#29 [2025/CBR17] My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

CBR17 Bingo: "Culture" - this book is very much rooted in the culture of a small town near Naples, Italy.

I had never heard of My Brilliant Friend (2016) until I saw the NYT's "100 Best Books of the 21st Century." I had read a good number of books from that list, but I was a little disappointed that I had missed number one. If nothing else, I am a sucker for a list, so it didn't take me long before I got around to remedying my omission.

My Brilliant Friend is the first book in the Neapolitan Novels, a series of four books that follows our main characters for sixty years, beginning in their childhood. The books are translated from Italian, and the author has used a pseudonym, so not much is known about her. The novel takes place in a poor neighborhood in the outskirts of Naples after World War II. As the book continues, you can see prosperity slowly increasing throughout the neighborhood.

Elena is the narrator and main character of this book, and Lila is her closest friend growing up. The two girls are both smart and end up chafing at the restrictions and expectations put upon them as women in this small, poor town with few opportunities. Their relationship is both caring and supportive as well as competitive. Elena's family allows her to continue school through high school while Lila is forced to stop going to school in order to work in her family's shoe shop. But it is Lila's love of reading and learning that pushes Elena to do well in school. 

Later, Lila is seen as the beauty in town, which leads to increasing amounts of attention, both wanted and unwanted. Elena gets more of a chance to see things outside of her town. After going to high school in a neighboring town, she is able to spend a summer helping out at a vacation home. This certainly broadened her perspective.

This was an interesting book to read. There was a lot going on, but Ferrante does not go out of her way to spell anything out, In addition, I was not familiar with the culture of small towns near Naples after World War II, so it took me a while to get a sense of the layout of people, their pasts, and their priorities. But Ferrante goes into great detail when it comes to the relationship between the two girls as they grow up, and that relationship feels very honest and real. I have to imagine that this book was based on the author and a friendship she had.

Anyway, I am glad to have finally read the number one book on yet another random book list. I will definitely be reading the next one in the Neapolitan Series.