patwilson621 's review for:

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante

4.0

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This book is about a woman’s ordeal of dealing with a husband who has left he for a younger woman. It is intense and detailed as she goes through stages of grief from disbelief to acceptance but in the middle she experiences episodes of near psychosis. She definitely experiences symptoms of dissociation, uncontrollable anger, and depression. The climax comes with the death of her dog while she seems to be locked in her apartment with her children. I did not foresee how she was going to emerge from this final day, but the death of her dog seemed to shake her out of her terrible depression. I’d love to say the ending was happy, but although she is able to carry on she is deeply scarred and her ability to make a loving connection with anyone seems to have been completely destroyed.

I enjoyed the writing and was connected with the main character, but the theme is dark.