Reading gone a bit flat? Put a Cork in it!
I’m currently three books into Elena Ferrante’s Neopolitan series. As gritty and vibrantly written as they are, I must admit, I dragged my feet the whole way through Those Who Leave and Those who Stay, which I’ve just finished. I think the trouble is that the life-long friendship between Lila and narrator Elena, with its heady mix of loyalty, jealousy, competitiveness, love and a shed full of grudges held, has started to get me down.
Rather like a friend who comes for the weekend then stays for a month, doesn’t even attempt to shield you from the worst manifestations of their dysfunctional relationships, eats all your kettle chips (and breeeeaathe……) and assumes that nothing holds more importance to you than to listen at length as each woe is examined in turn, like glass beads on a necklace.
My gripe is with Elena, whose hard work, determination along with a small amount of good fortune sees her a published author, living in Florence with her husband and two small daughters. Success has certainly not been handed to her on a silver platter, but I am thoroughly fed up of her constant whingeing about her lot, and how eaten up she is by her compulsion to compete with her childhood friend Lila, who, faced with far more limited opportunities in life, has had to tread a far harder path. Stop moaning already!
To be fair, I am enjoying the series, but am in desperate need of a break before I tackle the final installment The Story of the Lost Child. So, for a change of scene, I’ve turned to Lisa McInerney’s novel The Glorious Heresies, set in Cork’s murky underworld. Thankfully, the dark, gritty humour and messy explosion of human experience that has erupted from the novel thus far is proving to be just the thing to put some fizz and whizz back into my reading diet.
Lucy
Sarah
People have much more reason to feel sorry for themselves in The Glorious Heresies but they never do really – a well chosen antidote! Published author living in Florence? Oh, boo-hoo 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s fabulous isn’t it? Just what the literary doctor ordered!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed the Neapolitan quartet, but I read them with fairly big gaps between them. The third one I think was my least favourite of the four. The final instalment I thought was superb.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad to hear that as I do want to finish the series after a little while. The first books were so thrilling, so I’m glad the series goes out with a bang!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Like you, I felt a bit weighed down by the the third instalment in the Ferrante series. I didn’t particularly like the way that Elena’s character was developing – in particular, some of her behaviour seemed rather out of character compared to the Elena we had been introduced to the earlier books. The Lost Child is excellent though, well worth reading once you’ve given yourself a good break!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad it’s not just me! I may well read ‘The Lost Child’ after a break. I might have found this last book a bit of a drag, but Ferrante is a wonderful writer, and I can imagine pining for some more at some point.
LikeLike
Aaaaand another one who disliked the 3rd installment, and lost patience with Elena! Final installment picks up though, but I would advise you leave it for a while ….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad the last book is a suitably brilliant finale – the first two books were electrifying! I’m also glad it wasn’t just me that struggled with the third!
LikeLike
I never made it through the first one, I got fed up with how mean one of them was to the other — I’ve forgotten which one. Maybe Lila? I do own the first two and really should give them another try as they’ve gotten so much buzz.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really loved the first two books – partly because of the meanness! I can’t remember ever reading friendship being written so realistically and honestly. Friendships, especially life-long ones, are rarely entirely free of dysfunction or deep-seated jealousies, so I found Lila and Elena quite refreshing (until book 3, that is! 😉 ) thankfully, it seems that by book 4, the biting brilliance is back to true form!
LikeLike
I’ve not read any of the series yet, it’s one of those things I’ll probably come to really late, and I’ll be all excited and want to discuss it and no one will care, like when I first bought a slow cooker.
And people who eat all the kettle chips are quite simply, bad people (unless I’m the one who bought them and ate them, in which case, they are a reward for working hard).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, I did that when I got my pressure cooker! No-one would tolerate my pressure cooker conversion tales to the point that my family almost boycotted beans!
LikeLike
i havent even read book one yet but am already wondering if I have that much interest in the characters to last through into the next books.
The Glorious Heresies is a perfect antidote 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would certainly recommend dipping your toe in the water with the first book, as the writing is electrifying. I can’t remember reading a more thrilling read, tinged with the threat of violence. It’s a shame the third book has lost the pace and verve of the first two, but you’re right, The Glorious Heresies is really hitting the spot!
