My Brilliant Friend

This is the very simple, beautifully written story of two girls, growing up in the fifties in Italy. This book covers their childhood through adolescence and the remainder of the series will cover the rest of their lives. The second thing that struck me was that it’s a translation. The book was originally published in Italian and translated to English. It’s amazing to me how the translator (Anne Goldstein) was able to translate it and keep it so vibrant and beautifully told. Oftentimes when books are translated to English, they lose something and can feel a bit flat/harder to read. Not the case with this one. What I loved about it is the storytelling and how perfectly Ferrante (and Goldstein) captured the nuances of friendship.