Elena Ferrante: Italy's "It" Writer
Elena Ferrante is a mystery: Her true identity is not known; she writes her books under a pen name, people love to guess who she "really" is, and lately she's had the chattering classes buzzing in both the United States and Europe.
The author of six novels, all of Ferrante's fiction is focused on the lives of women, in a "rich and complex" way, according to The New York Times correspondent Rachel Donadio, who wrote a December 2014 profile of Ferrante. Whether it's as mothers, wives, daughters, friends, or women working as writers, Ferrante explores these roles and male-female relations. (The current issue of The Paris Review features an interview with Ferrante in which she talks about women's stories and how they affected her development as a writer.)
Because of this, she's gained a devoted following of readers, especially since Europa Editions started publishing her trilogy of Neapolitan novels in 2012, in an English translation by Ann Goldstein. The Library has all three of these books; if you're interested, please feel free to ask our staff to help reserve a copy for you.
My Brilliant FriendSet in the 1950s in a poor neighborhood in Naples, this is the story of the complex relationship between two girls, Elena and Lila, who grow up from 6 to 16 during this first installment in a trilogy. Told exclusively through Elena's eyes, it ranges from tenements to schools, from dolls to boys, and introduces a wide cast of characters from nine of the neighborhood families, including the families of the shoemaker and other laborers and two families who owned shops. In addition, there are teachers, one of whom effectively challenges the mores of the time and place regarding education for girls.
The second book, following last year's My Brilliant Friend, featuring the two friends Lila and Elena. The two protagonists are now in their twenties. Marriage appears to have imprisoned Lila. Meanwhile, Elena continues her journey of self-discovery. The two young women share a complex and evolving bond that brings them close at times, and drives them apart at others.
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
In this third volume in the series, Elena and Lila have become women. Lila married at sixteen and has a young son; she's left her husband and the comforts her marriage brought and now works as a common laborer. Elena's left the neighborhood, earned her college degree, and published a successful novel, all of which has opened the doors to a world of learned conversationalists and richly furnished salons.
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