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mc_talero17's review against another edition
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
4.0
lucyredrose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Challenging read focussing on the beautifully complex relationship between two girls throughout their childhood in a deprived Naples neighbourhood.
qingyibenshu's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tativieira's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-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
3.0
heatherems's review against another edition
3.0
As Elena Greco grows through her childhood in Naples, Italy, she often attributes her successes to her childhood friend and muse, Lila Cerullo. Both girls are brilliant in so many ways, but only as they mature into young adults does Elena realize her own worth and the beginnings of confidence on her life-path.
Filled with the formative crystalline moments of childhood that we all experience, and a host of characters that shape Elena and Lila's life, My Brilliant Friend is a thought-provoking escape into the personal motives that determine where we reside in life. Does the pursuit of money drive you? The ambition to escape one's hometown or family? Do you suffer forever from a love lost? Does the need to learn, to excel, to be different force you onwards? Perhaps you are bent on revenge or one-upping your neighbors? We see all of these motives and more in Ferrante's characters.
A languid read, I wasn't sure how I felt about the book until the end, and I've found that I do care enough about the characters and the themes to continue on in the series. Recommended for readers who enjoy small details, a dreamy description of settings, and for those who enjoy the study of human interactions, who can follow a theme through an entire book, and who love the clarity of language as Elena Greco does.
Filled with the formative crystalline moments of childhood that we all experience, and a host of characters that shape Elena and Lila's life, My Brilliant Friend is a thought-provoking escape into the personal motives that determine where we reside in life. Does the pursuit of money drive you? The ambition to escape one's hometown or family? Do you suffer forever from a love lost? Does the need to learn, to excel, to be different force you onwards? Perhaps you are bent on revenge or one-upping your neighbors? We see all of these motives and more in Ferrante's characters.
A languid read, I wasn't sure how I felt about the book until the end, and I've found that I do care enough about the characters and the themes to continue on in the series. Recommended for readers who enjoy small details, a dreamy description of settings, and for those who enjoy the study of human interactions, who can follow a theme through an entire book, and who love the clarity of language as Elena Greco does.
warroleggo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Paced with vivacity, the electric portrayal of realism, the raw essence of youth and the gritty bond of friendship, Ferrante weaves the ostentatious pursuit of drama with the affronting suffocation of realism into a moving tour-de-force unmatched in its approach to the novel. Her voice and poignancy supercedes and interweaves the underlying brooding themes in a poor rural town outside Naples: the violence, illogicisms, poverty, stifling tradition and the ardent desire that the youth assert themselves within. The new standard for the novel.
rebekah27's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-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
3.25
I read this for school and can definitely see why my professor chose this
Random thoughts:
Random thoughts:
- Well I’m liking this better than I thought I would. I didn’t think I wouldn’t like it, but I just was never interested in it when I would see it on TikTok. But I don’t think I’m gonna read the next books.
teresatumminello's review against another edition
4.0
I read somewhere that the author of these so-called Neapolitan novels thinks of them as one novel. So perhaps I will wait to assign stars until I have read the whole series, or maybe I will change my mind by the time I finish writing this. Certainly any stars would number 4 or 5.
Ferrante’s writing has a way of dredging up latent emotions that live in the bones. Here, they arise from the complexity and intensity of a competitive, though simpatica, childhood friendship. The narrator is so intense that some may find her overwrought at times, but as I'm writing this I'm reminded of the character of Jane Eyre.
The struggles of feeling different from the close-knit, dangerous community the girls live in are set out early on, and their acting on this difference (with help from a teacher) causes jealousy and anxiety in both peers and parents. Flight is not a choice yet; accommodation is hard, and perhaps not desirable, for the adolescents. Inevitably, the friends’ paths diverge.
In the prologue the narrator is 66 years old. By the end of this volume, which starts when she is about four or five, she is 16. We still have a long way to go and I’m ready to continue following her, now.
*
After finishing the above, I let my review sit for a while as if posting it implies that I am done, and I am far from done.
4.5 (My cop-out for not making a real decision.)
Ferrante’s writing has a way of dredging up latent emotions that live in the bones. Here, they arise from the complexity and intensity of a competitive, though simpatica, childhood friendship. The narrator is so intense that some may find her overwrought at times, but as I'm writing this I'm reminded of the character of Jane Eyre.
The struggles of feeling different from the close-knit, dangerous community the girls live in are set out early on, and their acting on this difference (with help from a teacher) causes jealousy and anxiety in both peers and parents. Flight is not a choice yet; accommodation is hard, and perhaps not desirable, for the adolescents. Inevitably, the friends’ paths diverge.
In the prologue the narrator is 66 years old. By the end of this volume, which starts when she is about four or five, she is 16. We still have a long way to go and I’m ready to continue following her, now.
*
After finishing the above, I let my review sit for a while as if posting it implies that I am done, and I am far from done.
4.5 (My cop-out for not making a real decision.)
dangpascale's review against another edition
Couldn't connect to characters, didn't like the translation style.