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March 6, 2024 · 6:17 pm

The Story of a New Name

Second novel in the Italian historical fiction series the “Neapolitan Novels”

I can’t believe it, but it has been over six years since I read the first book in this series. I remember being engaged but not enthralled, and even though I had the other books in the series on my shelf, I hadn’t gotten around to reading the next one. I recently saw that the very faithful TV adaptation was available to stream on SBS on Demand. Inspired, I decided to watch a few episodes of the first season, and pick up the second book which is the basis of the second season.

Photo is of “The Story of a New Name” by Elena Ferrante. The paperback book is resting on a black shoe and an open, blank lined notebook with a black pencil. The cover is of a young white woman in profile resting against a doorframe. She has long dark hair and a strong jaw and chin. The photograph is in black and white.

“The Story of a New Name” by Elena Ferrante is a historical fiction novel and the second book in the “Neapolitan Novels” series. The story picks up almost immediately after the events of the first book with Lila’s wedding. When she returns from her honeymoon with her new husband, it becomes clear that her new life is a terrible mistake. After an intense holiday together by the seaside, Lenù and Lila see less and less of each other. When Lenù is accepted to study at university in Pisa, the friendship and their two life trajectories become even more distant.

I’m not sure if it was because the characters were more adult, the setting less bleak, the story growing more compelling or the fact that I am now older, but I found myself enjoying this book much more than I did the first one. Against a backdrop of an increasingly liberal society, Ferrante explores themes of envy and comparison that naturally take place between two friends who are so similar in age, background and ability but whose lives have diverged so drastically. Even as Lenù finds success and fulfils her academic and professional potential while Lina is trapped in a patriarchal domestic nightmare, Lenù still envies Lina’s love affairs and is plagued with insecurity that she is not as smart or as beautiful as her best friend. Increasingly, as a reader you find yourself wondering how Lina views Lenù.

While I was extremely slow to read the second book in this series, I am now much more inspired to read the third.

My Brilliant Friend

I first really heard about this book when there was a media storm about the author’s real identity being revealed. The series had received a lot of acclaim, either in spite of or because of the author’s use of a pseudonym, and I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.

“My Brilliant Friend” by Elena Ferrante is a historical novel set in a poor, post-war neighbourhood in Naples, Italy in the 1950s. Playing and going to school in this grim era, blonde Elena meets the naughty and sullen Lila who dazzles the teachers with her intelligence. After a cautious beginning to their friendship, Elena finds in Lila the inspiration and competition to succeed at school. However, as the two girls become teenagers, their lives begin to take increasingly different paths.

I think this is one of those books where my expectations just didn’t match up to my experience. It’s translated from Italian, and the translation seemed perfectly fluid. Ferrante manages to convey a tense, sepia tone to the novel that evolves as the economic situation in Naples improves. Ferrente’s real strength however is shining a light on the gender inequality of the time. Elena has to be consistently excellent at school to be allowed to share the same opportunities as boys the same age who are simply mediocre. I also thought that Ferrente handled Elena’s developing sexuality as a young woman very convincingly.

The uneasy but intense relationship between Elena and Lila is presented as the highlight of the book. The author spends a lot of time making many pointed observations about Lila and her life from the perspective of Elena, who is constantly comparing herself to her friend. However, I felt like a large proportion of the novel is laying groundwork for something that ultimately doesn’t even happen in this book. Although the focus of the novel appears to be Lila and how her upbringing shapes her life, I actually found the protagonist and narrator Elena far more interesting.

“My Brilliant Friend” is one of a series of four novels, and while I enjoyed this one, I’m not sure I’m compelled to read any more of the books. Ultimately, this book is fine, good even, but I just didn’t find it brilliant.

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Filed under Book Reviews, General Fiction, Historical Fiction

Tagged as book reviews, books, elena ferrante, italy, my brilliant friend, naples