"This morning Rino telephoned. I thought he wanted money again and I was ready to say no. But that was not the reason for the phone call: his mother was gone."

I now get it. This is my third Ferrante, first in the Neapolitan quartet, and by far my favorite. I not only understand the fuss, I embrace the hype. If the goal of an author who sits down to pen a coming of age is to flay open their characters, Ferrante wins.

There are a lot of boys in this tale about two little girls growing up in the poverty and violence of 1960s Naples. Yet the female friendship is at the center of every interaction. An intricate web of betrayals and competitive angles are on display as Lina and Elena grapple for relevance while advancing in the world.

The intimacy inherent in Ferrante's writing is unparalleled. I was acutely reminded of every bitchy, trite, selfish, spoiled, cruel, mean girl thing I did with weeping tenderness as Ferrante gave me access to that child and how deeply insecure about the unknown world I truly was. How confused by the adults around me I was. How overwhelmed I was by my own adolescence and the sexual power it gave me in exchange for my innocence.

“The beauty of mind that Cerullo had from childhood didn’t find an outlet, Greco, and it has all ended up in her face, in her breasts, in her thighs, in her ass, places where it soon fades and it will be as if she had never had it.”

Oomph. I think she's telling us to hit the books? AND it ends on a juicy cliffhanger... What oh what is Lina going to do about those damn shoes???