My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Novels, #1)

This book certainly lives up to its reputation. Especially the quote from "The Guardian" on the cover: “Nothing quite like it has ever been published.” It is a strong statement, but I think it is true. At least, I have never read such a rich and intense story about friendship.

I have only read the first book of the series and cannot wait to explore more of this friendship between Lenù and Lila. But some thoughts from this first book:

The first book is partly about the divergence of two girls who begin almost side by side, while neither of them can yet understand what that divergence will mean for them.

From early childhood, it is so clear how much Lenù looks up to Lila. Lila is brilliant, fearless, intense, always somehow ahead of her. You would naturally think that Lila is Lenù's “brilliant friend” and she is brilliant. But as the years progress into adolescence, things start to change between them, and what those changes actually mean is still very blurry for Lenù.

I found Lenù's relationship with school particularly interesting. She knows education is important and that continuing school is the right thing for her, but she still questions its value when she looks at Lila and sees that her friend seems to have “everything” without it. It is that feeling when you know you did the right thing for yourself, and you know it will pay off, or maybe it already is paying off, but then you see other people getting the “payoff” without doing the "work", and you start doubting yourself. Especially when you are only sixteen and still trying to understand what happiness even looks like.

I especially loved how honestly Ferrante writes jealousy. Lenù and Lila admire each other, love each other, compete with each other and envy each other. None of those feelings cancels out the others.

Jealousy within close friendships isn't something we talk about very openly, and I especially appreciated seeing it explored so honestly in a friendship between two women. It is such a human emotion and Ferrante captures it without making either girl cruel or reducing their friendship to rivalry.

I think this first book was, in many ways, about comparison. Two brilliant girls start almost side by side, but gradually their lives take completely different directions. And while that is happening, they keep looking at each other to understand their own lives; who is doing better, who has more, whose choices were right, what actually matters.

Neither of them really knows yet. And I cannot wait to see where their friendship goes from here.