LikeLike
its hard to keep up the quality over multiple books
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved the series perhaps because of its portrayal of female friendship warts & all, because Elena is annoying and Lila is mean and their friendship is peppered with petty jealousies and gripes and rivalries and bitching and yet it was still friendship and, perhaps, the deepest loves they had in their whole lives and that made it feel both refreshing and real to me. Lila, for all that she has no voice of her own throughout the entire book (remember that all we know of Lila is given to us purely through Elena, the writer) is so fully realised and this, too, is an act of love on the part of Elena. She doesn’t hide her flaws, or Lila’s. I can only speak for myself, but it was this that drew me so strongly to the books and which would encourage me to read them again (and encourage others to read them). Of course, however much I might encourage, that doesn’t mean that you won’t reach the end and wish you hadn’t read it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved the first two books for all the reasons you’ve said, but I think the power imbalance between Elena and Lila, and the fact that we only hear Elena’s voice, has made this third book a difficult read. I will carry on with the series after a little respite, because I’ve never encountered a more honest, realistic and vibrant evocation of female friendship in a book ever!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not sure when these books first came out, so I never got into them, but I know people adore these works. Personally, I try to avoid series so I don’t get caught in what starts to feel like an obligation. Same thing with TV shows. Good luck with the next book! Is it the last one?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, I have just one more to go. I will get round to it, but I do need a break first. I know what you mean about series – I must be the only person who has never seen The Sopranos, because I can’t quite commit to the zillion hours it will take to wade through the whole thing! Mind you, I have been known to evangelise about The Wire and Breaking Bad because they were so good, so I guess I’m as guilty as the next person!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m rather excited to see several here that had issues with the third book. I literally had to force myself to finish it. Like you, I became irritated with Elena and just tired of the drawn-out back and forth between the two women. I took a break between 3 and 4 also but, thankfully, 4 is quite satisfying. I bought Frantumaglia when it came out but haven’t yet read it. Has anyone here?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad book 4 is a return to form, as the first two books were so good. I’ve not read anything else by Ferrante, but I very likely will. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve kind of faded in book 3. I just don’t really like anybody in it that much. I’m so glad I’m not the only one. Also, it really annoyed me that she destroyed Lila’s notebooks. Or have I misremembered? It’s sitting in my book pile, like a three dimensional recrimination.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was blisteringly angry at the notebooks, too! It took me ages to finish, but I’m glad I now have. I’ll take a break for a while before reading the last one, but at least it sounds like book 4 is a return to form.
LikeLike
I didn’t get into this series as much as others & I really had to make myself finish it. The third book was the hardest for me too ,- I nearly threw it across the room several times.
But I think that any book that evokes such strong emotions has merit – even if those feelings are frustration & annoyance !!
LikeLike
That’s so true – it certainly does evoke strong emotions! I am enjoying the series over all, although book three does appear to be a sticking point for quite a few people – I’m glad it’s not just me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Checking out the first “Neopolitan” book. Sources in the internet indicate that journalists wishing to reveal her true identity have gone stalkerish (or just creepy) about it. Maybe Ferrante should write a book about busybodies….
LikeLike
Indeed! I do wonder whether her anonymity has allowed her the freedom to plunder aspects of her own life and those around her in these novels, but whatever her reasons, I think her privacy should be respected.
LikeLiked by 1 person
wasn’t the author outed already? I thought I heard that like 6 months ago… The literati/media juggernaut had little sympathy for her, the best selling author…
LikeLiked by 1 person
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-unmasking-of-elena-ferrante
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the link! I do remember seeing something about this a while back, but decided not to shatter the mystique for myself, at least. Mind you, I’m no saint, I was desperate to find out who the secret footballer was that used to write for The Guardian, disclosing the realities of life of footballers in the top flight of English football!
LikeLike
I’d heard Ferrante is hard to read without breaks between books, still looking forward to reading the first one. I like the look of The Glorious Heresies, a bit of grim always goes down nicely.
LikeLiked by 2 people
The first two books are top drawer and the third is not bad, just a bit too much straight after the other two. As for The Glorious Heresies – well, it’s absolutely dazzling!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The first book is in my pile of choices now that I have finished the Autumn Powell omnibus. Excited.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like your blog. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. Elena Ferrante appeals to me, too, but I keep putting it off. I think you hit the nail on the head – not sure I am up for heavy examination of the ins and outs of female friendship. This book about Cork, though; now that looks interesting! Please share your thoughts on it. I am partial to the motherland…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh that’s very sweet of you, thank you! I will be reviewing The Glorious Heresies very soon so watch this space!
LikeLiked by 1 person