Elena FerranteMy Brilliant Friend begins right after the second world war in Italy when the areas surrounding Naples are recovering from all of that hardship brought on by war, massive death, and loss. The children grow up under parents who are all hardscrabble poor, working class, putting together their lives in a small effective but harsh community of like sufferers. The front matter of the book gives the occupations of the seven or eight families who are the core of the story: grocer, shoe repair, baker, construction worker, porter, railroad worker.When things begin to look up, when prosperity doesn't seem so remote, and some of the families begin to look more middle than lower class, and their young sons drive around in cars, there is jealousy and resentment, and the mistrust that comes with an area that is the seat of the Camorra blossoms into something more deep rooted. The two girls who are the subject of the friendship in the title suffer blows from their fathers if they act out, from their brothers if they disappoint, from each other the blows are more psychological. But theirs is a culture rooted in violence and harsh punishment if you stray from the patriarchal rules.At first, Lila is the brilliant friend who excels in school, masters difficult subjects quickly, teaches herself Greek after her parents refuse to continue her schooling. The narrator has more luck getting her parents to allow her to be educated, even though her mother resents her, and she cannot stand her mother. She continues to middle and high school, and becomes educated and more refined, and eventually becomes the brilliant friend to Lila.Lila though is the most celebrated young adult in the community partly through her fearlessness, partly through her emerging beauty which brings the devotion of several powerful young men. Since this book is the first in a trilogy, the ending is inconclusive and suggests a chronological continuation of the story after Lila's wedding. Ferrante inspires the delicious ache of the bond that can erupt between women who admire each other as girls. The level of detail she brings to a familiar emotional world of intense female friendship and the alien world of working-class Naples meant that I cruised through this first volume powered by the twin pleasures of recognition and curiosity. It's the first of three, and I am already making deals with myself so that I won't consume this series like an open bag of Fritos.
What do You think about L'amica Geniale (2011)?
A well written, enjoyable story. I'm reading book 2 in the series next.
—Guima
Another well reviewed book that just didn't do anything for me.
—Brian
mi è piaciuto, quindi leggerò anche gli altri della serie.
—rodeojunkie
