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A review by mizukireads
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
4.0
A beautiful examination of preteen girlhood following Linu and Lila from their childhood until the age of 16. We watch how factors these girls have no control over, such as their families, economic status, appearance, and more, shape their upbringing, but also watch the ways these girls refuse to be passive to anything: they calculate risk, work hard, take chances, and make decisions to get what they want. The issue is, they each want what the other has, and underlying their deep friendship is resentment, envy, longing, and admiration all at the same time which results in a really interesting dynamic to read about, especially since these feelings are continually evolving and changing as the girls get older.
This book was a lot grittier than I thought it would be! I do think I went into this book with my expectations too high with all the NYT buzz, but overall I thought it was a fantastic book, especially the second half once we're familiarized with all the big cast of characters we're introduced to at the beginning. I am very happy I can finally say I've read this!
This book was a lot grittier than I thought it would be! I do think I went into this book with my expectations too high with all the NYT buzz, but overall I thought it was a fantastic book, especially the second half once we're familiarized with all the big cast of characters we're introduced to at the beginning. I am very happy I can finally say I've read this!