My Brillant Friend

It took me a while.

I had started this novel two years ago, in audio format. It was the first time I tried to listen to a book, and I discovered that I didn't like it. Go figure: I love podcasts, but it seems like books have to have my voice, otherwise it doesn't work. So I gave up My Brillant Friend, this book that has been praised everywhere and unanimously. And it could have been forever if I had not received it at Christmas, in paper format. Thinking about it, I almost cry.

Summary

We begin to follow Elena, the narrator, when she is still a little girl. She lives in a poor district of Naples, in the fifties. Her childhood is not "cute": she does not like her mother very much, her father is rather absent, and her classmates throw rocks at each other when they come back from school. Her ray of sunshine, her beacon in the night, is Lila, a little girl in her class. Lila is mean, but she also has an extraordinary determination and intelligence that impresses Elena enormously. They become friends, but neither the years nor their strong bond can diminish Lila's mystery and charm in Elena's eyes.

Impressions

I used to say, somewhat pompously, that I didn't much like childhood stories. I often found them clichéd, and I didn't like their melancholic tone.

Well this story proved to me that I didn't know what I was talking about. I found myself unable to put the book down. I found the narrator's fascination with Lila to be infectious: I began to admire her myself. I loved that childhood was not idealized and I appreciated the realism of the characters. I liked that the novel took place in another place and time, it gave me a sense of escape. The writing style was both sober and poetic, which for me is the perfect mix. And it was a real pleasure to see the characters quietly transition into adolescence.

For me, it was a crush. But not a dazzling crush, which obsesses me and keeps me awake at night; a gentle crush, which feels good, which soothes. It was recognizing that a perfect book in its own way existed, that it was only waiting for me, that I had all the time in the world, that it was not going anywhere. It was also to recognize that it did not belong to me, that it will please and already pleases in the same way millions of other readers around the world.

I know you didn't need me to confirm this, but I'm doing it anyway: this book deserves its success and its praise. It is excellent. If you haven't read it, it's time.

I can't wait to continue with the following volumes. And to see the apparently brilliant HBO adaptation.