
The Lying Life of Adults
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Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Marisa Tomei
About this listen
Soon to be a Netflix original series.
A powerful new novel set in a divided Naples by Elena Ferrante, the New York Times best-selling author of My Brilliant Friend and The Lost Daughter.
“There’s no doubt [the publication of The Lying Life of Adults] will be the literary event of the year.” (Elle)
Giovanna’s pretty face is changing, turning ugly, at least so her father thinks. Giovanna, he says, looks more like her Aunt Vittoria every day. But can it be true? Is she really changing? Is she turning into Aunt Vittoria, a woman she hardly knows but whom her mother and father clearly despise? Surely there is a mirror somewhere in which she can see herself as she truly is.
Giovanna is searching for her reflection in two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: a Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and a Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity. She moves between both in search of the truth, but neither city seems to offer answers or escape.
Named one of 2016’s most influential people by Time Magazine and frequently touted as a future Nobel Prize winner, Elena Ferrante has become one of the world’s most read and beloved writers. With this novel about the transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, Ferrante proves once again that she deserves her many accolades.
In The Lying Life of Adults, listeners will discover another gripping, highly addictive, and totally unforgettable Neapolitan story.
A Most Anticipated Book of 2020
- The New York Times Book Review
- Vogue
- Entertainment Weekly
- Elle Magazine
- BuzzFeed
- The Millions
- The Seattle Times
- USA Today
- Town & Country
- Thrillist
- Publishers Weekly
- Library Journal
- Harper’s Bazaar
- BookPage
- Literary Hub
- BBC Culture
Another brilliant book from Elena Ferrante.
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Fabulous
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Why?
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You will understand when you are older, they say, but Giovanna understands snippets and reads between the lines. Through her complex relationship with her unhinged aunt and her own intuitions, she uncovers the details of a family feud, and other long held secrets.
I enjoyed walking through Italian streets, developing insight to the social and cultural norms of the different areas. Ferrante pits education and progressive thought against family tradition and religion, emphasising how they can oppose one another but never taking sides. She often juxtaposes melodramatic Aunt Vittoria with Giovanna’s slide glancing uncomfortableness, reinforcing these themes in an amusing way.
This is my first Elena Ferrante novel and I love her writing style; the long, fast paced sentences mimic Italian speech. She writes female characters flawlessly. Giovanna’s coming of age experiences were so on point, with references to the link between inner and outer beauty and ugliness, and the differences in the experiences of the genders. I thought all the characters were complete in their portrayals, each with their own compounded issues and perspectives. No-one comes out on-top. Exactly my type of novel.
Elena Ferrante is brilliant 💫
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Sad story about Mrs. Ferrante
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