Month: March 2026

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My Brilliant Friend- Elena Ferrante

I feel like My Brilliant Friend is one of those books that I didn’t fully get into right away, yet the more I read, the more it grew on me. At the beginning, I was honestly kind of confused with all the characters and the neighborhood dynamics. It took me a bit to figure out who everyone was and how they were connected. Once I got into it though, I started to really like how immersive it felt, like I was actually growing up with Elena and Lila.

What I liked the most was their friendship. It felt super real and not romanticized really. There’s this constant mix of admiration and jealousy, especially from Elena’s side. She’s always comparing herself to Lila, who just seems naturally smarter and more confident. I feel like that dynamic is actually really relatable, because friendships can sometimes feel competitive even when you care about the other person. Lila was probably the most interesting character to me.

I also really liked how the book handled education. Seeing Elena continue school while Lila had to stop was honestly frustrating, especially because you can tell how smart Lila is. It made me think a lot about how much opportunity matters, not just talent. Those parts stuck with me the most.

At the same time, it’s not the fastest or easiest read. Some parts felt slow, and I definitely had to push through at times. I feel like that’s kind of the point though, because the story focuses more on everyday life and small moments rather than big dramatic events. In the end, it really stuck with me because of how honest and a bit uncomfortable it felt at times, which made everything seem more real.

Discussion question: Do you think Elena would still be the same person without Lila in her life, or is so much of who she is shaped by that relationship?

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Money to Burn- Piglia

Ricardo Piglia’s Money to Burn was an interesting read for me, mostly because it is not the type of book I would normally pick up. I usually do not gravitate toward crime novels, and this story is very centered around a bank robbery and the criminals involved in it. It took me a little while to get into the book. At first I found myself struggling to fully connect with the story, mostly because crime plots are not usually what I enjoy reading about. However, as I kept going, I started to appreciate the atmosphere and the way the story builds tension.

The novel follows a group of men planning and carrying out a robbery involving a large transfer of money from a bank to a municipal building in San Fernando, Argentina. A lot of the story focuses on the preparation for the robbery and the chaos that surrounds it. Instead of just being about the action of the crime itself, the book creates a strong sense of suspense and unpredictability. There is this constant feeling that something could go wrong at any moment, which keeps the story intense even in the quieter moments.

One thing I noticed while reading was that the narrative style can feel a bit confusing at times. The perspective shifts and there are many small details introduced throughout the story, which sometimes made it difficult for me to follow exactly what was happening. I found myself rereading a few sections to make sure I understood the events clearly. At the same time, I think that style might actually be intentional. The slightly chaotic storytelling seems to reflect the unstable situation surrounding the robbery and the uncertainty of everything unfolding.

Even though crime stories are not usually my favorite, I still think Money to Burn is an interesting book to read and discuss. It feels intense, messy, and unpredictable in a way that makes it stand out. While it was not my usual type of story, it was still engaging and gave me a different reading experience than what I normally go for.

Discussion question:
Do you think the robbery in Money to Burn feels carefully planned, or does the novel make it seem like the situation is constantly slipping out of the characters’ control?

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Manea- The Trenchcoat

Norman Manea’s The Trenchcoat is definitely one of those stories that stayed on my mind after finishing it, but I also have to admit that I found it a bit confusing at times. While reading it, I had to go back and reread certain parts more than once to fully understand what was happening. That might partly be because I was tired while reading, but the story itself is also written in a way that feels intentionally unclear and fragmented. Even though it was challenging at moments, I still found it really interesting.

The story centers around a group of people having dinner and talking, and somehow their conversation becomes focused on a mysterious trenchcoat. At first, the coat seems like such a small and random detail, but the longer the characters talk about it, the more serious and strange the conversation becomes. What I found interesting is how such a simple object slowly creates tension among everyone. The trenchcoat almost becomes symbolic of something bigger, especially the sense of suspicion and uncertainty that the characters seem to live with.

One reason the story felt confusing to me is because a lot of it is told through dialogue. The characters interrupt each other, jump between ideas, and sometimes seem unsure about what they are even arguing about. With this, it can be difficult to follow the exact meaning of their conversation. At the same time, I think this might actually be intentional. The confusion and repetition reflect how uncertain and paranoid the characters feel. Instead of giving the reader clear answers, Manea lets the tension grow through small details and uncomfortable conversations.

Even though I struggled with some parts, I still appreciated the story. It made me think about how political systems and social pressure can influence everyday interactions between people. The characters seem like they are just having a normal evening together, but there is always a feeling that something is wrong beneath the surface. That atmosphere is what makes the story feel unsettling but also meaningful.

Overall, The Trenchcoat was not the easiest story for me to read, but it was still engaging. Sometimes books that make you slow down and reread parts can actually be the ones that leave the biggest impression.

Discussion question:
Why do you think Manea chose to build the entire story around something as ordinary as a trenchcoat, and what might that object represent?

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