My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Novels, 1)

The novel involved the lives of Elena Greco (Lenu), and Rafaela Cerullo (Lila). The girls resided in a poverty-stricken area of Naples, Italy, post Second World War, early 1950s. The Black Market was still in existence and some families gained power and status in their neighborhood.As a patriarchal society, women were sometimes subjected to daily domestic violence. After a chain reaction of violent events that begun in the streets, wives bore the brunt of their husbands’ displaced anger in the home. Parents were often harsh and punitive toward their children in an atmosphere of a scarcity of food, loss of hope and a great level of violence in their community.Lila and Lenu’s friendship was begun around the age of six. There were no similarities in the girls’ personalities. Lenu, the narrator, knew early on Lila, clever, competitive and stubborn, would be the uncontested leader in social and girlhood activities. Lila appeared bold and adventuresome, rebellious and defiant, whereas Lenu showed timidity and caution.An outspoken Lila challenged their teacher, Maestra Oliviero, and disrupted the class; unafraid of the consequences. Lila seemed good at suppressing her emotions. But Maestra Oliviero discovered Lila was brilliant. There was nothing Lila couldn’t learn or do. She surpassed all of her classmates, and became Maestra Oliviero’s favorite.Lenu worked harder to reach Lila’s academic level. Yet Lila always exceeded, leaving Lenu feeling anxious.By their middle years, Lenu was beset by fears of her mother, whom she disliked, wanting her to quit school. Maestra Oliviero intervened more than once, informing her parents Lenu would have a brighter future if she remained in school.During adolescence, Lila, probably bored, quit school to work in her father’s shoe repair store. She and her brother, Rino, secretly attempted to build a business designing and making shoes.Lenu showed absolute alliance and loyalty to her best friend, Lila. She studied harder to prove herself on Lila’s level, welcoming the interest of their instructor, Maestra Oliviera. The girls still competed, with Lila continuing her studies on her own at home, and continuing to override Lenu’s achievements at school.Lenu spent time in Ischia during her fifteenth year, and became beset with a moral dilemma that she never shared with Lila.The depth of Lenu’s emotional feelings, especially anxiety are real. I wondered if she would outgrow her feelings of inadequacy concerning Lila.The reactions of the young men in their circle, Rino, Antonio, and Enzo, are heartfelt, raw, and palpable concerning disrespect toward female family members and friends. Anger often spewed uncontrollably. Their valor appeared intense and unwavering.Although smart and well-read, Lila, toughened and hardened by the ‘mean streets’ of Naples, grew to be a sophisticated young woman who made an amazing transition.Indecisive, Lenu wanted to advance and eventually move away. She wanted to gravitate to a better life, away from her violent surroundings, and the anger that permeated her young adult friends, who unlike her, were not educated, and spoke in dialect. She wanted to be around people with like-minded ideas. She knew her desires could only be achieved through education. She was confused about boyfriends, and like most teens, did not have a secure identity, or a positive sense of self.Ferrante’s writing style is very visual and emotional. I relived some of my own childhood angst concerning physical and emotional changes during puberty, friendships, and competitiveness.The book refers to ‘spoken in dialect,’ which is the language spoken by those who were uneducated or did not attend secondary school and learn formal Italian.The word concrete was used a number of times throughout the book, which I think refers to things we know through our senses that are touchable and tangible.I enjoyed reading My Brilliant Friend. I gave the book five stars.The novel involved the lives of Elena Greco (Lenu), and Rafaela Cerullo (Lila). The girls resided in a poverty-stricken area of Naples, Italy, post Second World War, early 1950s. The Black Market was still in existence and some families gained power and status in their neighborhood.As a patriarchal society, women were sometimes subjected to daily domestic violence. After a chain reaction of violent events that begun in the streets, wives bore the brunt of their husbands’ displaced anger in the home. Parents were often harsh and punitive toward their children in an atmosphere of a scarcity of food, loss of hope and a great level of violence in their community.Lila and Lenu’s friendship was begun around the age of six. There were no similarities in the girls’ personalities. Lenu, the narrator, knew early on Lila, clever, competitive and stubborn, would be the uncontested leader in social and girlhood activities. Lila appeared bold and adventuresome, rebellious and defiant, whereas Lenu showed timidity and caution.An outspoken Lila challenged their teacher, Maestra Oliviero, and disrupted the class; unafraid of the consequences. Lila seemed good at suppressing her emotions. But Maestra Oliviero discovered Lila was brilliant. There was nothing Lila couldn’t learn or do. She surpassed all of her classmates, and became Maestra Oliviero’s favorite.Lenu worked harder to reach Lila’s academic level. Yet Lila always exceeded, leaving Lenu feeling anxious.By their middle years, Lenu was beset by fears of her mother, whom she disliked, wanting her to quit school and get a job or stay home and help out. Maestra Oliviero intervened more than once, informing her parents Lenu would have a brighter future if she remained in school.During adolescence, Lila, probably bored, quit school to work in her father’s shoe repair store. She and her brother, Rino, secretly attempted to build a business designing and making shoes.Lenu showed absolute alliance and loyalty to her best friend, Lila. She studied harder to prove herself on Lila’s level, welcoming the interest of their instructor, Maestra Oliviera. The girls still competed, with Lila continuing her studies on her own at home, and continuing to override Lenu’s achievements at school.Lenu spent time in Ischia during her fifteenth year, and became beset with a moral dilemma that she never shared with Lila.The depth of Lenu’s emotional feelings, especially anxiety are real. I wondered if she would outgrow her feelings of inadequacy concerning Lila.The reactions of the young men in their circle, Rino, Antonio, and Enzo, are heartfelt, raw, and palpable concerning disrespect toward female family members and friends. Anger often spewed uncontrollably. Their valor appeared intense and unwavering.Although smart and well-read, Lila, toughened and hardened by the ‘mean streets’ of Naples, grew to be a sophisticated young woman who made an amazing transition.Indecisive, Lenu wanted to advance and eventually move away. She wanted to gravitate to a better life, away from her violent surroundings, and the anger that permeated her young adult friends, who unlike her, were not educated, and spoke in dialect. She wanted to be around people with like-minded ideas. She knew her desires could only be achieved through education. She was confused about boyfriends, and like most teens, did not have a secure identity, or a positive sense of self.Ferrante’s writing style is very visual and emotional. I relived some of my own childhood angst concerning physical and emotional changes during puberty, friendships, and competitiveness.The book refers to ‘spoken in dialect,’ which is the language spoken by those who were uneducated or did not attend secondary school and learn formal Italian.The word concrete was used a number of times throughout the book, which I think refers to things we know through our senses that are touchable and tangible.I enjoyed reading My Brilliant Friend. I gave the book five stars.

This book first came onto my radar about a year ago and it seems to have taken a life on its own. As far as I know, there was not organized publicity push, just word of mouth. Given that, the fact that this book, and the other books in he Neapolitan Novels series, have become so popular is quite the endorsement.I was nervous when I picked this up. Given the hype, I was worried that it wouldn't live up to everything I had read about it. Fortunately, I had nothing to fear. While this book was somewhat different from what I expected, it was still a wonderful read.To be honest, I don't know what I was expecting--perhaps an updated version of A Room with a View/?--which isn't fair because really nothing would suggest that other than this book is also set in Italy, albeit Naples instead of Florence. In fact, it was the setting that first drew me into this story. I've been to Naples before--for about 30 minutes. When I was 14 years old and on a tour of Europe, we were in Naples just long enough to get on a boat for Capri. Our tour guide told us that Naples was a very, very dangerous place and not to even consider leaving the spot where we were waiting for our boat. Because of those 30 minutes, I've had this fear/fascination with Naples--what did I miss?Luckily, reading this book is almost like going to Naples. Ferrante recreates the city in a way only a native can. I could almost feel the cobblestone under my feet as Elena and Lila walked their neighborhood. After reading this, I can't say that the tour guide's words have gone from my memory--there is definitely an element of, if not danger, violence in this world. I would say it is somewhat in the vein of what one would see in a Mafia movie, but not nearly as organized. Instead, it is the result of overflowing passions among a very passionate people.This book begins with an index of characters, which is essential (and is also why I would recommend reading this book in print and not electronically--you'll want to be able to flip back to this!). Even the secondary characters are carefully drawn, but the names are just foreign enough--and some characters go by multiple names--that any reader will put the index to good use.At its heart, this book is about the friendship between Elena, the narrator, and her fierce friend, Lila and it covers their childhood and adolescent years. I honestly do not believe a more realistic depiction of female friendship has been written. These two characters love each other deeply--but also envy each other, use each other, and sabotage each other. The choice to have Elena as the narrator is a smart one. She feels that she is always on the subordinate end of the relationship, although many times that is of her own doing. Also, since we only see her side of things, Lila remains a delicious enigma.My only complaint, if you can call it that, of this book is in some of the language. I don't feel that it is a fault--I have a feeling that this is just how Italian works and the narrator tried to stay as true to the original writing as possible--but there are times when the sentences are just too busy. The language is beautiful, but there are so many clauses in the sentences that I sometimes had to read them more than once to make sure I understood them.That, however, is only a minor quibble. All in all, this was a fantastic book and one I would recommend to anyone--and I can't wait to continue in the series!

My Brilliant Friend is a good novel and a great study of post-war culture in Italy, of character, and of friendship. I like very much what Ferrante does with the title. I've given it a 3-star rating in part because of how it compares to other works of fiction I've assessed at 4 stars, but mostly because of how it compares to Ferrante's The Lost Daughter, a superior work in many respects. Present in The Lost Daughter but nearly absent here are the great sense of mystery that awes us in our own lives, a wonderful find in a novel, and the little tap-tapping of surprise sentences, arresting not for the uniqueness of their ideas so much as their exceptionality in fiction. Futhermore, the central character in TLD is antagonistic, disturbingly so. If I think about it much, I'll become unsettled all over again, and shaking up readers is what we want fiction to do.Which is not to say MBF is an easy book, a placid ride in a smooth stream. It's most disquieting observations concern human beings' tranquility - or so-seeming - not really - but they act out their guilt in extraordinary ways - in the memory of their own crimes. I do not doubt it. We do wrong things and then we oar blithely onward. In World War II these wrong things were daily, small, horrific, and normal for their times - normal in the sense of our dubbing of certain crimes now 'the new normal.' Which is a way of saying MBF is a good shake-up for the times we live in now. How will we feel when this is over? What will be the legacy for those who come after?