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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism
Even more compelling than "My Brilliant Friend," "The Story of a New Name" will consume you until you finish it. Exhausted, you will crawl on your hands and knees back into your ordinary life, grateful to return. Ferrantes's gift for language, her understanding of psychology and the human heart, and her attention to the details of everyday life are unequaled. A masterwork of literary fiction.
I hated Lila for most of this book because I feel like she does things deliberately to hurt Elena, the one person who truly cares for her as she is, not for what she represents. Overall these books are about the shocking inequality, violence and limitations that women in Naples (and surely around the world) faced as recently as the 1960's. Elena's general ignorance about the outside world is also shocking but ultimately believable, as she lives in a Naples bubble for her first 19 years.
Spoiler
She fully knew that Elena had feelings for Nino and that didn't stop her.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Le premier tome sert de référence, la cruauté du quartier, de la famille, de la société, du pays, de l’enfance à l’adolescence… Dans ce deuxième tome, l’histoire avance sur la jeunesse de ces deux amies-ennemies. On constate que davantage d'expériences et de personnages façonnent leur vies. Une phrase empruntée à un des livres de Ferrante pour décrire ce 2ème tome, c’est « l’amour harcelant ». Plus on tourne de pages, plus on est tourmenté.es, surtout par Lenù. Ce n’est pas un mainstream Summer Love, c’est réaliste mais aussi ça fait rêver.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
This book was even more heart wrenching than the first! I feel so deeply for both Lila and Elena. My heart broke every time Lila destroyed Elena's excitement. And yet Elena's constant need for both her approval but also need to be better than drove me nuts. So many deeply complex and flawed characters made the book so rich and beautiful.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was heart wrenching in all the right and wrong ways. I have so many feelings, mainly that I can’t wait to start the next one.