My Brilliant Friend

Now an HBO series: the first volume in the New York Times ?bestselling ?enduring masterpiece? about a lifelong friendship between two women from Naples ( The Atlantic ). Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Elena Ferrante?s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its main characters, the fiery and unforgettable Lila and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflicted friendship. This first novel in the series follows Lila and Elena from their fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between two women. ?An intoxicatingly furious portrait of enmeshed friends.? ? Entertainment Weekly ?Spectacular.? ?Maureen Corrigan, NPR?s Fresh Air ?Captivating.? ? The New Yorker

Elena Ferrante is one of Italy's most important and acclaimed contemporary writers, author of The Days of Abandonment and Troubling Love. Her true identity is unknown.

OVER 5 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN ENGLISH WORLDWIDE OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN THE UK 14 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES GUARDIAN 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY 58 WEEKS ON THE BOOKSELLER'S TOP 20 ORIGINAL FICTION BESTSELLERS LIST SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015 43 INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS DEALS Now in B-format Paperback From one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, comes this ravishing and generous-hearted novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, as their friendship, beautifully and meticulously rendered, becomes a not always perfect shelter from hardship. Ferrante has created a memorable portrait of two women, but My Brilliant Friend is also the story of a nation. Through the lives of Elena and Lila, Ferrante gives her readers the story of a city and a country undergoing momentous change. "Nothing quite like it has ever been published." - Guardian "Elena Ferrante has established herself as the foremost writer in Italy - and the world." - The Sunday Times "This is high stakes, subversive literature." - The Telegraph

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