My Brilliant Friend is a modern masterpiece from acclaimed Italian author, Elena Ferrante. The novel is an intense and rich story about Elena and Lila, two close friends. The author?'s unmatched writing style lends itself effortlessly to a thorough portrait of the two girls, a portrait that is additionally a narrative of a country and a moving contemplation of the friendship?s status. The story starts in the 1950s, in a vibrant but poor neighborhood outside Naples. The girls grew up in a tough neighborhood, and they learn to depend on one another ahead of anything, or anyone else. As they grow up, and as their lives repeatedly converge and diverge, Elena and Lila remain close companions whose respective fates are reflected in each other. They are also the personifications of a country facing momentous change. Using the lives of the two girls, the author tells a story of a city, a neighborhood and a nation as it changes in many ways that, as a result, also changes the relationship between the protagonists. The author of this book, Elena Ferrante, has also written other works of acclaimed fiction: The Lost Daughter, Troubling Love and The Days of Abandonment. With My Brilliant Friend, the first of a series of four books, the author demonstrates herself as one of the greatest storytellers in Italy. She has provided her readers with a masterfully plotted generous, page-turner. The book is abundant in every aspect of its narrative characterizations and details. In addition, the book is a stylish literary work of fiction destined to entertain her fans and attract a new audience.