My friendship with Lila began the day we decided to go up the dark stairs that led, step after step, flight after flight, to the door of Don Achille's apartment...
I waited to see if Lila would have second thoughts and turn back. I knew what she wanted to do; I had hoped that she would forget about it, but in vain.
My Brilliant Friend is a ravishing, wonderfully written novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
The story of Elena and Lila begins in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. The two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, sometimes to their own detriment, as each discovers more about who she is and suffers or delights in the throes of their intense friendship.
There is a piercing honesty about Ferrante's prose that makes My Brilliant Friend a compulsively readable portrait of two young women, and also the story of a neighbourhood, a city and a country.
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A harrowing introduction to the Neapolitan Novels series, My Brilliant Friend follows Lila and Elena's increasingly dangerous dependency on one another as they guide each other through life in 1950s Naples. It is terrible. Heartbreaking. Intense. And absolutely beautiful. Elena Ferrante's writing is so raw and powerful, after reading you really feel like you have gained a brilliant friend indeed. - Jolynn (QBD)
Guest, 02/02/2020
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Elena Ferrante's quartet of Neapolitan novels is a beautiful exploration of a friendship that begins between two young girls growing up in a squalid Naples and continues throughout the lives of the two women as they love, lose, and live. The story of Lenu and Lila will make you cry, laugh, despair, and hope as the two live their lives together and separately. - Wesley (QBD)
Guest, 16/09/2019
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Elena and Lila meet at 6 years old, and immediately become competitive with each other, however this also creates a bond between them. Their lives are surrounded by violence, on the streets amongst the other kids and at home in the family, but this is portrayed as acceptable and as a part of everyday life for them. Their adventures and early childhood are captured in this great novel and as they grow, their first loves, ambitions and frustrating disappointments. A great coming of age story. - Julie (QBD)
Guest, 26/04/2017
My Brilliant Friend
A while ago a friend gave me this book and said: "I think you'll like this". She wasn't wrong, and the best thing is, there are three more in the series. My Brilliant Friend is written by Elena Ferrante and as one of the main characters is Elena and she is telling the story, it is thought to be semi-autobiographical. But very little is really known about the author as she shuns publicity and has kept herself quite private. She tells the story of two women who form a lasting - often tumultuous friendship which starts when they are young girls growing up in the slums near Naples in the 1950's.
Elena and Lila meet at 6 years old, and immediately become competitive with each other, however this also creates a bond between them. Their lives are surrounded by violence, on the streets amongst the other kids and at home in the family, but this is portrayed as acceptable and as part of everyday life for them. There is very little dialogue as it is Elena telling the story, though this works really well and the book flows along nicely. From the start I was hooked and love the characters of the fiery independent and intelligent Lila , and the equally clever Elena who dreams of becoming a writer when she grows up. Their adventures and early childhood are captured in this great novel and as they grow, their first loves, ambitions and frustrating disappointments. Elena seems drawn to Lila who although very clever, is badly behaved and often leads Elena into trouble. Despite this, they remain friends but this is what makes the story so good. This was such a different, refreshing book to read and would make a great book club choice any time!
You can continue their story in The Story of A New Name. - Lisa
Woodgrove, 10/05/2016
