This was such a beautiful essay that captures, much more eloquently than I could, why I dislike the Neapolitan novels so much.
I, too, had a messed-up friend, in grad school in my case, and we were not particularly good for each other. I really saw a lot of the two of us in Elena and Lila--the jealousy and undermining, the support but also the backstabbing, the schadenfreude. We stopped being friends many years ago, and that is unquestioningly a good thing for me. (Probably for her too.)
So many women recommended the Neapolitan novels to me, saying that they were "a beautiful story of the power of women's friendship." I can only conclude that these women have poor reading comprehension; I had to stop reading them because I couldn't stand the toxicity. But it is a measure of how effective Ferrante's writing is that her novels had such an impact on me, and it sounds like on you too, and for a similar reason.
I enjoyed the novels because of the writing, but I absolutely agree that both Lila and Elena were unlikable. It's a shame they never grew up and out of their Lord of the Flies-style childhood connection.
This was such a beautiful essay that captures, much more eloquently than I could, why I dislike the Neapolitan novels so much.
I, too, had a messed-up friend, in grad school in my case, and we were not particularly good for each other. I really saw a lot of the two of us in Elena and Lila--the jealousy and undermining, the support but also the backstabbing, the schadenfreude. We stopped being friends many years ago, and that is unquestioningly a good thing for me. (Probably for her too.)
So many women recommended the Neapolitan novels to me, saying that they were "a beautiful story of the power of women's friendship." I can only conclude that these women have poor reading comprehension; I had to stop reading them because I couldn't stand the toxicity. But it is a measure of how effective Ferrante's writing is that her novels had such an impact on me, and it sounds like on you too, and for a similar reason.
I enjoyed the novels because of the writing, but I absolutely agree that both Lila and Elena were unlikable. It's a shame they never grew up and out of their Lord of the Flies-style childhood connection.
Interestingly, you and your dad were both on to something important... Eggs are at the very heart of being an excellent cook:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610217/fascinating-reason-there-are-100-folds-chefs-hat