The Neapolitan Novels Boxed Set

Excellent written and such an excellent and exciting story told about a special friendship. It includes strong emotions so well told you feel like you are standing right there witnessing it. I've seen the movies three times and read the books several times!!

I found the Neapolitan novels to be utterly absorbing, full of plot developments and fascinating turns in the story. Elena Ferrante weaves a fascinating account of the evolving lives of a group of friends and families over the course of decades as they and the city change. The ups and downs of their lives and the ever changing relationships keep you guessing and wanting more with every chapter. Bravura series of novels and a real page turner throughout these four books.

Rarely, if ever, have I been so swept away by the breadth of a literary work as I have by this quartet. An indeterminate flow and ebb of psychological possibility; a meditation on the impact of social evolution on the history and myth that precede it; the profundity and purpose of art; the nuanced tributaries of feminism and antifeminism alike: These novels are heady and informative enough to belong in a classroom, readable enough to belong in a beach tote bag, and honest enough (sometimes excruciatingly so) to belong in one’s own self-reflection. In short, read these books, and don’t put them down until you’ve finished!

Maybe it was a bit of a slow start for me, or so I thought. It's the novel that grabs you and makes you need to continue in spite of it. Hard to read at times because I saw so many flaws in Lenú that I know are repeated in me. I visited Naples some years back and it definitely had me at Neapolitan. I developed love for an area I still barely know and through her books I was able to feel as though I was walking in Naples again, being part of the neighborhood. A must read. A story of a woman's journey. Would love to read it in its original version, I felt the translation at times did not quite translate the author's intention.

I watched the HBO series, and enjoyed it so much that I had to purchase them. Good quality. Would recommend.

The decades-long lives of two women from Naples. Their complex relationship is marvelously conveyed but also is the story of class struggle in Italy in the 60’s forward. I place this quartet of novels at the very top of fiction I have read.

I have finally read Elena Ferrante's Napolitano Novels. It was a great pleasure to follow her storytelling. What a cast of characters! She gives us a wonderful description of all the people in her neighborhood. Worthy of reading.

I like great stories, large books and more books in the series so I was really looking forward to reading this set. I'm mixed on my review. A lot of the story and the characters I found very interesting. Other parts seemed to drag. The writing style is different but ok and the translation is not an issue. The books came highly recommended and I thought I was going to be swept away but that wasn't the case. I persevered to finish the last book.

Elena Ferrante’s ‘Neapolitan Stories’ is a dazzling achievement. Bursting with larger than life - and mostly unpleasant - characters and barely controlled human emotions of the worst (mostly) and best (not often enough) kind, reading this story feels like having your head pushed under the surface of some slimy pool and watching, wide-eyed with shock and awe, the weird and scary life forms that inhabit the murky waters, yet reluctant to surface even though you are sometimes gasping for fresh air and release from all that ugliness. I often found myself shouting vigorously at the main character (in my head, of course), reprimanding her for her folly, foolishness and lack of common sense that had resulted in so many bad decisions, despite her towering intellect. But that is how Elena Ferrante captures the essence of human nature so well and connects her characters with her readers – and I say ‘BRAVO’ to her for that! To write a monumental story of this scale that holds the reader relentlessly from page one to ‘The End’ at almost 2,000 pages is a massive achievement deserving of a full five star rating, happily and freely given for so much fabulous entertainment, even if I do feel punch-drunk by the end of it.

Ce roman en quatre volumes m'a habitée pendant un mois - ou plutôt je l'ai habité pendant un mois - ou 60 ans? C'est une plongée dans l'Italie des années 1950 à 2000 à travers le regard d'une femme intelligente et aussi honnête que possible, avec comme fil rouge sa relation avec une amie d'enfance. Relation jamais simple, faite tour à tour d'admiration mutuelle et de répulsion, de solidarité et de désertion. Leurs visions de la vie, produits de personnalités et de destins différents, ne parviennent pas vraiment à être complémentaires, et leur dualité donne "du nerf" à l'oeuvre. Ce roman, à la fois construit et foisonnant de personnages, de tours et de détours, est aussi l'occasion d'une réflexion sur la création littéraire : ordonner le réel, n'est-ce pas forcément le trahir ? Le tout est d'une lecture très facile, à condition de se reporter souvent au tableau du début qui aide à re-situer les nombreux personnages. Par contre, je n'ai pas trouvé la traduction française très bonne, et les 2 derniers tomes n'étant pas encore parus en français, je les ai achetés en anglais : pas mieux à mon avis. Les mots qui expriment les sentiments, en particulier, me semblent souvent un peu "à côté". Peut-être ces glissements viennent-ils du décalage entre le dialecte napolitain et l'italien. Si quelqu'un a un avis sur la question, ça m'intéresserait...

Porque além de boa literatura, é uma reflexão profunda sobre a condição das mulheres em um contexto social onde as pressões familiares são expostas de forma crua, e as perspectivas de libertação passam pelos dilemas bem explícitos de escapar delas - pobreza, violência , grilhões - e as saídas através da expressão dos talentos, logo redesenhadas pelas pressões sociais.

As an avid viewer of the HBO series of the same name, I was compelled to read the book series to gain more detail and read in advance of the next HBO series 3 release. I was drawn into the two protagonists' world of hard graft, poverty, resilience and above all an enduring, reliant friendship lasting a lifetime. Highly recommend this unforgettable book series.

It is the story of two friends and much more. It' is a story of Italy. You feel like you lived in that part which you don’t visit.