The Story of a New Name (Neapolitan Novels, #2) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Feb 09, 2022 Jen K rated it really liked it

3.5 stars for the second installment of The Neapolitan Novels. Lila is now a married women but unfortunately the marriage had a more than rocky beginning. Elena recommits herself to secondary school with Lila's support. The girls' relationship is still toxic. They want to live vicariously through the other. They want to be the other. They want the other to be more miserable and jealous. They want to show off to the other and live the best life. They are teenagers. It all come to a head during a ...more

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Apr 12, 2020 Donna rated it it was amazing

The Story of a New Name is the second of four in the Neapolitan series. It begins where My Brilliant Friend left off, at the wedding reception of Lina and Stefano. It continues the story of the lives and friendship of Lina and Elena, as told by Elena. Now teenagers, the girls life paths diverge as Lina begins married life and Elena continues on to high school, all within the backdrop of the colorful people and ingrained cultural norms of a poor 1960s neighborhood in Naples, Italy.

The drama is re ...more

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Mar 25, 2022 Wendy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: in-translation, audiobooks, 2022

Oof, I had to muscle my way through this one. While I appreciated the coming of age story and gritty Naples environment of My Brilliant Friend, this one really took a turn for the melodramatic with the dysfunctional relationships, manipulation, infidelity, and abuse to the point where I just couldn't enjoy the story. The writing and Elena's publishing experience brought the book up in the end for me, but I'm not planning to read any further in this series. I'd try other books by the author, but ...more

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May 30, 2015 Kallie rated it it was amazing

In this second novel, Lila and Elena continue to struggle against their assigned roles as young women in an impoverished culture. Lila, who does not have the advantage of education, must make the most of her circumstances. Her father is a shoemaker, so she uses all the tools and skills available to her to create extraordinarily beautiful shoes that bring attention and respect to her talent and brilliance, and marriage into a prosperous family (there is an ironic fairy tale element to this). Like ...more

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Jul 22, 2022 Hannah Peterson rated it really liked it

Shelves: aty-2022, in-translation

When I read My Brilliant Friend, it took me about half the book before I felt like I really "got" what Elena Ferrante was doing. So I've been really looking forward to continuing the series, now that I feel fully prepared to read them. And I wasn't disappointed — knowing what to expect made this book practically electric, so compelling that I sometimes couldn't look away and sometimes had to put the book down. I'm sometimes wary of novels or series that begin with a young child who grows up over ...more

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Sep 27, 2018 Andrea rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, 2018

I liked it better than the first one because a lot more happens and there is more drama while still not exactly being a lot of plot/overall story. None of the characters is likable at all but I will probably keep going because I want to find out what happens to get to the beginning of the flashback in the first book. I am starting to suspect it is a lot of nothing.

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Nov 30, 2018 Kaye rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 0fiction, 1kindle, set-in-italy, 1translation, authorfrom-italy

4.5? 5?
Think I liked this even better than the first book. Again, it ends very abruptly.
Lenu and Lila, two sides of one coin?

Wonder how much of this is autobiographical?

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