write. This book really compels you to keep reading, even when the experience is not pleasant. There’s a lot to say about girlhood and adolescence here, treated with complexity not often given to girls. But the ending is terrible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Violence, and Sexual content

sgs's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective fast-paced

4.0

Ferrante’s writing is so unique and fun and graphic and thought-provoking! 

I was really disappointed in the ending; it felt predictable and like it was there for “shock value”. Otherwise, I loved reading this. 

davidglztowns's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny relaxing sad fast-paced

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

4.25

bettina_evelyn's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

khawlah's review against another edition

3.0

3.5