RaveThe Guardian (UK)A memoir that is by turns shocking, poignant, fantastically egotistical and often wise ... Dizzyingly fast-paced ... Each vignette is described with brisk efficiency, like a well-rehearsed anecdote: this could start to feel tiresome if the stories weren’t so consistently entertaining.
Elena Ferrante
PositiveThe Guardian (UK)If there is a sense of having been here before, it’s because there are themes common to Ferrante’s other work: a fascination with beauty, or the lack of it; class, and the ability to transcend poverty through study; the contrast and links between vulgarity and refinement ... But, unlike the case in much of Ferrante’s previous fiction, there isn’t a character who acts as a direct foil to the protagonist ... Instead, various female figures appear and disappear without ever matching the rich character development granted to Giovanna, who goes from insecurity and painful self-analysis to an acceptance of sorts. At the start, it is Vittoria who imbues the story with a sense of momentum, her meetings with Giovanna described in vivid, electrifying detail. But as her figure is sidelined halfway through the book, the pace increases, flitting from scene to scene in quick succession. As with her previous work, Ferrante is at her best when she is homing in on the minutiae of everyday encounters, rather than attempting a sprawling overview covering many years and disparate issues.
