Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend is the first book in her Neapolitan Novels series. It opens in the present day with Elena Greco learning of the disappearance of Lila Cerullo, her lifelong friend. Lila appears to have disappeared leaving no trace of herself or belongings so Elena starts to tell the story of Lila's life and their friendship.
This first book deals with their childhood and adolescent in a small working class community on the edge of Naples. It's a hard scrabble existence that's both violent and passionate and Elena Ferrante tells not only the story of the two girls but those of their neighbors.
Both girls are intelligent and yearn to escape their upbringings by making their fortune in some way. This book ends with Lila's marriage at the age of sixteen.
Whilst it's a beautifully written book that evokes Naples in the 1950's wonderfully I found it to be a little slow going for my liking. I'd heard great things about the Neapolitan Novels and had planned on reading them all but I didn't enjoy this one enough to continue with the series. It's not that it's a bad book by any means, it's just not the type of book or style of story that appeals to me. Also, I didn't feel a connection to either of the characters that compels me to carry on reading to find out what happens to them eventually.
I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this as it is one that I had really been looking forward to.
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