Elena Ferrante is a complete enigma. No one knows what she looks like or even when she was born, let alone what her real name is. I think it's because the books that she has written seem to be pretty personal. In this particular novel, which was translated from Italian to English, a young girl is followed growing up in Naples, yearning to be a writer. There are a lot of fairly heavy topics that Ferrante addresses in this novel: everything from physical violence, to economic and class differences to child sexual abuse.
In this book, the main character is Elena Greco - called Lanu - and her best friend Lila. All of the children in this neighborhood are tight, much as the neighborhood itself is tight and they all know who stands where in the power struggles. There is a scene where, for instance, Lila turns the power dynamics on her head by threatening the sons of a wealthy store owner with a knife after they tried to grab Elena and pull her into their car (the implications of why are there but never explicitly stated, which makes Lila's actions even more noble).
What I loved about this novel and, I hope, about her future novels, is that this one seemed to be a very intimate and thorough examination of growing up female in Naples at a particular time in history - this was the 1930's and 40's in Italy. I have to admit, because my grandmother grew up in Italy during this time period I was drawn to it maybe a bit more than the average person. That being said, this book was phenomenal and I look forward to reading more.
In this book, the main character is Elena Greco - called Lanu - and her best friend Lila. All of the children in this neighborhood are tight, much as the neighborhood itself is tight and they all know who stands where in the power struggles. There is a scene where, for instance, Lila turns the power dynamics on her head by threatening the sons of a wealthy store owner with a knife after they tried to grab Elena and pull her into their car (the implications of why are there but never explicitly stated, which makes Lila's actions even more noble).
What I loved about this novel and, I hope, about her future novels, is that this one seemed to be a very intimate and thorough examination of growing up female in Naples at a particular time in history - this was the 1930's and 40's in Italy. I have to admit, because my grandmother grew up in Italy during this time period I was drawn to it maybe a bit more than the average person. That being said, this book was phenomenal and I look forward to reading more.
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