My Brilliant Friend: The International No. 1 Bestseller (Neapolitan Quartet, 1) Paperback – 29 Nov. 2018

Such an easily read book, yet full of carefully observed nuances of the human condition experienced by two young girls. Set in a very poor neighbourhood of Naples in the 1950s, it reflects the period and place so well. A story of their close friendship, experiences, and their journey of self discovery and aspirations to escape their grinding poverty. Beautifully and very sensitively written, it is surely autobiographical; a must for nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Brilliantly written account of childhood & youth in Naples among ordinary people. The dramas and daily pressures are well described. Truly absorbing (still reading do not finished yet).

It's a long time since I read a book that I would categorise as Literary Fiction and become so totally absorbed in it. Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend, is that book. Author, Elizabeth Strout says that if she were president of the world she would get everyone to read this book. I would say every woman, as this is primarily a woman's book about the intensity of a friendship between two young girls in working class Naples at the end of the 1950's. A genuine friendship with no sexual connetations.Elena is very insecure and looks to Lila, her confident, self assured older friend for reassurance about everything - her appearance, studying, reading, thoughts about the world. The two of them are equally intelligent, reading above and beyond their contemporaries. But then Elena continues on her education into high school whereas Lila enters into a relationship and becomes more and more fascinated by wealth and possessions rather than education. In Lila's marriage at the end of the book, Elena suddenly realises that everything has changed and she alone has outgrown the neighbourhood and possibly the friendship too.

Well written account of growing up in Naples in the late 1950s. Tells the story of 2 girls who struggle to deal with the expectations of their families and friends and their growing sense of their own separate identities.

Beautifully written showing how childhood experiences and fantasies influence real life opportunities of clever children in the social setting of growing up in a poor district of Naples.

A great story. I bought this book after watching the series on tv. I have now begun to rewatch the series to compare with the book which it appears to mirror closely.

This book started me reading regularly again. Elena Ferrante restored my faith in writers. She is the real thing. Read it and enjoy ( and be enlightened- as you always are from a very good writer)

Arrived in good time. Brilliant story and bought as gifts