Ostatni tom bestsellerowej serii, którą otwiera Genialna przyjaciółka. W skład tetralogii wchodzą również Historia nowego nazwiska oraz Historia ucieczki. Wszystkie powieści odniosły międzynarodowy sukces i zostały docenione także w środowisku pisarskim. Elenę i Lilę łączy niełatwa więź oparta na miłości, nienawiści, zazdrości, dominacji i podległości. Wspólnie wychowywały się na przedmieściach Neapolu. Elena zdecydowała się opuścić rodzinne miasto, aby kontynuować edukację w Pizie. W trakcie studiów została poczytną pisarką, a potem żoną nobilitowanego wykładowcy i matką. Tymczasem Lila pozostała w rodzinnym mieście, wyszła za mąż w wieku szesnastu lat, urodziła synka. Z czasem porzuciła dostatnie życie przy boku męża, podjęła ciężką pracę w fabryce. W końcu kobiecie udaje się odnieść sukces zawodowy, jednak żyje w miejscu, gdzie rządzą nepotyzm, szowinizm i przestępczość. Ostatecznie losy dwóch przyjaciółek ponownie się splatają w mieście, które je kiedyś połączyło.
What a set of books the "Neapolitan novels" by Elena Ferrante are! Took a break after the 1st one but couldn't stop reading the next 3 when I picked it up again. Going to miss the characters. They really are one giant novel.
A couple of months ago, I finished this book and started writing this review. Now I have come back to finish it and here's what I find:
Four books ago, Lila disappeared prompting Lenu to write about it. Now, in the epilogue of book 4, she admits defeat. "What is the point of all these pages then? I wanted to capture her. To have her beside me once again."
Now that I've finished reading, the boundaries have disolved. Can't I just go back and start over with them? Can I have them beside me once again?
Unlike books, real life inclines toward obscuity, not clarity.
So that's what I wrote last December. I can no longer distinguish between what I was saying and what I was quoting. I was immersed at the time. When I say "boundaries desolved" I was either quoting or referring to Lila's use of the phrase …
A couple of months ago, I finished this book and started writing this review. Now I have come back to finish it and here's what I find:
Four books ago, Lila disappeared prompting Lenu to write about it. Now, in the epilogue of book 4, she admits defeat. "What is the point of all these pages then? I wanted to capture her. To have her beside me once again."
Now that I've finished reading, the boundaries have disolved. Can't I just go back and start over with them? Can I have them beside me once again?
Unlike books, real life inclines toward obscuity, not clarity.
So that's what I wrote last December. I can no longer distinguish between what I was saying and what I was quoting. I was immersed at the time. When I say "boundaries desolved" I was either quoting or referring to Lila's use of the phrase but that is a sort of immersion experience. These are books that take you over for a while and when you are released, you feel the loss of the experience. You become like Lenu without Lila. You have obscurity without clarity.
I could try and clarify now, using the simplification of distance which is partly illusion--the result of forgetting the details. But the loss is the point, isn't it? Or part of the point. The truth is I can't even clarify now.
