My brilliant friend

I received this book as a Christmas present from my boss over a year ago. In fact, everyone in the office received a copy – that’s how much our boss wanted us to read it. Before you start wondering what sort of wonderful place I worked at, let me clarify it was a literary agency, so such things were Leggi tutto

I have been studying Italian in my free time and so decided to try reading one of the most popular Italian writers of today: Elena Ferrante. There have been many articles about this author's mysterious anonymity. Her real identity is unknown except to her publisher because she wishes to have a norma Leggi tutto

Anne of Green Gables if it was set in a rough Italian neighborhood and written by Donna Tartt.

‘ What you do, I do. ’ A lifelong friend is a truly special bond. With roots of friendship growing from a shared childhood soil, continuing to coil around one another’s lives through all the pruning of teenage years into adulthood, and having weathering the storms across the years together, it is a bon Leggi tutto

The thing about this book is that the more that happened, the less I liked it. At the beginning of this book, there was no plot. Just vibes. Just two kids existing in Italy and being good at school. Sometimes they go into the sewer, where they are convinced a Pennywise-esque interpretation of their s Leggi tutto

UPDATED November 2018: here’s my review of the new HBO miniseries. Hint: It’s just as good as the book! https://nowtoronto.com/movies/reviews... ***** My Brilliant Friend, a.k.a. My Brilliant New Obsession Believe all the hype. This is a rich, immersive, deeply satisfying book that, like many great nov Leggi tutto

The entire time I spent reading this book I asked myself "What is wrong with this book? Why am I having so much trouble getting into it?". It is incredibly slow-paced, but I also believe the Italian-to-English translation must be flawed. Many of the sentences were confusing and even contradictory.