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My Brilliant Friend, Book One: Childhood, Adolescence
My Brilliant Friend, Book One: Childhood, Adolescence | Elena Ferrante
A modern masterpiece from one of Italy s most acclaimed authors, "My Brilliant Friend" is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship.The story begins in the 1950s, in a poor but vibrant neighborhood 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 they grow, as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge, Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other. They are likewise the embodiments of a nation undergoing momentous change. 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 her protagonists, the unforgettable Elena and Lila.Ferrante is the author of three previous works of critically acclaimed fiction: "The Days of Abandonment, Troubling Love," and "The Lost Daughter." With this novel, the first in a tetralogy, she proves herself to be one of Italy s great storytellers. She has given her readers a masterfully plotted page-turner, abundant and generous in its narrative details and characterizations, that is also a stylish work of literary fiction destined to delight her many fans and win new readers to her fiction."
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GatheringBooks
L'amica geniale | Elena Ferrante
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#ItTakesAllKinds Day 21: These Elena Ferrante novels are #WithEyes. Found in a bookstore in Bologna.

Eggs 👀 ❤️ 👁️ 1w
45 likes1 comment
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LaurenMags
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this first book in an Italian series about friendship.

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JenReadsAlot
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1. Can I celebrate Galentine's Day instead? Lol. But I will always take chocolate
2. Tagged - I really enjoyed that series
Thanks @Kshakal @TheSpineView #two4Tuesday

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks My husband just asked me what galentines day is 😂 2mo
JenReadsAlot @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Ha! It's us strong amazing women who celebrate each other 💕 2mo
TheSpineView ❤️🍫 Thanks for playing! 2mo
26 likes3 comments
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lil1inblue
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1. The hubs and I don't participate in Valentine's Day, but I *do* love Galentine's Day! And I would love to get a book or bookish accessory for Galentine's Day. (I'm giving bookmarks with my little bundles!) 😍
2. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is an excellent example of platonic love between 2 friends. The book is just a great read, as well.

Happy Tuesday!

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La_Cori
L'amica geniale | Elena Ferrante
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#LuckyInLove
Day 1: holding hands
👰🤝🤵 This is the first cover that has come to my mind, even though we can't see the hands clearly behind the veil..

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

IuliaC Nice cover and lovely novel!! 2mo
Eggs Love this cover❤️🤝❤️ 2mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😍 2mo
57 likes3 comments
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AgneseC
L'amica geniale | Elena Ferrante

Mio libro preferito

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anushareflects
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Pickpick

A coming of age story about two young girls in Naples and a social commentary on masculinity & social dynamics of the working class in the 1960s. The writing is rich and characters beautifully crafted. Lots to think about. I immediately bought the next book in the series.

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currentlyreadinginCO
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Pickpick

Upsides of work travel are kindle dates with myself 💯

I loved this novel. I found it subtle and beautiful; I missed it when it wasn't in my hands.

JenReadsAlot Perfect! 8mo
Kerrbearlib Food looks yummy! 8mo
Amor4Libros Loved this one! 8mo
BarbaraBB Food looks good 😊 8mo
80 likes4 comments
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currentlyreadinginCO
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I've been worse 😉

jlhammar Looks perfect! I love the Neapolitan Novels. 8mo
currentlyreadinginCO I am only 46% into the first one and man! What a story! ❣️ @jlhammar 8mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 😍 8mo
62 likes3 comments
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GatheringBooks
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#MayMontage Day 9: #InvolvesAWedding - my friend took this photo of tagged book I gifted to her while she was in Brussels. Bought it for her when we spent a week together in Madrid since she was dating an Italian-American guy at the time - now the father of her child. 💕

Eggs Lovely 🥰 11mo
60 likes1 comment
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Leftcoastzen
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#TemptingTitles #WithMeOrMy I have read the first two of four …. #badatseries 🙄😁

Eggs Brilliant 🤗 11mo
CatMS Have read the first in series, will read the others eventually 11mo
54 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Moll
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March #BookSpinBingo 🙌 Am not thinking strategically enough to get a line clearly😂 I read the #DoubleSpin for the month too - N. P. 🌟

Just about to write my list for April!!😁 Of course won't look at the bingo board until I have written my list

@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fantastic month!! 12mo
16 likes2 comments
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Moll
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Pickpick

The relationship between the 2 mains in this is fascinating and I'm very much intrigued enough to want to read the rest of the series. Quite repetitive to me in parts but on the whole p good!

