Reviews

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante

davidglztowns's review

adventurous dark emotional funny relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

bettina_evelyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

khawlah's review

3.0

3.5

f_ketta's review

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

louvs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

reading this in naples was a necessary experience
elena ferrante! i love u! she’s so brilliant at getting to the core of the adolescent female mind as it grapples with existence through womanhood, as well as exploring how this development of the young female self intersects with complex family&community relationships. it was an uncomfortable and generally aimless narrative, exactly what it needed to be to convey the the turbulent, overwhelming ride that is adolescence, but as a consequence i wouldn’t say i particularly enjoyed the process of reading it or particularly felt a strong love for giovanna. but that’s what it needed to be for it to fulfil its purpose - i loved its reflections, loved its gritty realism, and loved how absorbing and real the complex network of characters felt. i just can’t rate it higher though because i just can’t fully subscribe to the perspective on life that it puts forward, like yes existence and relationships are ugly and complicated but i need at least a bit of brightness!!!

chrisramos_readingrecord_2024's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

laurabraith's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

m_elisabth's review against another edition

4.0

this is my first elena ferrante book and it wont be my last!! the way ferrante writes about growing up as a female and dysfunctional families is so complex and raw. i found myself relating to giovanni more than i expected which was slightly uncomfortable but it spoke to my heart.

i hope to read my brilliant friend soon !

tennilles's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

pandagourgh's review

3.0

After reading the Neapolitan Novels, reading this is a bit like visiting an old friend, but then feeling a bit disappointed afterwards because your friend was not as fun as you remember.

I feel for the main character in this story, I like an awkward and complicates female lead, however, it feels like the story doesn’f really evolve. The lesbian relationship with her friend is really interesting, but ends up pretty much ignored. The ending also feels quite abrubt. But the language and environments that Ferrante describes remain as beautiful as in the quadrilogy.