A modern masterpiece by the most popular Italian author of our time. My Brilliant Friend, the first book of the Neapolitan Quartet, is the story of Elena and Lila, a story that begins in the 1950s against the backdrop of a poor neighborhood in Naples. The author delves into the complex nature of the friendship between the two girls who grow from teenagers into women, following step by step the evolution of each one individually, the way one influences the other, the feelings that over the decades help them build a meaningful, unshakeable relationship. With unparalleled style and flawless, meticulous insight, Ferrante unfolds through the story of a friendship the story of a neighborhood, a city, and ultimately a nation experiencing monumental changes over the decades. "And ultimately, Ferrante's real subject is the margin each of us has, so large and so small, to shape our own existence. And this margin she examines from every aspect, political, personal, existential... At heart, this Neapolitan Quartet could be called the quartet of freedom." Le Monde des Livres "To infuse fiction with the indissoluble power of life, to make it not just words on paper but an inner force, that is the greatest achievement of art..." Financial Times "The unknown author of a famous masterpiece... Elena Ferrante is recognized worldwide as a great author of our time. However, none of us knows her identity, and she is determined not to reveal it." The Sunday Times "The best thing I read this year." Richard Flanagan "Ferrante speaks about women and friendship with incredible power." Gwyneth Paltrow "Reading Ferrante reminded me of that almost childlike excitement to read the next page, that feeling that your eyes have detached from your head, that thought that you never expected books could do this to you!" Elizabeth Strout (Pulitzer Prize) "Ferrante's writing knows no bounds, it can lead every thought to a groundbreaking result and similarly return to its most extreme beginning..." The New Yorker "A masterpiece, beyond limits and genres." Il Salvagente "Ferrante's women are truly works of art!" El Pais "Imagine Jane Austen angry, and you'll have an idea of how explosively great this Neapolitan Quartet is!" The Australian