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Emilymdxn
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Pickpick

I reread this old favourite partly as a distraction from masters work and partly because my friend @moll just started reading it for the first time and I wanted a refresher. I might have loved it even more than ever. I don‘t normally think of books as relatable for me or even want them to be, but Lenu is the one exception to that. I ache for her so hard I feel like she IS me. I was worried rereading that I‘d feel it less but I think I felt it more

JuniperWilde I loved this book too. 🤍 12mo
49 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Moll
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Next up!

jlhammar Loved this book so much! The whole quartet is brilliant. Enjoy! 12mo
Moll @jlhammar Eeee awesome!! I've heard great things! 12mo
18 likes2 comments
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Nessavamusic
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#WeekendReads
1. Listening to tagged and reading an ARC of The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart
2. Nora Roberts, R.F. Kuang, Robin Hobb, Rebecca Roanhorse, Patricia Briggs to name just a few!
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - fascinating and heartbreaking

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katy4peas

Thank you my dear #litsylove friends dls the book mail surprise and the holiday cards. I haven‘t been on as lots of family things going on. 🙁 but things are slowly getting better. Thanks for thinking of me. @LitsyLove

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ❤️❤️❤️ 1y
31 likes1 comment
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Bookwomble
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Oh, yeah - I forgot I got these as well. My "mini" #BookHaul looking less mini now ?
I first heard about My Brilliant Friend on Richard E. Grant's travel/book show and was intrigued, then saw how popular it is and wondered how it had passed me by ?
Similarly, Dream Story is an Austrian decadent book I'm surprised not to have previously noticed. Damn it! How many more books are there for me to read? ?

jlhammar Oh how I loved reading My Brilliant Friend (and the rest of the Neapolitan Novels). Hope you enjoy! 1y
Bookwomble @jlhammar I hope so, too 😊 I'll try to get to it fairly quickly, as the second-hand bookshop I got it from had the rest of the series at a pretty low price, so I'll see if I can pick them up if I get on with this one. 1y
shortsarahrose Love the Neapolitan Novels! 1y
batsy Nice! I've got the Neapolitan quartet waiting for me on my shelves 🙈 1y
Bookwomble @shortsarahrose @batsy These are good indications 😊 1y
36 likes5 comments
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TheEllieMo
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A classic and, I‘m sure, a popular choice for the #Friendship prompt for #NovemberNarrative

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Brilliant!! 1y
32 likes1 comment
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SusanLee
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Eggs Brilliant 👍🏼 1y
17 likes2 comments
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eeclayton
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Mehso-so

For much of the book, I didn't get what all the hype was about. It wasn't a bad read, I just put the book down in between chapters and then didn't feel like continuing that much. However, the last 30 pages or so were great and I started to see how everything that had been told earlier was necessary and valuable. ⬇️

eeclayton That didn't make me like the book more in hindsight, though, neither did it make the super big cliffhanger at the end forgivable. Not sure I'll pick up the next book in the series. 2y
Ruthiella I sorta think of the four Ferrante books together as one long novel - like Knaussgard or Proust. I loved them but can see where they aren‘t favorites for other readers. 2y
eeclayton @Ruthiella That makes sense. I may try them some other time, maybe this was just not the right timing for me. 1y
tamaryn1217 looks great. wish there was an english version. 1y
eeclayton @tamaryn1217 I'm sure there is. The original is in Italian but it's been translated into lots of languages (I read it in Hungarian). 1y
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saratave
L'amica geniale | Elena Ferrante
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Bailedbailed

Io e il mio amico geniale

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BookwormM
Pickpick

#ReadAroundTheWorld #Italy

Better late reviewing than never…

I loved this book, I loved the setting and the friendships, the differences in education and expectations between men and women and I love Elena and Lila.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Did Audible for this one and narration was great.

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SusanLee
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tokorowilliamwallace Ooh, I'm sure I can find a few for this book mood. I'll look. 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks On my shelf 📚 2y
Eggs Well done 👍🏼 2y
See All 7 Comments
SusanLee @tokorowilliamwallace or you can ask Mr Google for assistance 😅 2y
SusanLee @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks it wasn‘t my cup of tea though it‘s highly rated 😅 2y
tokorowilliamwallace @SusanLee Sorry, I meant searching through my stacks at home. I've been picking up a lot of fiction published between the 50s and 80s. It'll be a fun aside for me to peruse for these book moods. 2y
SusanLee @tokorowilliamwallace oh no worries 😅👍🏻 2y
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WellReadCatLady
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Pickpick

Third time reading this and it‘s still just as beautiful.

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Jari-chan
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Panpan

#unpopularopinion

Actually, I knew this was no book for me. But what all does one read for a challenge? I was surprised, finding out that I liked the beginning of the book. Their childhood friendship was interesting and fascinating to read.

