Book Review // My Brilliant Friend

To remain anonymous in today's world fascinates me. How is that even possible? Elena Ferrante has been doing it for almost as long as I'm alive, since 1992, when she publish her first book under a pseudonym.

After years of stumbling across her name, I asked my mum for Ferrante's first book as a birthday present this year. I read it during our summer holiday on Vancouver Island, and it has been years since I read 150 pages in one day. The book is strange, very slow-paced and at times confusing, there are so many names and details you need to remember. But it's also fascinating and brilliant, because the author doesn't follow any rules of creative writing, it's heart-warming and offers interesting insights into life in Italy after Second World War.

The Book

My Brilliant Friend is the first book of the Neapolitan Novels. The books tell the life story of two perceptive and intelligent girls, born in Naples in 1944, who try to create lives for themselves within a violent and stultifying culture. Elena and Lila couldn't be more different and the books tell the story of a very particular 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. (Source: Goodreads) The story starts when Elena and Lila are little girls and ends when the two of them are teenagers. The story continues in book two, which I'm currently reading.

One thing that bothers me: It's Elena's complete dependence on Lila. Sometimes she treats her more like a queen than a friend. But you'll see that for yourself.

The Author

As already mentioned above, we don't know much about Elena Ferrante. Journalists analyzed a publication of letters and concluded that she must be from Naples, is a mother, has a degree in classics and has lived outside Italy for a few years. Not everyone finds the debate about her identity justified. British novelist Matt Haig, for example, tweeted, "Think the pursuit to discover the "real" Elena Ferrante is a disgrace and also pointless. A writer's truest self is the book they write." Novelist Jojo Moyes supports his point of view: "Maybe Elena Ferrante has very good reasons to write under a pseudonym. It's not our 'right' to know her". Read more about the controversy. Elena Ferrante has published many books but the most famous is the Neapolitan Novels, a 4-part series. The series consists of My Brilliant Friend (2012), The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave And Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015).

Fun Fact: Ever since I started reading Elena Ferrante, she crosses my path everywhere. I found one of her books in a little coffee shop on Quadra Island, in the far north of Vancouver Island. And this weekend I found two of her books in a little book box in my neighbourhood.

Have you read any of Elena Ferrante's books? How do you like them?

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