Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

16 reviews

risemini's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Pedophilia, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Ableism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Racism

raisinreads's review against another edition

3.0

I know this is universally loved & there were factors of it I definitely enjoyed, but it just didn't quite hit for me, felt underwhelming in a lot of ways

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Classism

kaiulanilee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Stalking

nadiaherondale's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

At first there was just vibes and jealousy and in the end there was love, and poverty, and the difficulties of being a woman and jealousy. I wasn't sure if I was going to end this book because the first 25% was too slow for my taste but I do hate not finishing books and finally found myself with a great tale of female friendship. I loved Lila and Lenu, and their competition and their love, it was a beautiful tale of the realities and struggles of being a female.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, and Infidelity

becksusername's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I can't wait to get my hands on book two!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Classism, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Child abuse, and Violence

katrinarose's review against another edition

reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

This was a really interesting book, the friendship between Lenu and Lila is so complicated. I wanted them to stick together more and it was sad to watch them go on separate paths for reasons out of their control. They are both such interesting characters. The chapters were short and easy to read but I also felt like the book was a bit slow; there was almost no plot so that is a major thing to consider before deciding to read this. I thought about removing another half star for the times where it felt like it dragged, but I think that was almost the purpose. This is a story of their lives, not a typical conflict-driven plot with a climax and conclusion, so it felt wrong to rate it like it was. I think I will continue with the second book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Child abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Homophobia

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My Brilliant Friend is a highly regarded international treasure, focusing on a female friendship in 1950’s+ Naples. While I cannot relate to Elena (our narrator) in a environmental or physical sense, her connection with Lila embodies so much of my own relationships from adolescents to now. It’s resonance with readers spanning multiple years highlights Ferrante’s brilliant (haha see what I did there) ability to articulate the human experience, many events of which I am still trying to put together with words.
I cannot wait to continue on with the rest of the Neapolitan series, and Ferrante’s backlist in general.
After checking trigger warnings, I would highly highly recommend if you enjoy character based novels!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Murder

adeliab's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence and Homophobia

rachc's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Pedophilia, Stalking, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Bullying

karenaerts's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol