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pea 's review for:
The Lying Life of Adults
by Elena Ferrante
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a child who grew up in Malta with nothing but access to Italian television, I definitely felt like The Lying Life of Adults transported me to a familiar time of trying to understand the dramas and news on TV, all to the background of older family members gossiping about this or that in hushed tones. Since I listened to this on audio, this feeling was the more amplified, and I was immediately sucked in.
The book is told from the point of view of Giovanna, who at around the age of 13, overhears her father saying that she is turning very ugly, and is starting to resemble his sister, Vittoria. This whispered comment is what sends Giovanna spiraling into a world of adult lies, secrets, hipocrisy, and so much more. Following this comment, she sets off to meet her aunt who she's never known, which uncovers many secrets that her parents have tried so hard to distance themselves from. The story follows Giovanna through the age of 16, leading us through a coming of age story she herself did not envision at the start of the book.
'Lying Life' is definitely a character based book, with a cast of well fleshed out but mostly unlikable characters. Lies and ugliness are strongly linked in this book, and represented in the recurring imagery of the bracelet that exchanges hands and wrists multiple times throughout the book. It almost acts like a placeholder for how one person is feeling towards an other, which is useful as it is ultimately told through the eyes of a teenager who is trying to come to understand why adults lie, or hide their feelings, or flip flop continuously withought being transparent.
I personally was enjoying the book but found the ending to drag out and a bit too crude to be in any way a satisfying ending, even though I understand there was never any way Ferrante could have tied a neat bow on this story.
Following this, I am curious to read her Neapolitan Quartet, and I'm even tempted to do so in audio in Italian if I can get hold of them - partially to see if my Italian holds up, but mostly because I did feel I could have gotten more out of her story in its native tongue.
The book is told from the point of view of Giovanna, who at around the age of 13, overhears her father saying that she is turning very ugly, and is starting to resemble his sister, Vittoria. This whispered comment is what sends Giovanna spiraling into a world of adult lies, secrets, hipocrisy, and so much more. Following this comment, she sets off to meet her aunt who she's never known, which uncovers many secrets that her parents have tried so hard to distance themselves from. The story follows Giovanna through the age of 16, leading us through a coming of age story she herself did not envision at the start of the book.
'Lying Life' is definitely a character based book, with a cast of well fleshed out but mostly unlikable characters. Lies and ugliness are strongly linked in this book, and represented in the recurring imagery of the bracelet that exchanges hands and wrists multiple times throughout the book. It almost acts like a placeholder for how one person is feeling towards an other, which is useful as it is ultimately told through the eyes of a teenager who is trying to come to understand why adults lie, or hide their feelings, or flip flop continuously withought being transparent.
I personally was enjoying the book but found the ending to drag out and a bit too crude to be in any way a satisfying ending, even though I understand there was never any way Ferrante could have tied a neat bow on this story.
Following this, I am curious to read her Neapolitan Quartet, and I'm even tempted to do so in audio in Italian if I can get hold of them - partially to see if my Italian holds up, but mostly because I did feel I could have gotten more out of her story in its native tongue.