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?
5 replies on “My Brilliant Friend- Elena Ferrante”
“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.” Indeed, the way the novel constructs the duration of the plot’s events, in contrast to the accumulation of historical events “outside the novel,” is another striking element. These shifts in pace are not accidental. As you say, they reflect the protagonists’ life cycles. There’s a specific temporality inherent to the microcosm where their childhood and adolescence unfold. (It would be interesting to see how this compares in the subsequent novels.)
great observation that the friendship felt real and not romanticized, its too easy to get sucked the other way by social media and thinking others have perfect lives. i also agree it felt fun growing up with the two of them, it made for a much better read than i was expecting.
Hi! I don’t think that Elena would be the same person without Lila in her life, I think so many of her decisions and actions in her childhood were influenced by what Lila was doing at the time, she would still have done well in school but I don’t think she would necessarily have gone as far as she did in her education without Lila. I like what you mentioned about the complexity of a friendship and the potential competition despite caring about each other, it’s definitely an interesting dynamic.
I liked how you said the book grows on you because I felt the same way, it was confusing at first, but then it got really immersive. I also agree that Elena and Lila’s friendship feels super real, especially with the mix of jealousy and admiration.
I like that you described it like that!! it did feel like we were growing up with them. I think that Lila had such a huge impact on Elena’s life, esp bc of how much they spent their formative years together!!