Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1950s
Set in the Year 1950s/ Published in 2011
Please visit the My Brilliant Friend Book Trigger Warnings (BTW) Page by clicking here.
4/5 The announcement that the book of the month in my book club would be Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, Neapolitan Novels #1, greatly pleased me. This and other books within this serious came up on recommendation lists a number of times. Set in Post-World War II (WWII) Naples, I knew I might read this for the Set in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). Click here for more information on this SRC. The prospect of reading something by the enigmatic – pen name only Ferrante also appealed to me.
“A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighbourhood, a city and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her two protagonists.”
My Brilliant Friend, a rich novel in sparse prose, paints a vibrant picture of life in a rough Naples neighborhood. Early on, I saw narrator Elena and friend and rival, Lila. Ferrante rendered a full painting in vivid color. The violence and the anger made this work an edgy read for me. I already shelved the other three Neapolitan Novels on my To Be Read Shelf but I still need a little breather from this intense first volume.
Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.
Starry Night Elf 