My Brilliant Friend
The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
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My Brilliant Friend
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Narrated by:
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Hillary Huber
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By:
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Elena Ferrante
Now an HBO series: the first volume in the New York Times bestselling “enduring masterpiece” (The Atlantic) about a lifelong friendship between two women from Naples
Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Elena Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its main characters, the fiery and unforgettable Lila and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship.
This first novel in the series follows Lila and Elena from their fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between two women.
©2011 Edizioni E/O. Translation © 2012 by Europa Editions (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Critic Reviews
“One of the more nuanced portraits of feminine friendship in recent memory.”
“An intoxicatingly furious portrait of enmeshed friends…Ferrante writes with such aggression and unnerving psychological insight about the messy complexity of female friendship .”
“Ferrante’s freshness has nothing to do with fashion…it is imbued with the most haunting music of all, the echoes of literary history.”
“Ferrante, beautifully translated by Ann Goldstein…writes with a ferocious, intimate urgency.”
“Hillary Huber’s subtly shaded performance couldn’t be better as she reveals the complexities that separate and connect the two women…Ferrante’s dense, rich prose provides the perfect palette for Huber’s artistry. Huber’s delivery of this well-plotted, absorbing story of friendship will leave listeners wanting more.”
“This gorgeous novel should bring a host of new readers to one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors.”
“Ferrante’s unflinching and insightful prose…is captivating and hopeful.”
“It is Lila and her dreams and caprices that drive everything…Lila, mercurial, unsparing, and…seemingly capable of starting a full-scale neighborhood war, is a memorable character.”
“What is most essential to the story is what is most essential in all our stories: love, loss, sex, marriage, children, friendship, family, dreams, and everything in between.”
“Hillary Huber’s subtly shaded performance couldn’t be better as she reveals the complexities that separate and connect the two women. When adult Elena learns that her volatile, impulsive childhood companion has disappeared, she decides to write Lila’s story and the story of their lives together. Ferrante’s dense, rich prose provides the perfect palette for Huber’s artistry. She draws clear portraits of each woman and her family, as well as the small town outside of Naples where they live just after WWII. Huber’s delivery of this well-plotted, absorbing story of friendship will leave listeners wanting more.