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My Brilliant Friend
- The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Series: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
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Despite the narrator
- By JF7588 on 06-02-15
Summary
A modern masterpiece from one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense, and generous-hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila, who represent the story of a nation and the nature of friendship.
The story begins in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples. Growing up on these tough streets, the two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow - and as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge - Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other. They are likewise the embodiments of a nation undergoing momentous change. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists.
With My Brilliant Friend, the first in a series, Ferrante proves herself to be one of Italy's greatest storytellers. She has given her listeners a masterfully plotted pause-resister, abundant and generous in its narrative details and characterizations - a stylish work of literary fiction destined to delight her many fans and win new listeners to her work.
Critic reviews
"Hillary Huber's subtly shaded performance couldn't be better as she reveals the complexities that separate and connect the two women.... Huber's delivery of this well-plotted, absorbing story of friendship will leave listeners wanting more." (AudioFile)
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What listeners say about My Brilliant Friend
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Susan Whitehead
- 22-05-16
My Brilliant friend
Brilliant story l can't wait to read the next book. I did find the American narrator difficult to get used to initially but she grew on me by the end. I wish the chapters corresponded however
12 people found this helpful
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- valerie
- 10-09-16
My brilliant friend
Terrible narration. So boring struggled to stick with it for 20 minutes then gave up.
11 people found this helpful
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- Toby Gold
- 18-02-16
Americanised
If you could sum up My Brilliant Friend in three words, what would they be?
Coming of age tale set in 1950s Naples; think of Glasgow tenements on the Mediterranean.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
The American narrator could have resigned her commission and handed over to an Anglo-Italian.
34 people found this helpful
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- E. Hardy
- 02-10-16
All the ingredients...
A slow, stimulating narrative which resounds in your ear long after the final intriguing utterance.
Contemplating the other 3 novels is like a warm secret.
10 people found this helpful
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- aep
- 10-02-16
Reasonable story spoilt by poor narration
I quite enjoyed the story, setting and what must be the authentic perspective of this book. However it was definitely too lengthy and could have done with a more assertive editor. I also wondered how good the translation was as sometimes the language just didn't flow smoothly. I have listened to many audio books and generally am very impressed by the narrators and their abilities to create unique voices for each of the characters. This narrator was very weak, I ended up listening on a slightly higher speed to make her voice less monotonous. Worst of all though were the mispronounciations - surely it is easy to clarify a word you are unure of? Worst of all, changing the pronunciation of the main character's name at random points is inexcusable!
32 people found this helpful
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- Anne
- 29-09-16
Absorbing but a little slow moving
Where does My Brilliant Friend rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This isn't for those looking for a fast-paced story. There isn't a great deal of narrative, as such. Not a great deal happens. It's an absorbing examination of a childhood and adolescent friendship in a tough Naples neighbourhood. The characters are very well drawn, very believable, so you feel sympathetic or annoyed at their behaviour, just as you would with any teenager. I often found myself thinking "Yes, I remember how that felt". At the end of the book, I wanted to carry on knowing them, so I've just bought Book 2.
Have you listened to any of Hillary Huber’s other performances? How does this one compare?
I haven't heard this narrator's performances before. I thought her reading suited the book well - slow, thoughtful, nuanced. Just one quibble: at one point about half way through, she used various pronunciations of Lila's name, which I found a little irritating.
7 people found this helpful
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- Dorothy McGarven
- 20-07-15
A brutally honest account of growing up in Naples
This book has found a place in my top 10 audiobooks. It is a story of friendship, told from the point of view of Lenu, she tells about her, and her best friend Lila's childhood, the harsh life they had growing up in Naples in the 1950s and their relationship to one another, each of them is defined by the other.
I started reading the book for a book group and downloaded the audio book as I was busy at the time and wasn't sure I would finish the book in time, so thought I'd be able to cram the story into any spare gaps with the audiobook. Very quickly the book fell by the wayside and I found myself listening to the audiobook for long stretches.
The authors style is nothing I have previously encountered, her prose is spare at a time when most novels tends towards the poetic. The narration is in keeping with the style of the story and is never overly dramatic. The Italian pronunciation was a highlight for me. This may make the story sound boring but in fact the opposite is true, it was refreshing to have the story told frankly and without frills, as if a friend were telling you the story of their life. I think this is part of the reason why so many people love this book.
Add to this the mystery of the author, who has chosen to remain anonymous. There is even some speculation that the author may be a man, although I doubt this, given the inherent underlying feminist principles adopted in the story telling.
I was very sad when this finished but delighted to know that the story continued with the next book, "Story of a New Name".
