Imagine flying to Naples, or staying in Venice, at the Albergo Caldo, Numero Cinqua Cinqua! Not since Donna Leon's mysteries has anyone evoked the romance--visually, poetically and cuisine-wise, like Elena Ferrante. Her novel is almost Proustian in scope, the first of a quartet, with characters galore, but the language is more accessible to Proust. And this is someone here who HAS read Proust, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It starts out with the earliest of life stages, childhood, ending at the point of young adulthood, when Lila gets married, and Elena (could this be a thinly disguised autobiography) decides to pursue an academic path. Nothing wrong with that, but her family, being provincial, has other ideas.
Don't let these covers fool you, as I did. These are not "chick" novels, but seriously thought out literary constructs. I loved the continuous reference here to education, especially the study of Greek and Latin. Makes me want to study the Classics, one of my few regrets.
I had no regrets reading this book, darlings! The only one I have now is I have some stuff to get through, until I tackle the second volume!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Until then.....arrivederci!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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