The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante
The Lying life of Adults by Elena Ferrante
Unlike so many others, I had never read any of the books in Elena Ferrante’s ‘My Brilliant Friend’ quartet, so I had no idea what to expect when I embarked on this long awaited and much anticipated new novel by the author, The Lying Life of Adults.
Giovanna, a fourteen year old girl in the throws of teenage life with all its emotion and intensity is the surprising narrator of a book full of surprises. At her most vulnerable, Giovanna overhears her father tell her mother that he can see his daughter growing uglier by the day; that she is resembling more and more the sister he loathes, the sister he has tried to get away from for years. This shocks Giovanna, who not only is hurt by the words of her beloved father, but who also has never heard of this aunt, this woman whom he so despises. The conversation is the beginning of a rollercoaster ride for our young friend, who follows an irresistible urge to discover who and what her father was speaking of.
The voyage takes Giovanna to the underbelly of Naples, a city she has only known for its nicer neighborhoods, better schools and more educated, academic and wealthier middle class. Suddenly she is thrown into the less gentrified parts of the city amongst the more aggressive, highly emotional and temperamental inhabitants not to mention the much rougher streets and piazzas.
The Lying Life of Adults is unlike many other stories, partly because it is an adult book, written in the voice of a 14-year old girl and in that sense a reminder to us who have long forgotten what its like to feel as intensely, believe as ardently and judge as swiftly as one does at that age. It is also a poignant reminder of the hypocrisy and indeed ‘lying life’ that so many adults lead, almost unconsciously and how transparent this all is to children and young adults. The book is also about forgiveness and about how life stories and events are almost always multilayered and complex and that with time often comes a better understanding and if we’re lucky, forgiveness.
It is also worth noting that Ferrante does a magnificent job of weaving the city of Naples into the story, especially as the different aspects and neighborhoods brilliantly reflect the people who live there and the emotions that are displayed in the homes and on the streets of this remarkable city.
Happy Reading!
Review by Isabella
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