Neapolitan Novels
The Neapolitan Novels is a 4-part series by the Italian novelist Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein and published by Europa Editions (New York). They include the texts: My Brilliant Friend (2012), The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015). The series has been characterized as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story.[1] In an interview for the Harper's Magazine, Elena Ferrante stated that she considers the four books to be ""a single novel", published serially for reasons of length and duration.[2]
The series follows the lives of two perceptive and intelligent girls, Elena (sometimes called “Lenù”) Greco and Raffaella (“Lila”) Cerullo, from childhood to adulthood as they try to create lives for themselves amidst the violent and stultifying culture of their home– a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Italy.[3] The novels are narrated by Elena Greco.
It has been reported that a 32-part television series ‘’The Neapolitan Novels’’ is in the works and will be co-produced by the Italian producer Wildside for Fandango Productions, with screenwriting led by the writer Francesco Piccolo.[4]
Contents
Themes
Central themes in the novels include: women’s friendship and the shaping of women’s lives by their social milieu, sexual and intellectual jealousy and competition within female friendships, female ambivalence about filial and maternal roles, the ascent of intelligent children out of violent domestic and social environments, class conflict, the role of literature and the social responsibility of the writer amidst social upheaval and within protest movements, the changing conditions of women in the 1970s, early computerization, and the Italian factory strikes of the 1970s.[5][6]
Awards
- My Brilliant Friend: Longlist of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.[7]
- The Story of the Lost Child: nominated for the Strega Prize, an Italian literary award.
Characters
The Greco family
- Elena (“Lenù”) Greco
- Peppe, Gianni, and Elisa Greco (Elena's younger siblings)
The Cerullo family
- Raffaella (“Lila”) Cerullo
- Rino Cerullo (Lila's older brother)
- Nunzia Cerullo (Lila's mother)
- Fernando Cerullo (Lila's father)
Sarratore family
- Donato Sarratore
- Lidia Sarratore (wife of Donato)
- Nino Sarratore
- Marisa Sarratore (sister of Nino)
- Pino, Clelia, and Ciro Sarratore (younger children)
Solara family
- Silvio Solara
- Manuela Solara
- Marcello Solara
- Michele Solara
Bibliography
- L'amica geniale (2011; English translation: My Brilliant Friend, 2012). OCLC 778419313.
- Storia del nuovo cognome, L'amica geniale volume 2 (2012; English translation: The Story of a New Name, 2013). OCLC 829451619.[8]
- Storia di chi fugge e di chi resta, L'amica geniale volume 3 (2013; English translation: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, 2014). OCLC 870919836.
- Storia della bambina perduta, L'amica geniale volume 4 (2014; English translation: The Story of the Lost Child, 2015). OCLC 910239891.
References
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- ↑ Jenny Turner, "The Secret Sharer. Elena Ferrante's existential fiction", Harper's Magazine, October 2014.
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External links
- “Elena Ferrante, Art of Fiction No. 228.” Interviewed by Sandro and Sandra Ferri. The Paris Review. Spring 2015. No. 212.
