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A review by libbysbookshelf
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND by ELENA FERRANTE translated by ANN GOLDSTEIN
I want to start this review by saying that my grandmother was born and raised near Naples in a small neighbourhood filled with family and friends just like the one in this book. I have visited this neighbourhood and I imagine it looks similar now to how it looked then and I imagine the same is true of the one in this book.
This book is quintessentially Italian. It captures exactly what it means to be an Italian girl growing up in an impoverished community in 1950s Naples. The passions of the characters were evident in their regular declarations of love and promises to kill themselves or someone they love if they don’t get their way.
At the centre of this story is the friendship between Lenu and Lila; two girls who just grow up among these passionate men who fight and leer and jeer and declare love. They are both brilliant in school but only one (our narrator) is given the opportunity to continue studying. For her, being the most praised and adored of the two is her driving force. But her friend is the most beautiful and intelligent girl the town has ever seen.
This is number one of the Neapolitan Quartet and it’s a coming of age story with pure passion and honesty like I have never read before. Ferrante understands and remembers exactly how it felt to be a young girl and she renders it beautifully on the page.
I must shout out the translator who used the Italian syntax throughout and made me feel like I could have been reading the book in Italian (#flex).
All that’s left to say is I can’t wait to read the rest!
#elenaferrante #mybrilliantfriend #neapolitanquartet #witmonth #womenintranslation #womenintranslationmonth #books #book #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookgrammers #bookreview #bookreviewer #booklover #italianliterature
I want to start this review by saying that my grandmother was born and raised near Naples in a small neighbourhood filled with family and friends just like the one in this book. I have visited this neighbourhood and I imagine it looks similar now to how it looked then and I imagine the same is true of the one in this book.
This book is quintessentially Italian. It captures exactly what it means to be an Italian girl growing up in an impoverished community in 1950s Naples. The passions of the characters were evident in their regular declarations of love and promises to kill themselves or someone they love if they don’t get their way.
At the centre of this story is the friendship between Lenu and Lila; two girls who just grow up among these passionate men who fight and leer and jeer and declare love. They are both brilliant in school but only one (our narrator) is given the opportunity to continue studying. For her, being the most praised and adored of the two is her driving force. But her friend is the most beautiful and intelligent girl the town has ever seen.
This is number one of the Neapolitan Quartet and it’s a coming of age story with pure passion and honesty like I have never read before. Ferrante understands and remembers exactly how it felt to be a young girl and she renders it beautifully on the page.
I must shout out the translator who used the Italian syntax throughout and made me feel like I could have been reading the book in Italian (#flex).
All that’s left to say is I can’t wait to read the rest!
#elenaferrante #mybrilliantfriend #neapolitanquartet #witmonth #womenintranslation #womenintranslationmonth #books #book #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookgrammers #bookreview #bookreviewer #booklover #italianliterature