puddinontheritz 's review for:

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

4.5

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

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This is an extremely well written book, but I don’t think it lived up to the hype. The characters develop in sad, depressing ways, but there is an underlining selfishness that that doesn’t leave any character whether they act selflessnessly or not. The final chapter of the book is the pinnacle of the beautifully crafted writing, and I am compelled a bit to continue the series because of the prose and the setup at the end and beginning of the novel, but the characters themselves don’t compel me to learn more. There is something else about the perspective of the story that feels too third person omniscient for a the narrator and that left me with a superficial feeling for the story. 

I am going to research more about people’s opinions of the full series and the first book to see if I am grossly in error and should give another go or let it go.