But then puberty hits again, and there I was dragging myself through a book that didn't catch me the slightest. I don't care about Lenu, her school, her lovelife. I care even less for her brilliant friend ⬇

Jari-chan The story repeats itself constantly. Sometimes the names changes, but the story keeps the same.
I also missed the feeling for the city and the time setting. The whole book could be set at any place in the world, at any given time after WWII.

So, no, no book for me. Series won't be continued, and please, please keep Elena Ferrante far away from me. Thank you.

#TurnUpTheBook @AkashaVampie
(edited) 2y
Julsmarshall I could not get into these either. So many people rave about them but I found the first one painfully slow and awful and haven‘t read any more. 2y
Jari-chan @Julsmarshall I'm glad to not being the only one not getting into those books 😅🤭 2y
Liz_M I third this opinion! So boring and lifeless. 2y
Jari-chan @Liz_M Welcome to the Club! 🤭 2y
35 likes5 comments
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thewallflower0707
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Pickpick

I have finished 2 / 4 of the Neapolitan Quartet by #ElenaFerrante and I really like it. I like that the narrative clearly takes its time and that we get to know our two main characters, Lenu & Lila, very intimately. Yesterday, book 3 & 4 arrived, so I‘m fully stacked now!

#MyBrilliantFriend

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mija333
Bailedbailed

Kid protagonists are so boring!

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Taylor
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Pickpick

It‘s nuts to me that I gave this book three stars when I first read it—THREE STARS—when now, after reading it a second time, it‘s an easy five.

The obvious explanation is that I‘m invested in the story and characters from the start, which makes the narrative way more entertaining the entire time. I guess that‘s a major part of what brings so much pleasure in rereading.

I plan to keep going with the series, so more on this later.

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Hamlet
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Pickpick

I‘ve heard about Ferrante‘s writing prowess for a long time, and this offering did not disappoint. Two very different girls in a small Italian village become friends, with the adventurous and mercurial Lila pushing, defining, & challenging our reminiscing narrator, Lenú. I became immersed in the world of their childhood & adolescence each time I picked up the book, so rich is Ferrante‘s storytelling & character development. It‘s a rewarding book.

IuliaC Great review! I liked the entire tetralogy 2y
12 likes1 comment
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BeckyHart
Pickpick

Took a while to get invested, but then devoured this one. How did I not know it was a series? Just started the second book.

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StaceGhost
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Pickpick

Super excited to receive this beautiful package! @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #litsylove

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘m just seeing this a year later 😂 you‘re welcome ❤️ 1y
36 likes2 comments
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JennyM
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Extremely late to the party but already glad to be finally here - thanks for sending me this, Lee @LeeRHarry 😘

Cathythoughts Great book 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 3y
IuliaC The entire tetralogy is wonderful! 👍 3y
LeeRHarry Happy to Jenny - hope you continue to enjoy it 💕 3y
See All 11 Comments
JennyM @IuliaC @Cathythoughts it‘s really great and I will definitely be reading the series. Better late than never 😉 3y
JennyM @LeeRHarry 😘😘😘 3y
Trashcanman 👋👋👋👋❤ 3y
JennyM @Trashcanman 👋 👀 👋 3y
Tanisha_A Oh god, I loved this! How are youuuuuuu? 3y
Tanisha_A And I hadn‘t seen this cover before! 3y
JennyM @Tanisha_A I loved it, too. Such a great read and I like this cover - it‘s a bit different to the others. I‘m good thanks, T. How are you and your family? Hope everything is ok and you are all keeping safe and well. Big hugs 😘 3y
Tanisha_A @JennyM I am very excited to read the rest of the series. All good here, love! ❤️🥰 3y
56 likes11 comments
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SusanLee
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Mehso-so

I‘ve tried very hard to like this novel, tried to wear Lena‘s shoes while she tells her story about her friendship with Lila and her little misadventures in her small town. Finally finished this book just to know how it ends but there‘s a slight cliff hanger so would have to read book 2. Maybe not. This is my pick for June‘s #bookspin #bookspinspingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
12 likes1 comment
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TheSpineView
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#SpringSentiments @Eggs
Prompt: Dazzle

Eggs Perfect 👌🏼 3y
55 likes1 comment
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Flaneurette
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The fact that Ferrante is likely a man bothers me more than I care to admit. I feel the impetus to finish the Neapolitan series just draining away...

https://lithub.com/have-italian-scholars-figured-out-the-identity-of-elena-ferra...

Taylor WHAT 🤯 3y
Suet624 Really? I didn‘t know this! 3y
25 likes2 comments
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TheBookStacker
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Finishing this book up on vacation in Florida today since it‘s threatening rain here. I‘m hoping for a nice big thunderstorm because I miss those. One thing I don‘t miss is the mosquitoes! So itchy!

