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The Story of a New Name
May 2018: Family Drama
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The Story of a New Name - Elena Ferrante - 4.5*
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My Brilliant Friend was on my TBR several years ago when EVERYONE was talking about it. It since drifted off, but this makes me consider it again...Seems like a good series to read on the beach this summer!
I read MBF on the beach in Panama last year, so I definitely recommend it for beach reading!
Ellie wrote: "I read MBF on the beach in Panama last year, so I definitely recommend it for beach reading!"So many beach reads and so little sunscreen to cover this lily white skin! lol
We leave My Brilliant Friend, the previous tome in the saga, in the middle of Lila’s wedding to Stefano, when Marcello Solara walks in wearing the shoes she made, and it seems like everything is going to break apart. Book #2 picks up at that exact moment, and tells us, through Elena again, about the following years, in the 1950-60s Italy. Lenu continues with her studies, moving farther and farther away from the neighbourhood, while Lila must now take on the role of a wife and all that is expected of her. The girls seem to be growing more and more distant, but their lives stay as intertwined as ever.
I don’t know why I loved this book as much as I did. I really really don’t. I should dislike all the characters, be annoyed at the flowery narration, but I just kept reading, couldn’t get enough of Lila and Lenu and their weird love-hate relationship. Their story fascinates me utterly, and the cliffhanger at the end makes me want to read the rest of the series like NOW!
The reason I rated it 4.5 rather than 5 stars is that sometimes I found Lenu’s bits without Lila (her studies and all) a tad repetitive and... boring? Compared to Lila’s story at least. Often reading about Lenu alone, I missed Lila and hoped we’d get more of her soon.