'My Brillant Friend' by Elena Ferrante

My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante (3.0)

I have given this book the dubious award of ‘Worst Book Cover Ever’. The picture of a married couple skipping along seemingly post ceremony with flower girls seems to have nothing to do with the story. I was interested in reading this book after I heard about the scandal with the author, Ms. Ferrante, which is a pseudonym. Recently an investigative reporter in Italy searched through public records and announced who he believed the true author, living a private life in obscurity, was. Her fans were outraged by the unveiling of this country treasure (her 4 books are some of the most beloved in modern Italian literature) and their revolts were heard worldwide. The book follows two girls growing up in a poor Naples neighborhood as they go from childhood to become young adults. The characters are interesting, though they are plentiful and the names are hard to follow. I liked the writing in general – though like some South American writers- the emotions come across as over-wrought to me. One of my biggest complaints is that the book starts with a passage from current day describing a mystery before going back to when the girls were young. It seems very possible that the current day mystery will not be revealed until the end of the fourth book. I didn’t enjoy the characters enough to follow them on that journey.