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bekah_haip's review against another edition
4.5
Reading The lying life of adults gave me the same feeling as reading The Idiot by Bautman- which I adored. It has all the heartwarming and cringe of nostalgia. However I am sad the ending sort of fell apart.
“I walked back home, slowly. I couldn't get that expression-
unable to see straight- out of my mind. Everything seems in
order, hello, see you soon, make yourself at home, what can I
give you to drink, could you lower the volume a little, thank you,
you're welcome. But there's a black veil that can drop at any
moment. It's a sudden blindness, you don't know how to keep
your distance, you crash into things. Does it happen only to
some people or to everybody that, once a certain level is passed,
they can't see straight anymore? And was it truer when you saw
everything clearly or when the strongest and deepest feelings-
hatred, love-
-blinded you? Had Enzo, blinded by Vittoria, been
unable to see Margherita? Had my father, blinded by Costanza,
been unable to see my mother? Had I…”
jtisgreen's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mary_johnston's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ba39's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
euangepp's review against another edition
4.5
A really seductive coming of age story set across the two halves of Naples. The characters and all of their flaws jump out of the page.
kindasjulia's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
4.0
karaleightroyer's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
jupitervivienne's review against another edition
Elena Ferrante is so highly praised and recommended, so I was looking forward to finally coming around to one of her books. Maybe this just wasn’t the best work of hers to start with, but I’m pretty disappointed. The first part of this book leading up meeting Vittoria felt raw and exciting, but as it went on I felt like it was almost becoming a parody of itself. Vittoria is set up as an incredibly interesting character but Ferrante doesn’t go deep enough with her. Her exploration of Giovanna sort of tells me she might not have been capable of what I wanted from Vittoria. I fought to keep going with this book, holding out hope it might get better (and maybe it does), but just had to eventually give up. I’m sure the bad audio narration didn’t help. 2/5 stars
carms123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
apollonium's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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