My Brilliant Friend

The first of four novels that have already become cult classics worldwide in Elena Ferrante's "Neapolitan Quartet" is the story of two friends, Lenu and Lila, living in the 1950s in one of the poor neighborhoods of Naples. Their childhood and youth unfold on harsh streets, where the girls learn to rely solely on each other in all circumstances. Years go by. The paths of Lenu and Lila diverge and converge again, but they remain best friends—such that the life of one reflects and refracts in the fate of the other. Through the story of Lila and Lenu, Ferrante tells of the dramatic changes in the life of the neighborhood, the city, the country—from fascism and the dominance of the mafia to the flourishing of the communist movement, and how these changes affect the relationships between the heroines, unforgettable Lenu and Lila.