Two girls grow up together in a poor Naples neighborhood in the 1950s
What it is about
Elena Greco and Lila Cerullo are girls in a rough neighborhood of Naples. Lila is brilliant, fierce and unpredictable, and Elena both admires and competes with her. The book follows their friendship from childhood to their teens, set against the poverty and violence of the area.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who like deep character studies and long series.
What you will get
The first of four Neapolitan Novels, which became an international sensation. Elena Ferrante is a pen name.
Behind the book
It was first published in Italian in 2011 and is the first of four Neapolitan novels. Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym.
Source: Wikipedia
My Brilliant Friend Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Literary Fiction · Female friendship · Naples · Class
Length
331 pages · ≈ 9 h
More about this book
Characters
Elena Greco, who tells the story, and her friend Lila Cerullo.
Setting
A working-class neighborhood of Naples, Italy, from the 1950s.
What makes it different
The friendship is shown with frank detail, including envy and love.
Feel
Intense, honest and absorbing.
Little Fires Everywhere
The Casual Vacancy
The Poisonwood Bible
The Line of Beauty
Kafka on the Shore
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Middlesex