My Brilliant Friend

Si dalguien me pidiere la definición d'un bildungsroman, enseñaría-y esta novela, y atrévome a dicir, el restu d'esta saga.
Sigue la vida de dos neñes, Elena Greco y Raffaela “Lila” Cerullo, nun barriu baxu nel Nápoles de los años 50. Amuesa la la probitú, violencia y miseria (tos temes recurrentes) que les rodea y forma les sos vides ensin dáse cuenta elles.

Son una narrativa y estructura simples, lliniales pasáu-presente-futuru. Un estilu simple, direutu, ensin tapuxos. Que dalgo seya simple nun quier dicir que seya malo o mediocre. La escritura tien qu'adaptase a les necesidaes de la hestoria y/o del xéneru. Esti tipu de novela requier una escritura específica, y considero que l'autora consiguió esto maxistralmente. Ye simple y sofisticao, pulío. Ye quien a amosar los recovecos del mundiu interior d'una adolescente ensin sonar infantil. Paezme una gran narradora.

Elena, o Lenù, crez na solombra de la so meyor amiga, Lila, perspicaz, pícara, ocurrente y, descrita d'esta miente por otros personaxes, mala. La so dinámica básase na competitividá silenciosa y secreta por parte d'Elena, superándose constantemente pa sorprender a Lila, solo pa dáse cuenta que los sos esfuercios son en vanu. Lila ye brillante ensin estudiar, valiente ensin pénsar o preparase... Ye una guaḥa peculiar y particular pa lo bono y pa lo malo. Ye la so seña d'identidá. Vien d'una familia probe que nun la dexa estudiar tanto pola precaria situación económica como pol machismu de la época. Esto, que sólo Elena pudiere continuar los sos estudios de les dos, aun siendo Lila brillante, ye una de les munches victories vacíes que conformen el filu narrativu.

Pero, anque Lila nun siga estudiando y tea obligada a trabayar na zapatería familiar, Elena sigue viéndose superada por ella. Si Elena entama a deprender griegu antiguu, Lila ya deprendiere l'alfabetu y traduxere dalgo por cuenta suya. La educación d'Elena piende constantemente d'un filu. La so familia fai esfuercios pa poder pagala y sólo alcedieron a ellos tras les súpliques de la mayestra Oliviero. Tien que ser la meyor en tou, siente la presión per toes partes.

Esta primera entrada de la tetraloxía va dende la infancia hasta l'adolescencia; los años mozos y formativos. Dambes vides siguen el mesmu camín, pero al llegar la pubertá hai una bifurcación inevitable que les separa y les une a lo llargo del trayectu.

Otros personaxes importante son los collacios, los demás neños del barriu: Stefano, Enzo, Pasquale, Antonio, Alfonso, Michele, Marcello, Ada, Carmela, Gigiola, Nino...

Un tema mui importante nel llibru ye la herencia de los traumes y problemes familiares, una especie de fatum. Siempre pensamos que vamos ser diferentes que los nuesos pas, que vamos saber superalos y nun caer nos mesmos errores. Fala de la hostia que supón date cuenta que ca día t'asemeyes más a ellos inadvertentemente. Fala tamién de la sensación de sintir a una persona cercana como dalguien desconocío.

No plot, just vibes. Llibru que lleería mio ma.

The first 100 pages or so were a test for me but after that ... yeah.

I don't know where the rest of the story will lead but I'm quite enjoying this unique portrayal of female friendship. It's honest. Even the ugly parts. I'm on board with that.

It's also interesting to see a portrayal of post-war Italy from the view point of children. It reminded me of movies like “Rocco and His Brothers”.

I'll surely continue with this series.

“I turned the word over and over in my head, Communist, a word that was meaningless to me, but which the teacher had immediately branded with negativity. Communist, Communist, Communist. It captivated me. Communist and son of a murderer.”

I recognized myself too much in this book, to the point that when I was done reading, I just stared at the last page, thinking about the “alienness” I used to feel as well.

Estoy un poco indecisa en la nota, está entre 3.5 y 4. El último tercio me iba interesando mucho y es un libro que se lee rápido, se siente que se lee sin invertirle tanto tiempo. Pero no tiene final, se termina un capitulo y ya. Así, siento que me dejó a medias.

La historia empieza cuando estas dos amigas Lenu y Lila son mayores, pasando algo con una de ellas para luego rememorar su historia en la niñez y adolescencia. Viviendo en un barrio pobre de Napoles, se muestra la relación entre estas dos amigas con altos y bajos así como la interacción con los diferentes personajes que viven en el barrio. Pero como ya mencione queda todo a medias, así que tendré que leer el siguiente.

I'm glad I read this with my awesome lady bookclub so we could get together and all be like “...oh good we ALL thought this was kind of overrated, whew”.

IDK, it was fine? I do like the importance of the girl friendship at the center, and the obsessive/competitive/consuming nature of that I thought was well done. And there was a sort of satisfying, Little House on the Prairie-ish satisfaction to just the kind of detailed monotony of household doings and routines?

Also one intrepid member of our book club read Wikipedia summaries of all the other books and told us what happens to all the other characters, which was sort of interesting. Seems like this book is setup/backstory for the series and more things happen later? But ultimately I'm not invested enough to read any more of these books.

I wonder if some of why this is getting attention because it's relatively rare for ~literary fiction~ to be about female friendship and it's refreshing in that way? But I read so much YA fiction about girl friendship that I'm like, okay what else?

Okay I am hooked. Two girls growing up in the poor neighboorhood of Naples. They push and pull, they support each other, they compete and hurt each other, and always always influence each other. My only complaint: Why couldn't Ferrante publish all 4 books all at once, make one giant 1400 page mammoth with tiny fonts and super-thin translucent pages. It would feel more like the epic I am sure it's going to be.

