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bella613 's review for:
The Lying Life of Adults
by Elena Ferrante
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book kind of blew me away with how emotionally intense the writing is and how well the main character is written.
There are also a lot of things that bothered me- for example all of the men felt like the same character to me, a very hateable pervert with no interesting characteristics. The ending made me want to cry.
For me, it was a depressing story but the mindset and thoughts of the main character were so realistic and honest that I couldn't put it down. I relate to a feeling of having family members' hateful actions toward each other put me in the middle. (Not anything as extreme as the drama in this book, and experienced as an adult not a child) I think the heavy drama really makes it feel so real as a teen coming of age story though, because as a teen the whole of life is honestly experienced in such a light.
This book is one I really want to discuss more deeply but I doubt anyone in my book club would want to read it.
I think it's interesting the way growing up is portrayed as an increase of lies, but there's also a difference in how children and adults lie. There's also a certain amount of lying to oneself or not even being aware of one's own lies in this book, and some of the characters really embody lying for so long they've forgotten what the truth is.
Another part of the book that intrigues me is how much Giovanna becomes obsessed with what she does not want to become. I'm sure this is a universally experienced behavior, but I definitely felt that extreme disgust and fear as a teenage girl and then the sort of avoidant-acceptance of it as well. The ways that she deals with her confusion and tries to gain control of herself and her life are so real and so heartbreaking.
I do relate to the story but it also made me grateful for some of the adults in my life when I was a teenager. Not every adult is cruel, inattentive, manipulative, and lying. Not every adult is emotionally immature. I'm glad I had at least pieces from many adults to create a whole good role model at that age, and I hope to always be an adult that is honest, kind, stable, trustworthy, and supportive of kids in my life.
There are also a lot of things that bothered me- for example all of the men felt like the same character to me, a very hateable pervert with no interesting characteristics. The ending made me want to cry.
For me, it was a depressing story but the mindset and thoughts of the main character were so realistic and honest that I couldn't put it down. I relate to a feeling of having family members' hateful actions toward each other put me in the middle. (Not anything as extreme as the drama in this book, and experienced as an adult not a child) I think the heavy drama really makes it feel so real as a teen coming of age story though, because as a teen the whole of life is honestly experienced in such a light.
This book is one I really want to discuss more deeply but I doubt anyone in my book club would want to read it.
I think it's interesting the way growing up is portrayed as an increase of lies, but there's also a difference in how children and adults lie. There's also a certain amount of lying to oneself or not even being aware of one's own lies in this book, and some of the characters really embody lying for so long they've forgotten what the truth is.
Another part of the book that intrigues me is how much Giovanna becomes obsessed with what she does not want to become. I'm sure this is a universally experienced behavior, but I definitely felt that extreme disgust and fear as a teenage girl and then the sort of avoidant-acceptance of it as well. The ways that she deals with her confusion and tries to gain control of herself and her life are so real and so heartbreaking.
I do relate to the story but it also made me grateful for some of the adults in my life when I was a teenager. Not every adult is cruel, inattentive, manipulative, and lying. Not every adult is emotionally immature. I'm glad I had at least pieces from many adults to create a whole good role model at that age, and I hope to always be an adult that is honest, kind, stable, trustworthy, and supportive of kids in my life.