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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
“Maybe, I thought, I’ve given too much weight to the cultivated use of reason, to good reading, to well controlled language, to political affiliation; maybe, in the face of abandonment, we are all the same; maybe not even an orderly mind can endure the discovery of not being loved.”
Ooooo I liked this one! I mean, I like them all, but I found this one very intriguing. Some of the middle parts were a little boring, but oh man that ending! I love that this series just flows from one book to the next and seamlessly references long-ago events from the previous books. And my new favorite word for the narrator to say is "child." On to the next!
LENU HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING!! I still love you tho girl
Liked all three EF books so far - but each gets better and I look forward to reading the last one.
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mais um bom livro de Elena Ferrante, ainda que me tenha desiludido em relação ao segundo desta série. Os traços que tanto distinguem e valorizam a autora continuam presentes: uma escrita clara, envolvente, introspetiva e cada vez mais violenta, num romance que assume contornos cada vez mais políticos e ideológicos. No entanto, o livro peca pela excessiva lentidão em alguns momentos, pela incoerência de algumas personagens, mas também - e sobretudo - por determinadas reviravoltas devaneadoras que a história sofre.
Politics. If I had to think of a single word to sum up this volume, it would be Politics. So much of the action in this story is political, whether it is the Fascists vs. the Communists in late 1960s Italy (a piece of history I know nothing about but keep meaning to look up) or family dynamics, the battle within our own minds, or the enduring roller coaster ride that is the relationship between Elena and Lila. Elena has managed to escape The Neighbourhood and study in Pisa, then marries and moves to Florence. Lila seems to be mired in misfortune and ill-health, until she inexplicably surrenders her morals and gets in bed with the enemy. All the while, the two women come together and fall apart, as waves in competing oceans. This quote sums it up well: "With her, there was no way to feel that things were settled; every fixed point of our relationship sooner or later turned out to be provisional; something shifted in her head that unbalanced her and unbalanced me." (page 226) At some point Elena says that somehow, the two of them cannot be happy and successful at the same time. This narrative resonates so strongly for me at this point in my life, since I was constantly reminded of a friendship in my own life, with a person who very often seems unknowable to me, yet who I consider one of my few intimates. Perhaps this is always the way of friendships between women. My narrow experience is probably not a good indicator of this phenomenon. In any case, as the pages dwindled, I realized the story is far from over, and indeed, it turns out this is a "trilogy in four parts," with one part left to go. I find these novels engrossing and challenging -- as I've said in other reviews, the prose is dense, the description is detailed and yet vivid and memorable. I have had no trouble moving from volume to volume despite long breaks (and other novels consumed) in between, because the narration is so strong and readable. I look forward to the next, final volume.
The series gets better and better as Elena Greco becomes her own woman and starts to question the world around her. It's been really interesting watching her grow up and seeing her realize that the things she was taught in childhood are not necessarily true. She has always felt insignificant and here she starts to gain her power.