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novel_by_any_other_name's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
books_0r_die's review against another edition
5.0
During My Brilliant Friend, I enjoyed the ease of the read but found that I wasn’t SUPER Interested by the story. It was good but missed the juiciness I’ve been used recently… but I realize it ~*truly*~ was just setting the scene. Buying you into the characters in Lenu and Lila’s small town in Naples. What roller coaster of womanhood, growing up, becoming rich, being poor, fitting in, being the talk of the town, etc. I’m so excited to see where this goes next. I wasn’t expecting Lila’s son at the start of the book TO BE NINO’s nor that that is how Nino and anyone, let alone Lila would end up briefly and passionately together. Excited to get home to the third book!!
cameronbmoon's review against another edition
5.0
‘Devastating’ is the only word that comes to mind when trying to describe this book.
livgwilliam's review against another edition
5.0
The Story of a New Name (Neapolitan series #2) by Elena Ferrante (5/5)
Alright alright I now understand why people love Elena Ferrante and this series. For people who didn’t love My Brilliant Friend enough to keep going, do it. Keep going.
The books need to be read in succession as together they really are just one big novel. My rating of My Brilliant Friend was colored by the abruptness of its ending. It has been a while since I’ve read a series and I kind of forgot cliff hangers are part of the deal w them. This one also ends on a cliff hanger, and I can’t wait for the next.
Ferrante captures complicated female relationships in a way that simply no one else does. I reflect on my own various close female friendships over my life during familiar moments and dynamics between the two girls captured in this book. Whereas My Brilliant Friend recounts Lila and Elena in their grade school years, the Story of a New Name covers their teenage ones which is I think ultimately why I liked it more. This book builds so effortlessly from the first book, showing us how key small moments from their childhood were formative in shaping the trajectories of their lives.
Ferrante shows the power of education and its cultural clash with class. This book is about Elena and Lila’s divergence because of the choices they make and those made for them, as student and as wife respectively. Lila finds freedom first in money and then in love, but her autonomy does not last. For Elena, education is her freedom, widening her world and taking her out of their small town in Naples. The girls are jealous of each others freedoms, taking for granted their own at points while constantly battling to keep the ones they have.
This book is about class, gender, family, friendship, love, all the things. It was so good.
Alright alright I now understand why people love Elena Ferrante and this series. For people who didn’t love My Brilliant Friend enough to keep going, do it. Keep going.
The books need to be read in succession as together they really are just one big novel. My rating of My Brilliant Friend was colored by the abruptness of its ending. It has been a while since I’ve read a series and I kind of forgot cliff hangers are part of the deal w them. This one also ends on a cliff hanger, and I can’t wait for the next.
Ferrante captures complicated female relationships in a way that simply no one else does. I reflect on my own various close female friendships over my life during familiar moments and dynamics between the two girls captured in this book. Whereas My Brilliant Friend recounts Lila and Elena in their grade school years, the Story of a New Name covers their teenage ones which is I think ultimately why I liked it more. This book builds so effortlessly from the first book, showing us how key small moments from their childhood were formative in shaping the trajectories of their lives.
Ferrante shows the power of education and its cultural clash with class. This book is about Elena and Lila’s divergence because of the choices they make and those made for them, as student and as wife respectively. Lila finds freedom first in money and then in love, but her autonomy does not last. For Elena, education is her freedom, widening her world and taking her out of their small town in Naples. The girls are jealous of each others freedoms, taking for granted their own at points while constantly battling to keep the ones they have.
This book is about class, gender, family, friendship, love, all the things. It was so good.
sminismoni's review against another edition
5.0
I had intended to just read "My Brilliant Friend", but it ended on a bit of a cliff hanger, so I felt compelled to start the next one. Like it's predecessor, this novel explores relationships, ambition, poverty and violence. Lina is truly infuriating at times, and completely selfish. Her teen marriage unsurprisingly falls apart in a tangle of dual adultery. She is completely insecure, desperate for status, power, control and male validation. Elena too feels "less than" the cosmopolitan students at her university in Pisa, and seems to play second fiddle to her friend until the end of the book, when her more measured and less dramatic approach to escaping mediocrity seems to pays off. I can't wait to read the next book.
blueberry31's review against another edition
5.0
Not as good as the first novel because of some lengthy bits but still captivating! I found Lenù extremely annoying at certain points, it's like: when is this girl ever going to liberate herself from Lila's unhealthy grasp on her? Isn't it time she gets over it? I loved the Ischia part of the book best, it was gripping and something out of a teen dream vacation. The cliffhanger at the end totally got me, of course, and I will be reading book three right away.
lunaro's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ninxxs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ponce130's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5