My Brilliant Friend

[Anonymous]

I’ve read about 15%-20% and am bored. Does this book get better, or do I have permission to DNF it?

Sounded like it would be right up my alley and saw it was at the top of the NYT list , but, so far I just can’t get into it. It reads like A Tree Grows In Brooklyn but in Naples, and trying too hard.

[Anonymous]

DNF

Our book club tried it. One loved it and the rest of us weren't so hot on it or the series frankly. I have no idea if something was lost in trasnlation but when I saw it on the NYT best of all times list I was surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DNF

Our book club tried it. One loved it and the rest of us weren't so hot on it or the series frankly. I have no idea if something was lost in trasnlation but when I saw it on the NYT best of all times list I was surprised.

Thanks for the validation. Often when I hear someone didn’t like or didn’t finish a book that is well regarded that I myself enjoyed, I secretly think to myself that they just didn’t understand it or think about it enough. And I didn’t want to put myself into that category of reader. But if most of your book club also disliked it, then, maybe this one was just a miss for me!

[Anonymous]

No. It does not.

[Anonymous]

Why is it considered a modern masterpiece?

[Anonymous]

I really actively hated it, but made it through books 1 and 2. I do not get the love. I think some of it maybe is the translator? (no one speaks ironically as much as the people in this book).

The way the main character was just constantly focused on the friend and comparing and contrasting her life and her friend's life and the endless competition (but with the narrator of course being superior in her intellect) just was not interesting.

I sort of want to watch the show (for the scenery?) but have never been able to find the time or inclination. And yet people love this book series. I do not get it.

[Anonymous]

I thought the first book was child like and boring and until near the end. No surprise because she is reflecting on her childhood. The books pick up after that. The third was my favorite, followed by the second. Fourth was okay, better than the first but not as good as 2 and 3.

[Anonymous]

I did not love the first one (My Brilliant Friend), though I liked it. When I finally read the subsequent books, I loved them and felt by the end like i had been though an intense psychological experience. I think altogether, considered as a group, they are among the best things I have ever read. So I would finish and keep going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it considered a modern masterpiece?

Because it f'ing is. Although I think you have to take the tetrology as a whole to see how masterful it is.

[Anonymous]

I put it down and picked something else up…never went back. Considering watching the show to see if it holds interest better

[Anonymous]

Hated the first book, for all the same reasons as everyone else. Absolutely loved the series. Highly recommend. The Italian language gives the story more resonance. When I read it I rolled my eyes. Watching it on the screen, I was captivated. Fantastic young Italian actors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I put it down and picked something else up…never went back. Considering watching the show to see if it holds interest better

I tried reading the first book at least twice, DNF each time. I gave the series a try and couldn't get into that either. Is there anyone who didn't enjoy the book but liked the series? Maybe I'll give that another chance.

[Anonymous]

Is there an analogous book that is considered a great book but that most people actively dislike? I can’t think of any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there an analogous book that is considered a great book but that most people actively dislike? I can’t think of any.

All great books have lots of haters—look up any classics on Goodreads. For what it’s worth, my book club loved the Ferrente books and we went on to read her others. But it is a pretty ambitious group of readers. It’s not the most accessible book club fare.

[Anonymous]

The way the main character was just constantly focused on the friend and comparing and contrasting her life and her friend's life and the endless competition (but with the narrator of course being superior in her intellect) just was not interesting.

So I found the relationship fascinating, and to me the whole point (hammered home in the title, My Brilliant Friend) is that the narrator recognizes that *Lila* is obviously superior intellectually and in every way, except in certain choices that determine the trajectory of their lives. The books are her attempt to reckon with that.