Book Summary and Reviews of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

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Cathryn Conroy

A Literary Novel Filled with Wisdom, Wit, and Insight About a Deep and Abiding Friendship
I read this extraordinary book by Italian author Elena Ferrante with a bit of trepidation. Two of my bookish friends whose opinions I greatly value have wildly different views of this novel. One friend loves it so much that this is her go-to book to give as a gift; it is so important to her that she simply must share it with many people. The other friend is vehement in her dislike, going so far as to tell me, "I hated the book!!!" (Yes, with three exclamation points.)

I fall somewhere between the two. The colorful characters just drew me in to their insular working-class world of 1950s Naples, Italy. The streets came alive, I could feel the crowded apartments, and I could always sense the underlying current of anger and violence that filled the hearts of so many of the men. It just seemed so real. And, oh, the writing! It's simply exquisite.

This, the first of a quartet of books about the lifelong friendship between Lila Cerullo and Elena Greco, focuses on the girls' childhood and adolescence—that emotionally volatile time when girls make decisions about their grownup lives while wondering all the while how they could be so ugly and stupid and inept. Who would ever love them? Where will they work? Who will they BE? Although the book is narrated by Elena, the real star is Lila. Naturally brilliant, Lila is forced to quit school at age 12 and work in her father's shoe repair shop along with her angry brother, Rino. Her best friend, Elena is allowed to go to the private middle school and high school, and Lila does her best to keep up with Elena by actually teaching herself Latin and Greek on her own. They are smart and bookish in a world that wants them to just be pretty, silly, and marry young. Still, both girls are caught up in the little neighborhood's social scene, learning to dance, meeting boys, and falling in love. Their friendship is truly based on love for each other, but like adolescent girls from time immemorial, they have deep conflicts and complicated lives, which take very different paths by the book's end.

This is a literary novel about a deep and abiding female friendship that relies on characters instead of plot to propel the story. I was captivated by the novel, delighting in the wisdom, wit, and insight of Lila and Elena as they navigate growing up and becoming young women.

Martha P. (Issaquah, WA)

Italian masterpiece
I am so glad that this is the first in a trilogy by Elena Ferrante. Her writing and the translation are superb. The characters are so believable you feel like you are reading a memoir instead of a novel. Naples in the 60's, family feuds, friendships that wax and wane, machismo, coming of age, and intellectualism---Ferrante blends it all effortlessly and makes you feel that you are there in the backseat of the Giardinetta with Lila and Elena sharing the experience. Very much looking forward to book number two in this trilogy.

Susan J. (Twain Harte, CA)

A Complicated Friendship
I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to the rest of the trilogy. I couldn't help but contrast the setting of working class Naples with my own coming of age in the 50s in suburban California; I suspect that these days the images wouldn't be as far apart. Even though I look forward to what comes next in the story, it is the two main characters who interest me the most, and I have so many questions about what lies ahead for Lenu and Lila. Will they continue to grow apart? Will they be disappointed with the choices they have made?
Will they continue to have a strong influence in each others lives?

Nan G. (Mazomanie, WI)

Rich, Complicated Storytelling
Elena Ferrante's novel My Brilliant Friend (the first in a trilogy) is not an easy, throw in the bag book for the beach. Instead, it should be savored under the shade of an old tree over days when you won't be disturbed. It is a rich story with a host of characters, all of whom play a part in the sometimes complicated narrative of a friendship between two women that begins in the 1950's just outside Naples.

Unlike some books translated from the writer's native language, this one flows easily, leaving the reader immersed in a time and place unfamiliar to most American readers. In some ways it reminded me of the "big" novels of Edna Ferber (Giant) or Anton Mryer (The Last Convertible)---leaving me anxious to read more.

Norma R. (Secaucus, NJ)

My Brilliant Friend
Very good "period" piece set in the outskirts of Naples in the late 1950's. It is a coming of age story that chronicles the lives of children growing up on the outskirts of Naples in the 1950's. The plot focuses on several families in a small sheltered neighborhood. I enjoyed this book because it was realistic. At first I expected a saccharin story of a beautiful Italian small town. But the book addresses multiple serious issues. Characters struggle with depression, poverty, and domestic violence. Back of book says this is the first of a trilogy, looking forward to Part 2.

Priscilla M. (Houston, TX)

A Mini-Series in the Making
My Brilliant Friend has all the makings of a TV mini-series. In the first installment of a trilogy, Elena Ferrante skillfully involves the reader in life in a neighborhood in Naples, Italy in the 1950's. The inhabitants are poor and hold, for the most part, menial jobs, but their lives are rich in passions, friendships, divided loyalties,unrequited loves, and unrealized dreams.
The main character, Lena, and her best friend and chief competitor, Lila, grow up sharing dolls, dreams, fears, and family complications. The author brings the reader into their lives with a cast of characters that needs a family tree to keep everyone sorted out so that the various feuds and alliances are properly understood. That was probably my chief complaint with the story. I had to constantly refer to said family tree to keep all the alliances clear in my head as I read. This was an engrossing tale, and I wasn't ready to let go of the characters when the story ended.

...13 more reader reviews

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