Everyone, I imagine you have heard of the Neapolitan Novels, as I had for a long time but I hadn't been motivated to read them. However, the recent buzz made me give them a chance even though I generally thought it was very likely that they wouldn't suit me.

I read the first book, and I thought it was nice but why is everyone obsessed? After finishing the second book, I was completely hooked. I found everything I was missing and not only did I like it, but I immediately started the third one, and the fourth one two weeks later.

Having now completed the circle, I think I have only beautiful things to say. And if I had something negative, the positives overshadowed it!

Initially, Ferante's writing, combined with Dimitra Dotsi's excellent translation, gives the books a completely different dimension. You feel like you're reading a diary, a true story, which may be the case. [Since the name "Elena Ferante" is a pseudonym, and the story is very specific, many consider it to be somewhat of an autobiography.]

Now let's get to the plot. The books follow the lives of two girls, Lenu and Lila, from their early years in the 1950s to their old age. Two completely different girls, tightly bound in a friendship that I still haven't figured out if it held them back or made them evolve.

The author excellently describes the complexity of female friendship, with multidimensional and well-developed characters that often make you want to hit them for how stupid they behave, but that's what makes them realistic. 

She also talks about the poverty-stricken and violent Naples, about the tumultuous loves that lead you to wrong decisions and consume your life, about the constantly changing politics, about the difficulties of family, but yes, mainly about the friendship of these two girls, which I would definitely not call healthy, but I would definitely call addictive to read.

Although the ending didn't satisfy me as much as I would have liked, I think that if one considers it as a theoretically real story, it makes sense because it is realistic. Or who knows, maybe a 5th book is being prepared somewhere [In my dreams maybe]

 What is certain is that the journey was worth it, and from me, the Neapolitan Novels get 5/5 stars!

 2 friends

 4 books

 2,144 pages 

A story that you really, REALLY should not miss.

[I should also mention that the Neapolitan Novels have been adapted into a series titled My Brilliant Friend, which fortunately is very faithful to the book! The photos in the article are from there.]