A review by jaikney
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

challenging 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In considering a book, it's sometimes difficult to cleave the emotion it creates from its quality. Is this a lesser novel than the others, since it's full of despair, intransigence, anger, powerlessness, and makes the reader feel it all? Maybe not. But, still, there's a sense here that everything hard fought-for, everything gained, has been hollowed out.

Incredible, yes, but deeply sad.