My initial interest in this novel came from reading that Elena Ferrante is the female Neapolitan Knausgaard. While I know think that this description is a bit uncharitable to Ferrante, I can say that if you enjoy Knausgaard then you'll likely enjoy Ferrante as well, though not necessarily vice-versa.

Both authors are great at evoking the feeling of living in a particular place and time -- Tromøya in the 70s for Knausgaard, and Naples in the 50s for Ferrante --, but while Knausgaard usually does so by focusing on the minutia of daily life and the dullness that comes with that (sometimes interspersed with how it all makes him feel), Ferrante's story is full of thrills and twists and turns.

Perhaps it's just that 50s Naples is more difficult, dangerous, and exciting than life in a small town in Norway. But the fact that Ferrante isn't committed to writing everything "exactly as it is" certainly helps. Instead, her novel features an ensemble cast of characters (which, like in a good HBO series, takes a while to get used to) and focuses on two girls who often feel out of place. This premise -- I say premise but I only took note of it when I was halfway through the book -- can be a lot of fun when the setting is a tight-knit neighborhood full of family businesses and dominant men. ( )

This took me f o r e v e r to read. It’s dense, it’s well-written, it’s…not my cup of tea. Ultimately I think I prefer more plot. Disappointing bc I’ve seen so many reviews saying this book reminds them why they love reading etc. I just couldn’t keep my eyes open for more than 15 pages at a time idk. I will probably check out a stand-alone Ferrante sometime, but I don’t think I can commit to the 3 others in this series. ( )

Like most avid readers I'm always looking for something different or original, and while my Brilliant Friend isn't exactly original; it's a coming of age tale and I've read my share of those. But what made it different was that is was told from the point of view of a young Italian girl growing up in a middle class Neapolitan neighborhood during the 1950ies/60ies. Hers was the story of an underdog and since I always root for the underdog, I was delighted by and behind her right from the start. I found myself fascinated by just how much drama and intrigue took place amongst the families in the neighborhood --- things right out of Romeo & Juliet ! This is the first novel of a trilogy and I'm definitely looking forward to reading books two and three. ( )

This took me longer than I thought it would to read. Not because I didn't enjoy it... I don't really know why. The narration is vividly detailed but not oblique, the storyline is a little bit eerily familiar. Has every girl grown up with a frenemy, a person who she longs to be like, to be with, to be, only to be thwarted, rebuffed, disappointed? Elena is by all accounts the "good girl," good at school, good at life, but with her share of insecurities, as all young girls have. Her friend Lila is the "bad one," mean, outspoken, straightforward -- qualities that were not attractive in women in the 1950s (and even now aren't on the top of most lists). Throughout their childhood, they are drawn together and drift apart continually, playing a kind of leapfrog as they advance toward adulthood. Elena is the narrator, so hers is the story that is known and understood. Lila remains a mystery, to both the reader and to Elena herself. I wouldn't liken this story to anything by Jane Austen, except that it ends with a wedding, which is Austen all over. However, this wedding may not be the answer to all the bride's dreams. I know this is the first volume of a trilogy, so I anticipate that the beginning of adulthood, married life and family for one, the continuation of education, intellectual development and the isolation of that path for another, will be explored as the story continues. ( )

i enjoyed the actual real deal in the moment reading of this novel, and i will read on...just wouldn't have been so fantastic to end a stand-alone novel on that pure gag of a shoe reveal?!








what follows is some bitter shit that claims to be otherwise. (full disclosure/shade: i have deleted an obvious joke about mindy kaling.)

so, i was an english major a few times over and so were so many of my friends, and while i can see *now* that they were all talking about elena ferrante five years ago, i still have a bit of a why-didn't-you-call-me feeling. it took my geographer of an eldest brother to set me on this neapolitan series path, which--yep checks out--is thematically sound.

i am not bitter; i realize i read no periodicals of relevance with any regularity. blah. ( )