In summary, this is a book that you will either love or hate. I hope like me, you love it.
23 people found this helpful
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- Linda S.
- 30-12-15
Couldn't finish it
American narrator inevitably fails to give a good voice to 1950s Naples. Story very stretched out - not one if you like your novels to have a bit more plot.
21 people found this helpful
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- Missmoneypenny
- 07-09-16
The epic I have been searching for
Absolutely fantastic first part of this Neapolitan epic. I have listened at every available moment. Can't wait to start the second part, The Story of a New Name. The narrator's voice is perfect for the audio series.
6 people found this helpful
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- Jim McCrory
- 24-09-16
A story that pulls you along compellingly
What made the experience of listening to My Brilliant Friend the most enjoyable?
There is no apparent plot, however, ordinary life is like that. Ferrante`s fluid prose carries you along with a somewhat morbid tone and as each event presents itself in the lives of these two Napolini girls from the 1940s, you become irresistibly tangled in the story`s web.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Let me say this first, the narrator, Hillary Huber is a lovely reader, however, please, please, please Audible, Italian book: Italian accent. I had to continually remind myself when listening that the story was not set in USA.
12 people found this helpful
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- W Perry Hall
- 14-09-16
Parte Uno Dei Quattro--It's Worth it to Keep Goin'
I thought I'd chime in on this little novel to say to readers this first part of the so-called Neapolitan novels is worth reading to get to the really good stuff in parts 2, 3 and 4. Do NOT Give Up. I thought about abandoning this about halfway through it. I found books 2-4 addictive.
The author considers the 4 parts as just one novel (it was divided by the publisher into 4 parts). As such, it's really hard to rate My Brilliant Friend as a novel on its on. No doubt, one must read this to fully appreciate and enjoy parts 2, 3 and 4. Here, all the characters and conflicts are introduced as is the poor and violent neighborhood on the Naples outskirts, in itself a character as a magnet where the families live and so many things happen over the course of the books, as it stands at the foot of the infamous Mount Vesuvius, the only active volcano on mainland Europe.
Think of it like this: can you think of a great lengthy novel that if you read only 1/4 of it as a stand-alone novel, you'd love it and give it 5 stars. This wasn't written, or intended, to be read as a novel. This one, very similar to the first 1/4 of all really good lengthy novels, is mostly setup, introductions, character development up to, well, up to the teen years of the two main characters.
Viewed as one novel, it's a bildungsroman following the lives of Elena (called “Lenù”) Greco (the novel is told in the first person recollections of Elena) and her razor-sharp, but enigmatic, best friend Raffaella (“Lila”) Cerullo, from childhood, here in My Brilliant Friend, to adulthood.
I'd give this 3 stars as a stand-alone. Yet since it's really the first part of a single novel, I'll give it 4 stars because I'd give the novel an overall 4.5.
The narrator takes a little getting used to, but you'll find that she's perfect as you get into books 2, 3 and 4.
223 people found this helpful
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- Allison Modafferi
- 11-05-17
Well read except for jarring mispronunciations
I enjoyed this book a lot, except for the crazy, jarring mispronunciations of the character Lila's name. We learn that her name (Lee-la) is also Raphaela (which she is never called) and Lena (which she is sometimes called) but the reader also pronounces Lila as LIE-la numerous times, and even Lee-lo. Sometimes she pronounces her name two different ways in the same sentence!
49 people found this helpful
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- Leslie Epstein
- 21-06-16
How not to read Ferrante
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Yes, though I'd try to find another reader--or just read the book yourself.
What was one of the most memorable moments of My Brilliant Friend?
Losing the doll and trying to challenge the man who stole it. Not to mention the startling last line.
What didn’t you like about Hillary Huber’s performance?
Ms,. Huber over-interprets almost every line (save for the well read but sparse dialogue). Worse, she skews it toward the charming, the moving, the sentimental, the cute, the humorous--all this in an author who casts an unwavering, clear-eyed gaze on her Neapolitans. The listener is in a constant cringe as the reader insists we understand how poignant or wry or touching every moment is. In all my years of listening to audio books, I've never heard an interpretation that so compulsively forbids me from responding on my own. As I said, she reads the dialogue well: but the book is ninety percent narrative. And in that ninety percent, we are in big trouble.
Was My Brilliant Friend worth the listening time?
Yes, but see my objections to cringe-inducing reader.
Any additional comments?
I suspect I am doomed to hearing the entire series in this cloying interpretation. Oh, well.
For the opposite sort of reading of a very great book, listen to the audible edition PARADE'S END. A model of how to go about the task.
