My Brilliant Friend (My Brilliant Friend, #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jan 01, 2016 Shannon rated it really liked it

Halfway through this book, I wondered what all of the hype was about. Sure, it's well-written and the setting is fascinating, but I've read other books that are equally strong in both areas. The last third of this book pushed it from three stars to four for me. Why? Because the author so perfectly captured the feeling of being out of place in your own hometown and the pain and dissonance that brings. It also ended with such a gut punch revelation that I can't wait to read book two and see who th ...more

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Jun 16, 2016 Astrid Lim rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, europe, culture, women, book-club

At first, this book is pretty slow- i was wondering what made it such a favorite all over the world. But along the way, the life of Lena and Lila in poor neighborhood in Naples around the 50s started to capture my heart. I care about them, I can connect with them and I feel them. The story flew quickly til the end and now I want to read the second book badly! I want to know all about the juicy life, gossips, envy, jealousy, love, and self discovery that both characters go through in the next sta ...more

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Jun 05, 2016 Molly rated it it was ok

Shelves: literary

2.5 stars. I feel I'm in the minority with this rating, but for whatever reason, I feel so-so about this one. It was hard for me to keep the characters straight at times. (Admittedly, I didn't reference back to the Index of Characters at the beginning, so that may be my own fault.)

Sometimes I found the writing lovely and captivating and other times I found it laborious. It may have been just the wrong time to read it, but I do not plan on continuing the series. ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

Extremely well written. My initial thoughts completely changed by the end of the book. This is an excellent book for a book club. So much is ripe for discussion. Excellent character development, a rich immersive experience, and while the plot at times can be slow, it still ended in such a compelling way that I’m going to have to read the sequel.

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Oct 25, 2017 Denise Cormaney rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books

This may be a case of unrealistic expectations for me; because this book kept appearing on lists of reader favorites, I expected to like it more. And while it was probably in keeping with the time period (1950s Italy), I had a hard time with the casual sexism and domestic violence. I don’t think I’ll read the rest of the series.

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