Centred around a poor neighbourhood in 1950s Naples, Elena Ferrante’s four-book series commonly known as the Neapolitan Novels follows the life of Lenu, through the lens of her complicated friendship with her childhood friend Lila. The author’s anonymity, the numerous attempts to ‘unmask’ her, and therefore the debate on how much of the story is based on real life, adds to the mystique and conversation that this series has caused.
Her description and experiences of love, education, work, marriage and children hold a mirror up to society’s treatment of women in a way I have rarely seen done as effectively in literature. Exploring themes of female friendship, womanhood and class conflict, these novels have had a profound impact on me, especially as I’ve entered the early stages of adulthood.
