My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Quartet)

I have always wondered how women can have complex relationships, and I thought they were probably wired differently. Not that men aren't complicated, some are, but women have that love/hate relationship not only with men but with their counterparts. The way the protagonist explains their growing up, their struggles in school, and finally the complications puberty brings on them are documented with such vivid imagination in one of the most important cities in Napoli it is almost like you are with them in each of their steps. *Spoilers ahead* This novel superbly portrays the friendship between Lila and Lenuccia accurately which no other book has explored in such detail, every one of us would always like to think that we will always be truthful, not be jealous of our friends. But that is never true in our life we always compare ourselves with our friends, and are jealous of them if they progress but at the same time, we can't help ourselves when they hit a roadblock that is accurately described in this novel. The class difference and what they want to make out of life closely resemble the working class families across the world, the political class and mafia exploitation of the working class portrayal is outstanding. Overall this is one of the best novels I have read, everyone rightly celebrates British women authors, but Elena Ferrante is on another planet its very hard to describe it in words, you have to read it to understand the joy it brings to your life.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is one of a kind. It is a testament not only to friendship but also to the silent battles women are made to fight across the world.Elena Ferrante’s narrative world-building is extraordinary. Through the diverse range of characters in the book, she presents before us readers the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between of a society or mankind in general.The premise of the novel is sweet yet hauntingly terrifying. I’m particularly fond of how the childhood innocence of the characters of Lila and Elena is juxtaposed with the cruel reality of the neighbourhood they live in. As the chapters go by, the impression becomes bittersweet, which is very instrumental to the plot of My Brilliant Friend. At times, with the vivid descriptions, the reader is made to feel truly transported to Naples, Italy.The book does pick up a slow pace somewhere in the middle, but once that is done, it starts to truly open up and progress further. It is astonishing how justly teenagehood and the female experience are portrayed, accompanied by the inner monologue of Elena, who is also the sole narrator of the book.I genuinely have come to love the book and the world of The Neapolitan Quartet. I cannot wait to experience what the other books in this instalment have in store for me. Admiringly, I am very biased towards the character of Elena Greco. The sophistication, emotional depth, and vulnerability she carries within her character are very inspiring.This is the first novel I’ve read by Elena Ferrante, but certainly not the last, as My Brilliant Friend has left a lasting impression on me.

I’ve been wanting to read this book since the HBO series came out. While the narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Naples and a gritty neighborhood, it transcends mere geography. At its core, this story delves deep into the intricate and enduring bonds of female friendship—a theme often overshadowed by romantic love in literature and media. With its lush prose and vivid portrayal of girlhood, this book offers a poignant and immersive exploration of the tumultuous yet profound connections that shape young women's lives.

This review isn't regarding the book but the paperback edition. It somehow looked like a second hand purchase. I mean after paying 738/- all you get is this old book with yellow pages.

The book is in perfect condition.

It delivered on good condition 👍🏻

My brilliant friend is an ode to that friend who starts out as your girl crush. The one who dazzles you, makes you secretly want to be more like her. The one who you finally accept as an adult, without a small streak of envy. And then learn that she too always admired you.It follows two girls, both brilliant in their own ways. Elena who is inspired to be more by Lila, who is more restricted by poverty and her own fiery nature. Its a bildungsroman of sorts following these girls as they grow up in a post war changing Italy. And one day, Lila vanishes without a trace. The book is character driven, each incident changes them.Elena is the relatable lost child, admiring Lila seeking to absorb her surefootedness. So many children need this role model, this figure to be impressed by, to to emulate and she finds that figure in Lila who is impetuous, imperious and decisive. Lila has moments of feeling unmoored, a hint of mental health problems right from childhood. It's only natural considering the descriptions of the neighborhoods that we are treated to, a place of violence backwardness and ugliness.There is a lot of child abuse in this book, greatly normalised. Their is also the dark truth behind parents wishes for children to be prosperous but at the same time, not exceeded.

100% recommend this. So much relatable lived my childhood again with this one. I don’t know what and how I feel connected to this one but it was refreshing.

I really enjoyed this book, finding it hard to put down. The subject matter is quite ordinary but the author makes it fascinating and builds an image of Naples that makes me want to revisit. Looking forward to reading the rest in the series.

Must read!!

Sempre bello

Wow. What an amazing book. In short, it’s the story of a childhood friendship between two girls, Elena and Lila, growing up in a poor Neapolitan neighbourhood post WWII. And it really is a remarkable ode to the power and overwhelming intensity of childhood friendships; as narrated by Elena, the relationship with Lila is clearly the defining one in her life. Their precociousness – Lila’s in particular – sets them apart from both their peers and the adults in their impoverished community, where violence is standard and literacy not. In competition with Lila, Elena finds the drive to succeed, but when Lila’s schooling ends with elementary school Elena has to work out how to continue alone, trying to balance her academic success with the neighbourhood world she still inhabits.The world which Elena and Lila live in is a hard one and Elena tells us that it is ‘a world in which children and adults were often wounded, blood flowed from the wounds, they festered, and sometimes people died […] our world was like that, full of words that killed: croup, typhus, gas, war, lathe, rubble, work, bombardment, bomb, tuberculosis, infection.’ Even as children they are not exempt from the violence all around them; after Lila’s arm is broken by her father the only reflection is that ‘Fathers could do that and other things to impudent girls’.Within the neighbourhood Lila is in control, a fearless, almost feral child with ‘a gaze that appeared not very childlike and perhaps not even human’ who is determined to overcome her circumstances. The dynamics of the relationship, where Lila leads and Elena follows, are turned on their head the first time they venture outside, when Lila’s nerve gives out while Elena has the revelation that ‘distance – I discovered for the first time – extinguished in me every tie and every worry’. It is through education – at the insistence of her elementary school teacher, Elena is allowed to progress – that the boundaries of this world can be stretched, but for Lila’s father this is an impossibility, and so at ten years old Lila must leave school and begin the life it is expected of her to live.The passions and uncertainty of childhood are captured brilliantly; the fear and determination, the utter seriousness with which they take the world are all there on the page. As they progress into adolescence and their paths diverge, with Elena continuing through first middle and then high school, there develop new tensions between them. Not only the girls but the whole community is changing, ‘quivering, arching upwards as if to change its characteristics, not to be known by the accumulated hatreds, tensions, ugliness but, rather, to show a new face.’ There is new prosperity to be had – cars, electricity, even, if a girl plays her cards right and marries well, ‘hot water that came from the taps, and a house not rented but owned.’Negotiating this world is now Lila’s task and adulthood seems suddenly thrust upon her. 14 is not too young to be engaged to a man in his 20s, and Lila turns her precociousness to making the most of the limited opportunities she has. Elena on the other hand must balance the demands of two competing worlds, while struggling without Lila, who ‘knew how to be autonomous whereas I needed her’. The world outside is an unknown place and seems filled with possibilities, but Elena is also a teenage girl who wants nothing more than to fit in at home, to be accepted and not to be left behind by Lila who she sees as entering womanhood before her.I could go on and on about this book. It is the story of a friendship, but it is so much more than that. It brilliantly captures the time and place and presents the reader with a fully realized world, full of conflicts and history and danger and also love and friendship. Ferrante’s writing is crisp and precise, evoking the intensity of childhood and adolescence but without ever being subsumed by them. I am quite sure that this will be the best book I read this month and it will be in strong competition for my favourite of the year – and that’s in a year of highly impressive books.More reviews available at www.goodbyetoallthis.com