II resisted as long as I could. I had read about Elena Ferrante's
Neapolitan Novels, much admired by literary critics and other
writers, but I'm always wary of translations, and did I really want
to commit to reading all four? But I was intrigued by that fact that
in this day when authors seem forced to relentlessly promote their
works, the mysterious “Elena Ferrante” (her pen name) has managed
to keep her identity a secret and do only the bare minimum of
interviews (written only).
I've
now finished the first – My Brilliant Friend, and am halfway
through the second – The Story of a New Name, and there's no
stopping me. The books follow the lives of two childhood friends,
Elena Greco and Lila Cerullo, beginning in postwar Naples, where
there is little escape from grinding poverty and limited opportunity.
Both girls are bright and ambitious, and they imagine exciting lives for themselves.
Although Lila is the stronger, the more imaginative and determined of
the two, her parents refuse to educate her past elementary school, so
it is Elena, her “brilliant friend” who continues her education,
while Lila marries young and seems locked into the life she had hoped to
escape. And maybe she ultimately does?? I'm only on book two.
I
wonder if part of the reason that Ferrante wants her privacy is that
her works seems so autobiographical. Elena and Lila are such vivid
characters, with a friendship and a rivalry that is fierce and
complex, and all the neighbors (and there a lot of them –
the index of characters at the beginning of the book is extremely
helpful) are rendered so sharply that they are completely convincing.
Was Ferrante taking notes all through her childhood? That's how it
feels.
Elena
and Lila are strong women, and they are angry, sometimes at each
other, often at the world. I have to find out how it all ends.
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