Title: My Brilliant Friend
Author: Elena Ferrante
Series: The Neapolitan Novels #1
Genre: Fiction; Historical; Cultural - Italy; European Literature - Italian Literature
Goodreads Rating: 3.88/5 stars
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Pages: 331 (Paperback)
Publisher: Europa Editions
Published: September 25, 2012 (Original publication: October 19, 2011)
Summary: Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its protagonists, the fiery and unforgettable Lila, and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflictual friendship. Book one in the series follows Lila and Elena from their first fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.
Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists.
"That bag was a fundamental feature of Don Achille, he always had it, even at home, and into it he put material both living and dead."
I found Ferrante's writing style, her depiction of Italy, and her complex characters, incredibly interesting and engaging. If I had to rate this book based solely on Ferrante's writing skills and creativity, this would easily be a 5/5 rating. But, Ferrante's slow pacing and frequent chunks of rapid fire information made this book difficult to keep up with - the slower sections made reading the book feel like a chore, at times. I believe that Ferrante needed to find a happy medium regarding the pacing and information, because a slower pace and larger portions of exposition were necessary for the story to have a coherent flow. But, that slower pacing needed to refrain from becoming stagnant and the revelation of information needed to be deliberately done.
"Our world was like that, full of words that killed: croup, tetanus, typhus, gas, war, lathe, rubble, work, bombardment, bomb, tuberculosis, infection."
The harsh reality that was everyday life for each of Ferrante's characters was always present - overbearingly so, at times. I was baffled at how parents could go from beating their children in one breath, to expressing love for their children in the next breath. But, I believe that was the combination of the time period and the culture. These conflicts do play into the grand scheme of the plot and the character's growth.
"When I think of the pleasure of being free, I think of the start of that day, of coming out of the tunnel and finding ourselves on a road that went straight as far as the eye could see, the road that, according to what Rino had told Lila, if you got to the end arrived at the sea."
Ferrante did a lot of telling and little showing, which is contrary to what readers and writers are "supposed" to read/write; but, I think this was done to compensate for the snail-like pacing, at times. It took me a while to get into this book because I was waiting for Ferrante to show, rather than tell, but I eventually realized that this series is narrated as a sort of creative autobiography. But, the "autobiography" format tells the story of both Italy and this cast of characters - much of which I'm sure is loosely based off Ferrante's own life and experiences. Which, held a great deal of appeal for me.
I liked
My Brilliant Friend a lot. I didn't love it, but I did enjoy it enough to want to continue reading the series. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in complex characters, plot driven stories, and well written contemporary novels.
If you are interested in Ferrante's series, be on the lookout for HBO's TV series adaptation of
My Brilliant Friend - which, presently, has a 2018 air date.
"My father held tight to my hand as if he were afraid that I would slip away. In fact I had the wish to leave him, run, move, cross the street, be struck by the brilliant scales of the sea. At that tremendous moment, full of light and sound, I pretended I was alone in the newness of the city, new myself with all life ahead, exposed to the mutable fury of things but surely triumphant."
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