My Brilliant Friend

Not disappointed — this is absolutely worth all that praise & hype that made me read it in the first place (on top of the fact that Ferrante is not Knausgaard). When it comes to describing the dynamics of female friendship and the sober reality of growing up underprivileged, this is a bottomless well of quotables.

I took a star off for the horrible edition (saccharine cover art + out of line printing that made every page look like a crooked frame on a wall and drove me nuts) and the fact that nothing that surprising actually happens — it's all a bit Anne of Green Gables for adults. I loved Anne of Green Gables though and I'll definitely read the remaining 3 books of the Neapolitan series, but it all feels a bit ‘pleasant escapism without ever being made to think'.