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astridrc's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
This was my least favorite book out of the 4 but still, what a ride. Lila and Lenu will always stayed with me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Murder, Sexism, Grief, Kidnapping, Transphobia, and Violence
aegireads's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia
quickermorequickly's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lenù comes to the end of the very long story we are reading, recounting as she and Lila go through their prime as adults, with parallel pregnancies in their early 30s, and eventually the difficult transition into old age.
Ferrante does unsettling very, very well. Reading this series (as well as The Days of Abandonment) is like taking stiff shots of very different, equally strong emotions, and then realizing you're drunk, and stumbling through a sinister amusement park. In a good way, I swear!
I found Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and The Story of the Lost Child to be less enchanting than the earlier installments of the series, if only because I haven't yet been through most of those life stages yet and so the pings of deep recognition or identification were less frequent. But I think the more time I spend on this planet seeing sad and strange things happen, the more I will recognize.
Hats off to Ann Goldstein for this very long project of translation.
Ferrante does unsettling very, very well. Reading this series (as well as The Days of Abandonment) is like taking stiff shots of very different, equally strong emotions, and then realizing you're drunk, and stumbling through a sinister amusement park. In a good way, I swear!
I found Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and The Story of the Lost Child to be less enchanting than the earlier installments of the series, if only because I haven't yet been through most of those life stages yet and so the pings of deep recognition or identification were less frequent. But I think the more time I spend on this planet seeing sad and strange things happen, the more I will recognize.
Hats off to Ann Goldstein for this very long project of translation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Toxic friendship, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness
Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Outing
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