Reviews

کتاب آنان که می روند و آنان که می مانند by Elena Ferrante

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roberwick's review against another edition

4.0

This third book of four was the best; the story of these two childhood friends, now mothers, reached new depths. Looking forward to the concluding fourth.

lee_foust's review against another edition

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4.0

Well, I liked this volume more than the second, even though this one didn't have the killer ending, like vols. I and II both did. I guess I liked the focus moving toward Lena and away from Lina; also the plight of mid-life, facing the decisions of one's twenties, and the tale expanding to take in more politics, feminism, etc. The themes set up by the first two volumes also become more evident--language, gender roles, identity in general, politics and class--and I guess I enjoyed the growing clarity of idea over the recounting of event, which is usually romantic melodrama for the most part.

The segue from this volume to the next signals that the whole thing should have been one epic, Russian novel in four volumes, as they used to be called. This made me realize how classically formed the novel is, a bildungsroman a la feminile.

I also noticed--because of Lena's Florence period, the city in which I've lived for the last 25 years--how little evocation of place there is in the novel. It's all thoughts, dialogue, people, and emotions. Pretty much exactly the opposite of my own writing. Still, I respect it although it's not my usual thing.

jacquelinegurliaccio's review against another edition

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5.0

The third volume in the Neapolitan Novels begins with Lila and Lenu now in their early twenties and continuing her life as an academic while Lila is a mother working in difficult factory conditions.

Ferrante shows a deep understanding of the nuances of lifelong relationships and the love, jealousy, guilt, and frustration that these deep relationships can bring.

Lenu is shockingly honest in her love and dislike of friendships, marriage, and motherhood. The complicated nature of these relationships is heartbreakingly beautiful.