54 people found this helpful
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- Joe Kraus
- 18-09-15
Sweetly Dense and Focused
Any additional comments?
Ferrante seems like the "it" writer of the moment, so I gave this a shot because so many are talking about her. Expecting greatness -- maybe a Nobel candidacy -- I came into this in a demanding mood, and it mostly delivered. In its way, it's a "small" novel, a story that's confined to a handful of characters trapped in the same small neighborhood.
That claim hardly does it justice, though. It's rich in characterization and hunger, and it's a coming-of-society story as much as it is a coming-of-age one. I'm weak on my post-War Italy history, but it's clear that the protagonist is growing into adulthood just as Italy is shaking off the legacy of World War II. There's some explicit talk of building a new society, of forgetting the trajectory of the old ways, and then there are some powerful descriptions of how difficult it is to become someone other than your parents' child.
In the same way, I find this a striking feminist novel, too. The narrator's friendship with Lila is powerful and interesting. They're "frenemies" as much as best friends, and each undercuts the other's ambitions and hopes as often as she supports them. It's a great glimpse, as a male, at the very different dynamic that I've heard my wife and others describe in some of their friendships.
So, I love all that, but there are a few downsides.
First, the narrative is quiet and slow. I found I got hungry for more events, even small ones, but much of what happens is anticipation. Again, that's clever, but I'd like to have seen it culminate in more than it does.
Second, and this may be the same point from a different angle, it doesn't really end. That is, the next book in the cycle seems less a sequel than a continuation. I'm tempted to read it -- I am interested enough in the characters to want to know what becomes of them -- but I'm also ready (for now at least) for a change of pace.
So, on balance, I like this a lot and reserve the right to love it after I get to see more of what follows.
155 people found this helpful
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- Bootylady
- 12-06-17
Didn't like the story or the narration
Would you try another book from Elena Ferrante and/or Hillary Huber?
No. The story and characters in this series did not interest me or keep me interested to keep going. I did finish the book to see if it got better but was disappointed. The narration usually can make a story better at times with intonations, but this story was flat.
9 people found this helpful
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- BHL
- 21-07-15
Candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature?
Yes, Ferrante is that good. Everyone who was ever a girl, particularly one born before 1960, should read this book ..... That is, anyone who has been admired as pretty and has felt ugly; anyone who is the apple of a parent's eye and has been misunderstood by one; anyone who has been praised by a teacher and has been demeaned by one; anyone who has excelled and has failed; anyone who has used a boyfriend or girlfriend and has been used by one; anyone who has exceeded her potential and hasn't. Need I go on?
Ferrante has her pulse on what it has meant to become a woman (and live as one in later volumes) in a post-WWII western world, constrained by society (family, friends, neighborhood) and resources (usually limited); in this case, the subject just happens to live in Naples, Italy.
No matter that the narrator may have (did she?) mispronounced Italian words and the names Lila / "Lena"/ Elena get mixed up ... Her voice embodies the intimate world view that the author intended.
No matter whether or not you were a girl .... You are human aren't you? ... Read it.
102 people found this helpful
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- Patricia Ziegler
- 05-07-15
Friendship and Class
In this mesmerizing narrative about the friendship between two girls in a working class district of Naples, the author examines the influences of wealth, education, history and revenge on the social strata of the town and explores how the hunger for freedom expresses itself differently in each character.
22 people found this helpful
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- 2tflut
- 28-07-17
Too Histrionic!
There was a prologue, but the story didn't explain the outcome. Maybe I'm too simpleminded, but I didn't recognize a plot in this book. The storyline was the girl going on and on of her life until the age of 16, that's it. Maybe that's why the book was loaded with over reactions to almost everything that happened. I lived in Naples for 3 years and I thought I might enjoy this book. I didn't.
14 people found this helpful
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- Sara
- 18-02-16
Children In Naples
There are so many wonderful reviews for this series so decided to give it a try. For me, it just didn't work. The story was a very slow and detailed but at the same time sketchy look at life from a child's perspective. The reader was plodding and had an edge to her voice that was almost sarcastic? The whole thing just seemed off to me. I was never engaged or caught up in the story being told. It's hard for me to pinpoint the issue as either writing or narration. In the end, probably a bit of each. Can't recommend.
100 people found this helpful
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- Susan M.
- 17-05-15
Narration spoils story
After listening to My Brilliant Friend, I won't listen to the sequels. I didn't enjoy the narrator, who repeatedly mispronounced the name of one of the main characters: Leela? Lyla? Lola? Come on now!!! (In the author's defense, friends who READ the book enjoyed it more than I did LISTENING to it.)
93 people found this helpful