My Brilliant Friend

Just a rich rendering of a time and place.

I fell in love with the entire Brilliant Friend series. Ferrante moves in so closely to her characters, so imitimately, I felt like I was right up next to them in Naples. 

And of course, I loved the book because it takes place in Italy. Lila and Lenu, the two main characters, are both struggling to know who they are, not just as Italian women, but as individual women.

Growing up in a small rural community where education wasn't much valued amongst the working class population, I related to the main character in this book. She defies expectations and pursues an elite education (like I did) and then struggles the rest of her life stuck between the world she was born into and the world she now inhabits as an educated person.

This is a story about two friends who take wildly different paths in life. Both have brilliant minds. But one chooses to pursue an education while the other chooses marriage and work in the neighborhood of Naples… show more.

I found myself fascinated by the development of the friendship between two Italian girls in Naples. They have known each other almost from birth but have held tight to each other as they have grown into very different lives, careers, and marriages in a city plagued by economic chaos and a local mafia.

Every detail is rich and pertinent; I could see and feel the city as they grew into adulthood, and I could agonize over the choices presented to them and cheer when they found their own paths to fulfillment. The story evolves over three more volumes, but this… show more.

Although I have read a number of novels focused on friendship, this one stands out with particular vigor. It started the way I expected: two friends since childhood. The more I advanced into the reading, though, the more I perceived the two main characters—Elena and Lila—as the same person:  a sort of super-protagonist that incorporates not only the psychological traits of the two but their lives as well.

If it’s true that life is often a fight between who we are and who we would like to be, then this novel portrays that conflict masterfully. What I saw in this… show more.

This book is the first in a series of books that celebrate the lifelong friendship of Elena and Lila, who meet as young girls in a rough and tumble neighborhood in 1950s Naples, Italy. I applaud the author's skill in weaving a setting that was beautiful despite what many would consider ugly. 

I loved this whole series mostly because it celebrates the power and ever-evolving dynamic of female friendship through the many different stages of the character's lives and the events that they must overcome.  

A powerful story about how adolescent friendship can shape lives. Ferrante explores female intimacy through the characters Lenu and Lila, who experience intense academic and romantic rivalry. A study about competition and the complex nature of female friendship. Such a great read.

Like Zenia, Lila, the crafty protagonist of this book, is a born charmer. With her wicked intelligence and unique beauty, she turns heads and stirs controversy wherever she goes, attracting admirers and haters.

She is unafraid of fighting men’s violence with violence–she carries a shoemaker’s knife to deter the unwanted advances of suitors–and she is not hesitant to describe herself as mean.

Elena, Lila’s best friend and the novel’s narrator, comes in second after Lila in many things in life, including academic excellence and boys’ attention, and often suffers caught between love and jealousy toward Lila. 

Set in Naples, Italy, this culturally rich book is the first in a series of four connected novels that tell the complete story of a profound and intense friendship between two women who are opposites in almost every way.

It is a friendship-love story that illustrates how a deep and abiding love can help and hurt two people. My Italian ancestors are from Naples, and Elena Ferrante’s books capture the spirit of their passions while delivering complex and emotional life lessons.

I love this book because it expresses the romanticized ideal of childhood in a relatable and honest way. The characters are sweet, loving, and genuine, and their engagement with life is the same. This book is a reflection of innocence, an admission of our eventual digression from such innocence, and a true story of friendship.

I also love the book because it doesn’t rely heavily on the plot to drive it but more on the relationships between the characters. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Naples, My Brilliant Friend is one of my favorite coming-of-age stories.