My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel

★ “Classics often pale in their retelling, but this homage to Ferrante’s epic shines with its own light.”–Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“This impressive graphic novel adaptation recalibrates the original story line of fraught friendship in post-WWII Italy with sensitive, buoyant drawings and economic yet powerful narration…exquisitely captures Ferrante’s story of a passionate and consuming friendship.”–Publishers Weekly

“Aunique and evocative tribute to a modern classic.”–BookPage

“Mara Cerri’s artwork is gorgeous … This adaptation captured the big things–and even some small things, such as Lila’s tendency to narrow her eyes when angry–but much is (necessarily) left on the cutting room floor. If you’re curious about the series but aren’t ready to fully commit, the graphic novel will give you a good taste.”–The Daily Progress

“This adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s first volume in the Neapolitan novels is absolutely gorgeous…a must-read for all Ferrante fans.”–Book Riot

“Both unique and uniquely devastating, this entry in the Ferrante-verse will almost certainly find an enthused audience.”–Annie Bostrom, Booklist

“A muted palette and faded colors evoke a sense of unhappy nostalgia similar to looking at a water-stained photograph… Frequent close-ups of people’s faces show subtle but deep emotions during intense moments. My Brilliant Friend is a graphic novel about the ups and downs of a lifelong, life-changing friendship.”–Foreword Reviews

“Ferrante’s beloved novel has already been adapted to just about every other medium you can think of, so it’s not surprising that it has now gotten the graphic novel treatment.”–Book Riot

“Atmospheric, smoky, enigmatic, lovely in many ways, the artwork that fleshes out the tale is fascinating and compelling, raising the level of suspense, mystery and peril the girls face.”–Eric Boss, Reading the West

Chiara Lagani is an actor, playwright, and translator born in Ravenna, Italy. Many of her adaptations have been staged by Fanny & Alexander, a repertory company based in Ravenna, among which an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s Ada and “Story of a Friendship,” based on the Neapolitan quartet by Elena Ferrante.

Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment, Troubling Love, and The Lost Daughter, now a film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley. She is also the author of Incidental Inventions, illustrated by Andrea Ucini; Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey; and a children’s picture book illustrated by Mara Cerri, The Beach at Night. The four volumes known as the “Neapolitan novels” (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) were published by Europa Editions in English between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018 and is in its third season. Ferrante’s most recent novel is the instant New York Times bestseller, The Lying Life of Adults.

Mara Cerri’s illustrations have appeared in the Washington Post, Columbia University Magazine, Galison, Guideposts, and many Italian publications including il Manifesto and Internazionale. She created the animations for Giacomo Durzi’s documentary, Ferrante Fever, and illustrated Elena Ferrante’s tale, The Beach at Night. She is the author and illustrator of many books. She was born in Pesaro, Italy.

Ann Goldstein has translated into English all of Elena Ferrante’s books, including the New York Times bestsellers The Lying Life of Adults and The Story of the Lost Child, which was also shortlisted for the Booker International Prize. She has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship and is the recipient of the PEN Renato Poggioli Translation Award. She lives in New York.