A review by fionnualalirsdottir
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

type, edit, delete,

undo delete,

type, edit, delete..

deep breath

start again

type, edit, delete…

make a coffee

type, edit, delete…

pour a drink

type, edit, delete..

desperation sets in

The dog ate my review!

………………................................

Why, why, why can’t I find any words to say about this book?

The problem is I don’t know what I feel about it. In fact, the book has left me without any feelings, good or bad. It has left me blank. I’m not used to feeling blank after reading.

I read Ferrante’s [b:The Days of Abandonment|77810|The Days of Abandonment|Elena Ferrante|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1412532798s/77810.jpg|75142] last year and I was excited while reading - I felt every line of it intensely. I was so stimulated by the writing - the words and the dramatic tone seemed to match the episodes of the narrative quite perfectly - that I started writing the review even before I’d finished reading the book.

With this one, I skimmed, I nodded off, I left it down often and only reluctantly picked it up again. I finally finished it on a flight after I’d deliberately not carried any other reading material with me.

In my desperation to find something to say about the book, I even thought about rereading it…