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Book cover of My Brilliant Friend

My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante

16
Coup de coeur
Coup de coeur (Literature), by Sylvia
Do you want an epic journey to Italy but also to your heart? Ten years after the initial publishing buzz around these books, there is no time-limit to such a classic. I found total escapism and immersion in the lives of these two women - Elena and Lila - and their home-town Naples. At the core of this story is the envious yet deeply complex friendship "the joy or sorrow of one requires the sorrow or joy of the other". It also delves into bodies, gender power dynamics, class, politics... life! Ferrante leads you into the details of their lives and you happily read along when POW! suddenly you are stunned by a powerful, philosophical paragraph that so brilliantly captures a particular moment or feeling. As well as the sorrow I was left with coming to the end, I was also left with the ultimate question : can we really know another person?

OVER 5 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN ENGLISH WORLDWIDE
OVER 14 MILLION COPIES OF THE NEAPOLITAN QUARTET SOLD WORLDWIDE
THE NEW YORK TIMES' #1 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY

THE NEW YORK TIMES' #8 READERS' LIST BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY

THE GUARDIAN'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY

From one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, comes this ravishing and generous-hearted novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, as their friendship, beautifully and meticulously rendered, becomes a not always perfect shelter from hardship. Ferrante has created a memorable portrait of two women, but My Brilliant Friend is also the story of a nation. Through the lives of Elena and Lila, Ferrante gives her readers the story of a city and a country undergoing momentous change.

“Nothing quite like it has ever been published.”—Guardian

“Elena Ferrante has established herself as the foremost writer in Italy—and the world.”—The Sunday Times

“This is high stakes, subversive literature.”—The Telegraph

Translated by Ann Goldstein
Publisher: Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
Binding: Paperback
Publication date: 05 Mar 2020
Dimensions: 129 x 197 x 23 mm
ISBN: 9781787702226