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A review by tommeyer3
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
emotional
reflective
slow-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
2.0
I so desperately wanted to love this book. It’s written in a very classical style that’s hard to pull off — full of characters with one motivation, extreme family dynamics, and plot lines that intertwine. In that way it reminds me a bit of dickens or austen.
But it just doesn’t really pull it off. Character after character comes off as one-note, complex life experiences seem flattened, and the build is less focused on engaging the reader than it is on getting where it’s going.
There were a number of times where I wondered if it was the translation that had flattened these characters. Maybe I’ll learn Italian so I can better judge.
But it just doesn’t really pull it off. Character after character comes off as one-note, complex life experiences seem flattened, and the build is less focused on engaging the reader than it is on getting where it’s going.
There were a number of times where I wondered if it was the translation that had flattened these characters. Maybe I’ll learn Italian so I can better judge.