From the Bookshelf of Reading with Style

My Brilliant Friend
by
Start date
December 1, 2015
Finish date
February 29, 2016

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What Members Thought

Harold
Jan 02, 2019 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: fiction
I was prompted to read this after binge watching the HBO adaptation. I was engrossed by the series, by the production values and now, after reading the book, how completely it adhered to the book.
Both the book and the series give a realistic view of growing up in a poor working class area near Naples. The "Neopolitan Novels" continue on into adulthood and I'm hooked enough to follow on through the series. The HBO series BTW has annouced there will be a second season based on the second book. Of
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Alex
Jun 02, 2021 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Two girls growing up in Naples in the 1950s/1960s. The breadth and vivacity of their thought and dialogue is entrancing. I was also taken by how much the occupations of their families and their friends' families formed the primary structure of their world. In my youth (distant) I never gave a thought to the occupations of anyone's parents, and neither did any of my friends (their dads or moms did something in factories or offices), but in this story's Neapolitan neighborhood, crafts and trades s ...more
Joanna
Really looking forward to discussing this book with my book club. The book traces a friendship through all levels of frenemy moments as these girls grow up together and their paths cross and recross. The narrator describes her perspective and constantly wonders what in the world her friend is really thinking and feeling. The reader too is left wondering and wanting more. As I read this book, I felt completely absorbed into the mind of the narrator and found myself viscerally desiring to understa ...more
Kathleen (itpdx)
May 14, 2018 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Class and poverty in post WWII Naples. Family and neighborhood tensions. Coming of age of as a girl in a rapidly changing, patriarchal and violent society. Elena Ferrante presents us with so much to consider in this novel. The story is told by Elena Greco, as she and her good friend Lina Cerullo navigate the neighborhood and school. Both girls are bright and intellectually curious and, at times, compete and, at times, collaborate. Elena's family elects to support her (with the aid of a teacher) ...more
Celeste
Sep 19, 2012 marked it as to-read
Marie
Nov 07, 2022 rated it liked it
Shelves: italy, 2022
Jayme Pendergraft
Dec 28, 2016 rated it really liked it
Shelves: 2016
Claire Jefferies
Dec 23, 2014 rated it really liked it
Shelves: faves-of-2015
Ines
Feb 22, 2015 marked it as to-read
Jane
Mar 30, 2015 marked it as to-read
Lindsay
May 29, 2015 marked it as to-read
Katy
Oct 24, 2015 marked it as to-read
Ruth
Nov 07, 2015 marked it as to-read
Shelley
Nov 26, 2015 marked it as to-read
Ali
Mar 23, 2016 marked it as to-read
Rachel W
Mar 31, 2016 rated it really liked it
Miriam
Apr 03, 2016 rated it really liked it
Linda
Apr 12, 2016 rated it really liked it
Devin Murphy
Nov 23, 2016 rated it it was amazing
Shin
Jul 14, 2017 rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Jules
Sep 12, 2021 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 2021
Tien
May 27, 2021 marked it as lost-interest  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: fiction, italy
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