
My Brilliant Friend
The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Hillary Huber
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By:
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Elena Ferrante
About this listen
Now an HBO series: the first volume in the New York Times bestselling “enduring masterpiece” (The Atlantic) about a lifelong friendship between two women from Naples
Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Elena Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its main characters, the fiery and unforgettable Lila and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship.
This first novel in the series follows Lila and Elena from their fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between two women.
©2012 GO Team! Enterprises (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Critic reviews
"Hillary Huber's subtly shaded performance couldn't be better as she reveals the complexities that separate and connect the two women.... Huber's delivery of this well-plotted, absorbing story of friendship will leave listeners wanting more." (AudioFile)
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Fantastic story Fantastic narrator
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Charming tale
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Where does My Brilliant Friend rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I picked it up after H. Clinton's review: "It's just hypnotic. I could not stop reading it or thinking about it."I only find it an average book. The theme of female friendship and description of a bygone era and foreign place captivated me enough to buy the second volume. Towards the end, however, it becomes repetitive.
What other book might you compare My Brilliant Friend to and why?
I would categorize it as a stream of consciousness novel which always bears the danger of becoming boring and repetitive after a while. It falls short of Maeve Binchy's books about friendship.What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The reader has a calm, unchanging tone bordering on whining even in scenes when she claims to be angry, frustrated or disgusted. Surely the author could have picked more distinguishable names than: Nino, Gino, Reno, Lelia,Lenu, Maria, Marisa, Elisa, Melina, Pina and Pino to name but a few. It's hard to tell the characters apart since most are not well-formed or significant. The main character is mostly pronounced like Leila but then also as Lila - even in the same chapter. Which is it? An annoying oversight!Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There are several scenes that contain brilliant psychological and philosophical insights and well-crafted sentences, the bigger part of the storyline and language overall is simple however.Any additional comments?
The significance of the constantly repeated phrase "she said in Italian" or " she said in dialect" eludes me. Being an Italian speaker myself, I find the sentence structure in its translation from Italian into English stilted at times. A good script writer will make a brilliant movie of it.Captivating start ...enough to buy vol II.
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it's worth it for the others in the series
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Just not my favorite type of novel
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good story but didn't like the reader
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A marvel
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great book!
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Quite interesting
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Mixed feelings
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