Even if you have never read a word of Elena Ferrante, you might be forgiven for being a bit sick of her. In 2015, the final novel of her Neapolitan quartet, The Story of the Lost Child was published into English translation, and, together with My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, and Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, the novels became the surprise hit in the English-speaking world. In 2018 and 2019, HBO provided the first two seasons of lush television adaptations. This week, to much fanfare, the latest Elena Ferrante novel hit bookstores in North America in French and English editions alike, The Lying Life of Adults.
The mysterious identity of the writer, perhaps, only added to the public’s interest in the novels. Occasionally journalists make strong claims to have discovered the ‘identity’ of ‘Elena Ferrante,’ and some claim her identity is more or less an open secret in certain circles. Her identity, her stated motives for hiding that identity, and speculations about further motives for hiding that identity have all generated conversation and debate.
Usually, I reserve this space to point you toward novelists working in English, despite my own fondness for the literary traditions of France, Russia, and Japan (to name just a few). But Ferrante has turned into a truly international literary force, regularly publishing columns for a while in The Guardian, and eagerly reviewed by every major English-speaking newspaper. It’s difficult for me to think of a writer working in English who commands the attention she does. Her work, translated into excellent English prose by translator Ann Goldstein, is worth looking at if your Italian is a little rusty and you’re an advanced English reader. But so are the rich reviews of her work. Dayna Tortorci of The New York Times loves the new novel, proclaiming that Ferrante’s gift has survived success and an odd sort of fame. This review in The Guardian from last year actually covers the Italian original, noting that those who queued through the night in Italy for the new novel will not be disappointed. Judith Thurman, of The New Yorker, however, was less impressed, complaining that Ferrante has moved away, for no apparent reason, from her usual emphasis on mother-daughter relationships to focus, instead, a father-daughter relationship with ‘crude hinting and telegraphing.’
I quite enjoyed the novel: I’m continually impressed with Ferrante’s ability to build tension out of almost nothing. The novel opens with the daughter overhearing a remark about her appearance; a mysterious aunt is then introduced, and eventually a bracelet. In My Brilliant Friend and its sequels, Ferrante interrogated the tradition. In this new effort, Ferrante plays, instead, with the raw terror of old fairy tales, resetting them firmly in twentieth-century Italy. For advanced ESL learners, the translated prose of Ann Goldstein is lucid and luxurious; Ferrante’s international success must owe something to her translator’s feel for the of English. At the same time the novel is not too advanced for ESL learners: the vocabulary is routine for most everyday English conversations.
In sum, I found myself disagreeing with Thurman: this is not a father-daughter novel, nor is it a mother-daughter novel. It is an Oedipal novel that goes beyond just the Freudian cliché and reaches for all of the terror of Sophocles himself.
by Nathan R. Elliott
- “The Unmasking of Elena Ferrante.” The New Yorker. Oct 3, 2016. Intermediate/Advanced.
- “Elena Ferrante: This is my last column, after a year that has scared me and inspired me.” The Guardian. Jan 12, 2019.
- “Reading Elena Ferrante in English? You’re also reading Ann Goldstein.” The New York Times, August 21, 2020.
- “Elena Ferrante Returns With The Lying Life of Adults.” The New York Times. Sept 1, 2020.
- “The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante Review — a rebel rich girl comes of age.” The Guardian, Nov 17, 2019.
- “What Brings Elena Ferrante’s Worlds to Life?” The New Yorker, August 24, 2020.