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rladptjs's Reviews (17)
changed my rating again because my mind keeps wandering back to this book. initially i had no plans of reading the remainder of the quartet, but that ending.. i think i will.
anyways, my mind keeps wandering back to lena & lila’s friendship and lena’s journey of girlhood. it reminds me of my own female friendships; the ones that have gone and the ones that are present. specifically, it reminded me of my friendship with one specific girl in elementary school, of her actions within the past 6 years-the actions that made so little sense to me.
this friendship ended abruptly and i had trouble finding closure from it for the longest time.
i think about her often; how she spent years painting me out to be a massive bitch, yet behind closed doors, she spent that same amount of time reaching out to me constantly and begging to rekindle our friendship. her friends, that aren't mutuals with me, never knew of her behaviour behind closed doors. she stalked my closest friends on instagram, constantly following and unfollowing, demanded me to be her 'best friend' under her conditions, hounded me on why i never liked her posts. the reality was i wanted to move on in high school and be a better version of myself, to grow, and mature, so i had unfollowed her.
in university came our final conversation-my confrontation on years of her behaviour. that conversation ended oddly where she asked about who i was as a person in the recent years. she asked questions that made me confused, yet reminded me so much of lena and lila's dynamic in hindsight. i realized, through this book, she had lived those 4 years of her life in a way she believed i would have. what she hadn't realized was that her curated perception of me was so inaccurate, that i fundamentally do not share any values of the actions she had committed in those years. she wallowed in shock at this revelation while i looked at her in disappointment as she asked more questions. we, at our core, are vastly different. yet she used the perception of me as a means of justification for her behaviour.
elena ferrante's rawness in writing reminded me so much of my own journey navigating female friendships and girlhood. this book felt straightforward enough. yet in hindsight, it feels like its sustenance comes mainly after reading the book, when readers reflect on their own journeys of girlhood and navigation of female friendships.
anyways, my mind keeps wandering back to lena & lila’s friendship and lena’s journey of girlhood. it reminds me of my own female friendships; the ones that have gone and the ones that are present. specifically, it reminded me of my friendship with one specific girl in elementary school, of her actions within the past 6 years-the actions that made so little sense to me.
this friendship ended abruptly and i had trouble finding closure from it for the longest time.
i think about her often; how she spent years painting me out to be a massive bitch, yet behind closed doors, she spent that same amount of time reaching out to me constantly and begging to rekindle our friendship. her friends, that aren't mutuals with me, never knew of her behaviour behind closed doors. she stalked my closest friends on instagram, constantly following and unfollowing, demanded me to be her 'best friend' under her conditions, hounded me on why i never liked her posts. the reality was i wanted to move on in high school and be a better version of myself, to grow, and mature, so i had unfollowed her.
in university came our final conversation-my confrontation on years of her behaviour. that conversation ended oddly where she asked about who i was as a person in the recent years. she asked questions that made me confused, yet reminded me so much of lena and lila's dynamic in hindsight. i realized, through this book, she had lived those 4 years of her life in a way she believed i would have. what she hadn't realized was that her curated perception of me was so inaccurate, that i fundamentally do not share any values of the actions she had committed in those years. she wallowed in shock at this revelation while i looked at her in disappointment as she asked more questions. we, at our core, are vastly different. yet she used the perception of me as a means of justification for her behaviour.
elena ferrante's rawness in writing reminded me so much of my own journey navigating female friendships and girlhood. this book felt straightforward enough. yet in hindsight, it feels like its sustenance comes mainly after reading the book, when readers reflect on their own journeys of girlhood and navigation of female friendships.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced