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

May 17, 2016 Erin rated it it was amazing

Loaned to me by my brilliant friend Margaret Leef.

What a difficult book to review! Ann Patchett warned us that the first part could be tough going and it was, at least for me - I would read ten pages and then immediately fall asleep. However, as she recommended I stuck with it and gradually became enthralled with the story of Lila and Elena (called Lenu) - in this volume (the first of four) we follow them from childhood to age seventeen. The book is set in the 1950s in a poor neighborhood in Si ...more

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Jun 21, 2016 Mycala rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sucked-me-in, made-me-think, who-needs-sleep

I read this book within a 24 hour period and I fell in love with Ferrante. I should mention that I rarely read fiction -- I would say maybe 15% of my regular reading diet is fiction -- but this one hooked me immediately. I think perhaps the reason I don't read more fiction is because in good fiction (this qualifies) I become so emotionally involved in the characters that it can affect my mood for days afterwards. This is just who I am, so I only read fiction at certain times. I'm so glad I grabb I read this book within a 24 hour period and I fell in love with Ferrante. I should mention that I rarely read fiction -- I would say maybe 15% of my regular reading diet is fiction -- but this one hooked me immediately. I think perhaps the reason I don't read more fiction is because in good fiction (this qualifies) I become so emotionally involved in the characters that it can affect my mood for days afterwards. This is just who I am, so I only read fiction at certain times. I'm so glad I grabbed this one -- and that it is a series so that I can read more!

Elena Ferrante's work has been likened to that of Jane Austen. I can see that. Not literally, in the way the story is written, but more in the biting commentary on social norms and hierarchies, what is accepted without question by some and rebelled against by others. Yes, it is a different time and location than Austen, but I think there is no question that Ferrante just as skillfully sums up her society in her day. I said no because if my father found out that I had gone in that car, even though he was a good and loving man, even though he loved me very much, he would have beat me to death, while at the same time my little brothers, Peppe and Gianni, young as they were, would feel obliged, now, and in the future, to try to kill the Solara brothers. There were no written rules, everyone knew that was how it was. The Solaras knew it, too, since they had been polite, and had merely invited me to get in. This was simultaneously funny and sad.

I was hooked early on when she described how her friendship with Lila began: But in a confused way I felt that if I ran away with the others I would leave with her something of mine that she would never give back.

If you are the least bit invested in the story, this does not work as a standalone novel. The last paragraph will hit you like a punch to the gut, leave you scratching your head thinking, "What the...!? But why?" and like me you will be at the library in no time waiting to pick up the next book in the series. ...more

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Jan 02, 2018 Jen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I heard so much about how great this series is so I finally decided to read it. At first I wasn't sure what all the fuss was about but then I got to the "Adolescence" section and I got it completely. It captures a time and a place and it very much captures what it feels like to be insecure and growing up and not sure of who you are and what you want. I can't wait to read the rest! ...more

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Jan 17, 2016 Melissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: translation, read-my-own-damn-books, 24-in-48-2016

Really loved the depiction of Lena and Lila's postwar childhood in a poor neighborhood in Naples. It didn't quite grab me as much as I was expecting based on reviews but definitely going to check out the next book in the series. ...more

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Jan 14, 2016 Kate rated it it was ok

Extremely slow-moving. Feels autobiographical and, as such, repetitive and lacking any real plot arc. Not sure what all the fuss is about. Didn't hate reading it (like The Girl on the Train), but never really cared all that much while doing the reading. A solid meh. ...more

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