Scan barcode
A review by adelinaamouteru
L'amica geniale by Elena Ferrante
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh my God.
I picked it up, with my expectations already high.
I started it, and at first I was not feeling enthralled with the writing, at all. It was a solid 3.5/5 for most of the book.
Then, I don't know when or how, but it got me. It grabbed me by the throat, kept me seated and with my eyes glued onto the page.
What a gorgeous, realistic description of the Italy I know and love despite its very apparent, very bad, and very well told and shown in these pages, flaws. What a heartbreaking, yet heartwarming and realistic depiction of friendship, its beautiful and dark sides. Of what it was like, being a woman in the 1950s. Very saddening, to think that it is still so relatable, especially in Southern towns.
Every character—and there are way more than you'd expect for a contemporary book— feels so real, so three-dimensional, even the ones that have no reasons to be. It feels like I know them all, personally.
To pick it up with high expectations, and then to put it back down with your expectations met, comfirmed and exceeded... what a gorgeous, lovely thing. So happy to have read this. I'll definitely keep going.
I picked it up, with my expectations already high.
I started it, and at first I was not feeling enthralled with the writing, at all. It was a solid 3.5/5 for most of the book.
Then, I don't know when or how, but it got me. It grabbed me by the throat, kept me seated and with my eyes glued onto the page.
What a gorgeous, realistic description of the Italy I know and love despite its very apparent, very bad, and very well told and shown in these pages, flaws. What a heartbreaking, yet heartwarming and realistic depiction of friendship, its beautiful and dark sides. Of what it was like, being a woman in the 1950s. Very saddening, to think that it is still so relatable, especially in Southern towns.
Every character—and there are way more than you'd expect for a contemporary book— feels so real, so three-dimensional, even the ones that have no reasons to be. It feels like I know them all, personally.
To pick it up with high expectations, and then to put it back down with your expectations met, comfirmed and exceeded... what a gorgeous, lovely thing. So happy to have read this. I'll definitely keep going.