Your point of view is interesting. I am Italian but I live in the US and I know about the american culture (and I love it). I noticed that here in the US people expect a villain in books and movies so they are a bit surprised when they read a book or watch a movie in which there is no climax, no villain, no good vs bad characters. Nice video. I'll subscribe.
That’s the point of the ‘slow’ start, she’s setting the scene: era, economic strata, post war Italy, the politics... brilliant! Excellent review.. I am subscribing 😀
+Joce SquibblesReads Thaaank you! Any excuse to wear bright pink lipstick. I wonder what you'll make of Elena! There were times I was right there with her, feeling everything about how she viewed herself and growing up and her own achievements, but there were also times I wanted to shake her and just tell her to open her eyes and see what was happening. It definitely makes for an engaging read, after you get past the first hump of establishing characters and style. Thank you again! Speaking of being self-critical... you know that second-guesssy feeling you get sometimes about your own content? Yeah. This was a really nice and needed comment. I appreciate it and happy weekend to you as well!
Lovely review, Marines! I really enjoyed hearing what you took from the book. It's funny you mentioned sense of place and that the suspense doesn't grow towards anything fantastical because that links in with something I was thinking: that the intricacy of the character relationships and sense of place often has more in common with an epic fantasy series than it does with literary fiction. I'm really curious to see how the relationship between Elena & Lila develops because it begins with a sense that they were inseparable yet she never seems to be able to predict what Lila will do next or what she's thinking, we only get hints. I was really drawn in early on so can't relate to your initial 100-page struggle but I'll bet you're glad you stuck with it!
+robotnic I think I've heard this book described as mythical a few times now, and that's definitely the case. It makes the fact that nothing really fantastical is happening all the more impressive. And you are right about how the sprawling cast and the neighborhood as something of its own character really connect it to fantasy. This sense really only grew for me in book 2, where we do get to see more of how Elena and Lila's relationship grows (and digresses.. and grows again..).
yASSSs. i agree with everything. best buddy reading ever. and also the fact that we are basically buddy reading an entire series together. everyone should be really jealous.
+WellDoneBooks I said "a little bit jealous" because I wanted to soften the blow. But between you and me, they should be really jealous for sure. Talking about this all over again has made me itchy to read book 3!
I pulled this up because I’m currently reading MBF. I knew you had liked it and the cover put me off for so long I couldn’t bring myself to pick it up. I’m just through the first part and I am enjoying it a lot as I read, but not rushing to pick it up. Glad I watched this to keep me going.
I love your ideas about "before' and buzz words. I think that idea really informs my experience of the second book, especially. Reading about their relationships with boys is so painfully adolescent, and I certainly want to avoid revisiting my own past as I read it. I love that weird suspenseful feeling in these novels, too. As you say, it turns mundanity into something amazing!
+All the Shelves I think in the second book you really get that sense that before becomes something they don't want to visit about their own lives now. We see this in their past relationships and for Lila with her past schooling and even that story she once wrote. It's incredibly relateable. I'm the type of person who hates revisiting my past just because I find it mortifying. Just from a, "omg I was so young and dumb," kind of perspective. ;)
I was waiting to hear yours and Max's reviews because just both of your goodreads reviews had me itching to get this and now I'm sold. I order this and can't wait to see what it's all about. I will definitely keep you updated. :]
I have no words, but Yes. I found myself consumed with Lenu + Lila and comparing their dynamics to my own relationships. I loved Ferrantes writing style but the slew of characters was dizzy + I couldn't keep up. I never thought about Lenu's biased POV and I just accepted her view as fact. I think I will re-read My Brilliant Friend before beginning book 2. I secretly wonder if this is a memoir, it's just to juicy!!!
+The Book Traveler Max and I wondered about that too! The fact that the main character's name is Elena might be a hint to the fact that it's autobiographical in some way. We know Ferrante is from Naples. There is a thing that happens in book 2 as well that made me suspect that Elena the narrator might be in some way representative of Elena the author.
I recently received this book from Stephanie (time to read!) and am so glad to hear your thoughts on it. I was intrigued by the story (which is why I picked it as my prize for the giveaway), but then felt a bit daunted by what I read on GoodReads. I have now circled back around to intrigued and a little excited to finally pick it up. Thanks.
+RubyLovesRocket Thank you! Don't feel daunted by it! There are characters to keep track of and people really do have all these complicated thoughts and opinions on it, but I found it incredibly easy to dive in and read. It seemed accessible to me, so definitely, pick it up whenyou can!
Can't wait to get a chance to read this. I'm currently 19th in the queue at my library so I'm trying my best to be patient, but videos like this aren't helping D: lol
+Sarai Talks Books OMG 19th?? That's crazy talk! I mean... you can do it. Be patient. I hope it's worth it for you when you read it and I'm sure I'll STILL be in the mood to chat about it then too. :)
Between you and Max, I'll be picking this up soon. And by "soon" I mean probably in the late spring or early summer because I don't think I'll have time to appreciate it until then. But yea. Soon...ish. Also, I'm totes jealous of your buddy reads. You and I definitely need to buddy read something soon (*ahem*The Chimes*ahem*) and I would love doing a buddy read with Max as well because his reviews are always so thoughtful and I also feel like we have super similar tastes in a lot of books.
+sarahannereads I have The Chimes in an envelope with a letter all addressed to you sitting in my car. It's one of a millionty things I owe the world BUT OMG, TIME. I'm kind of struggling right now with my course load so I promise it will happen soon...ish. ;)
I loved your review! What are the beautiful books on the top shelf of your bookshelf on the left of the video?
8 лет назад
Lovely review! As I said in a comment to another video, I will give Ferrante another try and start with ther Naples-series. And interesting what you said about adult literary fiction series. Strange indeed, that there are so few. I thought about it, and could only come up with two: John Galsworthy's Forsyth Saga & Paul Auster's New York Trilogy. But the latter is not quite a series in the strict sense. So there remains only one. Mmh, will have to think about why that is some more...
+Britta Böhler You came up with two more than we did, though I haven't read either of these. Series are probably more accepted or common in fantasy and sci-fi genres, whether adult or otherwise. There just seems to be something about literary fiction that doesn't lend itself to being published in series...? I don't know! Definitely something to turn over in your head.
Totally disappointed that this video is about a book and not meeee ba-doom-crash. Love you and your bookish thoughts on a thousand books that I always get so excited about even though I'll never actually make time for them. This one does sound like it would totally be my jam, though.
Haha, I thought this was a video about your friend, who you thought was brilliant and thought to compliment :P. Completely misinterpreted the title. Interesting to hear you discuss this one though. It's too bad that it didn't feel like the story really took off, nevertheless, 4 stars is quite a lot, so you must have enjoyed it :)
I felt you were too generous and diplomatic. The book was slow and boring and I struggled to care for the characters. Definitely not reading the rest of the series :(
alfreedom I mean, I was neither because I enjoyed this book? I wasn’t trying to be diplomatic. I thought the beginning was slow, but it grew on me. I cared about the characters and loved the rest of the series.
+ThePoptimist I really enjoyed book 2 more than book 1, though I think it's mainly because book 1 does all of the heavy lifting. All of the people, places and plots are in place and book 2 smoothly picks up those threads and carries on. So, I do highly recommend continuing on and I hope you enjoy it when you get there!