MicheleinPhilly What a lovely view! Enjoy! 3y
53 likes1 comment
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Redwritinghood
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Pickpick

An engaging coming-of-age novel set in 1950s Naples. I loved the gritty characters and neighborhood descriptions and the friendships between the characters. 3.5 ⭐️

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batsy
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#bookmail to make things that much better!

So happy that next month's #nyrbbookclub pick arrived in time and I'm hoping to make this my Ferrante year 🤞🏽

readordierachel 😍 Lovely book mail. I'm hoping to get to the Ferrante this year too. We'll see 😅 3y
LeahBergen I loved My Brilliant Friend and I really MUST get to the rest of the series. 3y
Ruthiella I‘ll be curious to hear if you get Ferrante Fever or not! I caught it. 3y
See All 18 Comments
batsy @readordierachel We will definitely get to it! 😳😂 3y
batsy @LeahBergen That's good to know! Now I'm thinking I shouldn't start until I buy the second one, too. And the third and fourth 😆 3y
batsy @Ruthiella Probably not the best thing to say in current times but I do so want to catch it! 😁 3y
andrew61 Hope you enjoy the ferrante journey, look forward to seeing your comments. I loved them. 3y
LeahBergen That might be the wisest choice. 😉 3y
CarolynM Looking forward to your take on the Ferrante. 3y
batsy @andrew61 @CarolynM I'm really looking forward to it! 🙂 3y
merelybookish Yes excited to hear your thoughts on Ferrante! 3y
nathandrake1997 I am currently reading MY BRILLIANT FRIEND and so far it is......brilliant 😄 3y
batsy @merelybookish I'm excited to finally get to it! Soon, I hope 😆 3y
batsy @nathandrake1997 Oh yay! I'm happy to hear that 😁 3y
Leftcoastzen I‘ve read the first 2 , need to get to the next Ferrante on my TBR nightstand of shame ( sitting there too long!)😀 3y
batsy @Leftcoastzen If one doesn't have a TBR nightstand of shame, is one even doing it right? 😆 3y
Leftcoastzen Indeed!👏👍 3y
92 likes1 stack add18 comments
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TheBookStacker
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Finally giving this a shot as I‘ve been really into reading for the first time in a long long time.

Tanisha_A I just finished reading it and I am absolutely thrilled to read the rest of the series 3y
51 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Tanisha_A
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Pickpick

Below two quotes summarise this gorgeous book for me:

1. “At the fourth flight Lila did something unexpected. She stopped to wait for me, and when I reached her she gave me her hand. This gesture changed everything between us forever.”

It's a story of friendship written with such ferocity (see 2nd quote) that you'll find yourself immersed in the lives of everyone here.

2. “What I had tried to do in those months whenever I had to write: 👇🏽

Tanisha_A to free myself from my artificial tones, from sentences that were too rigid; to try for a fluid and engaging style.” 3y
Crazeedi When I started this book I almost stopped reading, but then I just somehow got interested and read the whole series, shes certainly an author with different writing style, but very intense and good 3y
Crazeedi Funny thing, I gave this to a good friend (shes 100% Italian), and when she started to read, she called me and said what is this, she was going to stop reading, i convinced her to continue, and she fell in love with it 3y
Cathythoughts Such a good book 👌🏻 3y
Ruthiella I loved this quartet! 3y
73 likes5 comments
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Catsandbooks
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Mehso-so

3.5/5 ⭐️ This was between a pick and so-so for me. But since I don't feel a strong desire to continue the series I went with so-so. This felt more like a frenemies story rather than friends. Also I wish the beginning premise was revisited at the end rather than never being mentioned again.

Total of 9 hours for #20in4 @Andrew65

CarolynM I have to agree with you about this. I found the social mores interesting, but I didn't care much for the characters and I've never wanted to continue with the series. 3y
Crazeedi I stuck with this series and turned out I really like it. Just a different writing and a different culture, but the books were very good 3y
Andrew65 This is great 👏👏👏 3y
Catsandbooks @CarolynM @Crazeedi I liked the writing but just didn't feel attached to the characters. So with so many more books on my never ending TBR, I'll pass on the rest of the series for now. 3y
Crazeedi @Catsandbooks I definitely understand, too many books, not enough time! 3y
39 likes5 comments
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Tanisha_A
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“Adults, waiting for tomorrow, move in a present behind which is yesterday or the day before yesterday or at most last week: they don't want to think about the rest. Children don't know the meaning of yesterday, of the day before yesterday, or even of tomorrow, everything is this, now: the street is this, the doorway is this, the stairs are this, this is Mamma, this is Papa, this is the day, this is night.”