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lucithm 's review for:

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
5.0
emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this book was so good, it made me want to learn Italian, just so I could read it in the original language 😭😭

this had possibly the most beautiful writing style I’ve ever encountered, and the way elena ferrante writes about language and the words we choose to express ourselves is so inspiring.

she manages to paint such an authentic picture of a lower class neighbourhood during the post-war period in naples, and I love how the political and cultural climate during that time becomes more and more important as the book progresses, I’m literally itching to read the rest of this series.

I could probably talk about lila and lènu’s  characterisation, let alone their relationships for hours, it feels so representative of how young girls behave and how truly complex female friendships are.

I also can’t stop thinking about the contrast of the first scene, full of childish curiosity and naivety and the last scene, which quite literally represents the loss of innocence and the start of the harsh and cruel reality of adulthood <\3