It is really unclear for most of the book who is getting married here. There were more representative choices for this artwork for sure.
Author: Elena Farrante
Publication: 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Let me start off by saying I don’t understand the hype around this novel. It was alright. I enjoyed some parts of it. I admit I’m not that into bildungsroman or adult novels with child narrators. But except for the last third or so, I thought there wasn’t much in the way of plot or interest to this book. That last third somewhat rescued it because there were finally stakes involved, but before that it was a bit of a slog.
I struggled with the Italian names in a way that I haven’t done since my last early Russian novel. Thank goodness for the character list at the beginning. Ferrante switches back and forth between referring to characters by the first names, family names, pet names, pet names that only the narrator uses, etc. It is all fairly confusing.
The plot follows the narrator, Elena (Lenu? Greco?) and her friend Lila (Lina? Rafaella?) who are growing up poor in 1950s Naples. Both girls are smart, although Lila supposedly is more so. When the girls complete their woefully inadequate primary schooling, Elena’s family allows her to continue at middle and high school while Lila’s family sends her to work. Elena proceeds to get her entire identity wrapped up in academic success and being “different” from the rest of her impoverished community. She constantly compares herself to a vision of what Lila would have been like if she had gone on a different path. Lila meanwhile does her own thing.
It’s exhausting to be in Elena’s head. She hates her family, doesn’t really have any friends, and treats boys as useful objects. Her perspective is extremely narrow. Meanwhile, she is consumed with her relationship with Lila throughout, despite how they don’t even seem to like each other half the time.
I don’t know if I’ll continue with the other three books in this cycle. I probably will eventually, as I’m a a bit of a completionist. I’m also genuinely curious whether adult Elena is less annoying than adolescent Elena. But I’m in no rush.