Not disappointed — this is absolutely worth all that praise & hype that made me read it in the first place (on top of the fact that Ferrante is not Knausgaard). When it comes to describing the dynamics of female friendship and the sober reality of growing up underprivileged, this is a bottomless well of quotables.

I took a star off for the horrible edition (saccharine cover art + out of line printing that made every page look like a crooked frame on a wall and drove me nuts) and the fact that nothing that surprising actually happens — it's all a bit Anne of Green Gables for adults. I loved Anne of Green Gables though and I'll definitely read the remaining 3 books of the Neapolitan series, but it all feels a bit ‘pleasant escapism without ever being made to think'.

Reread this for the Book Riot Challenge category of “a book with a cover you hate.” In this case, the publisher seems to argue that the cover was made intentionally vulgar to make a point (https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/elena-ferrante-covers-bad-no-good/488732/). Maybe, but still, I hate it. I also noticed that the blurb on the cover refers to the book as being “amiably peopled.” “Amiable” is about the last thing any of these characters are.

Still one of my favorite books ever, and 2018 challenge complete.

One sentence synopsis... The obsessions and rivalries of two friends growing up in post-war Naples as they mature from violent, underprivileged children to competitive adolescents. .

Read it if you liked... Little Women or other immersive epics of female relationships gleaned from the most destitute of circumstances. .

Dream casting... HBO already did a great job casting it. No notes.

A beautifully crafted story of the friendship between two young working class girls in 1950's Naples, Italy. The story is told from the perspective of Elena, the girl who is able to go to high school, and follows the progress of their lives and friendship as they grow from little girls to young women. In the process, we also get to know the inhabitants of the neighborhood where they live–their parents, their neighbors, the grocers, teachers, barkeepers, bakers and mechanics. We also get glimpses of the dark stories that the adults have from “before”–before the girls were born. Who was a Fascist, who is a Communist, where some people get the money that finances their business, who has a financial hold over whom in the neighborhood–all these things are undercurrents in the story that occasionally surface to disturb us. The depiction of the girls' friendship is anything but sentimental (it's not an easy friendship) but as a whole it's very moving. When I finished the book I was in awe. Also, I was on fire to get the next book (this is the first of a trilogy) to see how the story continues.

I had been expecting to absolutely love the first book in this series that I feel like I'm the last one in the world to get to! I love stories about female friendship! And I did like it more and more as it went on and I got drawn further into the world that Lenu and Lila live in and the bond between them, but this one was a slow starter

It took me awhile to really get into the book and at the end I did enjoy it. It's a slow book about two friends in the 50's. It starts when they are adults and Lila has disappeared and her son is looking for her. Instead of helping, Elena is remembering her childhood with Lila. Living in a small village, the violence, the jealousy and the envy that surrounds them.

The author does a good job making us part of the time and places. The struggle living during that time, the lack of choices for education of jobs, approuvals from the parents about the type of person you can marry.

Looking forward to know more about Lila and Elena in the next ones.

Because of the book's popularity, I felt obligated to read it, but I'm not sure I feel obligated to read further in the series. On the other hand, my main disappointment in the novel was that it focused on the friendship of two young girls, which didn't interest me much, although the environment of their friendship–working-class Naples of a much earlier time–was quite interesting. The writing is fine, although repetitive.

The narration of the audiobook is very slooow. Eventually, I switched to the Kindle version so I get through it faster. I can't say that it brought me more enjoyment, however.

When I started reading the book, I assumed the brilliant friend is Lila but as I slowly went through, I realized it is, in fact, Elena.

This book had awakened something in me, offered me epiphanies and what not about my friendship as similar as of Lila and Elena's. The book at first was a slow burn, but it came through at the end, I became intrigued by it, I began to flip pages as quickly as possible to get to the next moment, the next scene, what would the outcome be, what will Lila do now, what will happen to Elena?

I absolutely loved this book.

5 stars

Two girls, both clever, both poor, grow up together in Naples, Italy, amid chaotic family situations, with neighbors who deal with problems by using violence. The two girls become friends, very close at times, sometimes estranged, but eventually becoming close again. The two find ways to go to school even when their parents want to dissuade them from doing so. Both girls learn ways to handle boys they don't like who like them as well as boys they like who don't like them.

The stories feel very, very real and the setting feels authentic. The characters are a realistic mix of likable and unlikeable qualities that made me enjoy watching them grow and develop.

Thought the start dragged a bit but deffo liked the development of the two main characters to understand their relationship. Relate to their relationship in some ways and love how the book has high and lows for both elenas and linas characters. I liked how youre on a journey w elena and see how her thought process develops, how she learns new things like sex and love etc. thought the ending was good and deffo wanna read the next one. Started out hating elena and liking lina but now liking elena and understanding more of lina's flaws and how she isn't perfect as elena first perceived when they wete young

I've been hearing a lot about Ferrante lately. Her latest book made up the long tail of a bunch of best of lists for 2014 as well as topping translated reads. Ferrante is a pseudonym and the author makes Salinger seem downright social in comparison. This is the first book in the Neapolitan series which follows the lives of Elena Greco and Raffaella (Lila) Cerullo. Book one gets as far as their teenage years starting from when these frenemies are first introduced.

It's a luxuriously paced Bildungsroman that explores class rifts, how your community and friends define you and yet force you to define yourself in opposition to them. Nothing much really happens here and somehow it avoids being a plodding reminiscence. I'm actually surprised how much I liked this book and will be picking up the rest in the series.