What To Read

Elena Ferrante fever keeps spreading like wildfire with her prominence on the recently released "100 Best Books of the Century" list from The New York Times. If you're completely new to Ferrante, lucky you - get ready to join in on the phenomenon. Already read (or watched) My Brilliant Friend and ready to delve into her other books? Either way, this is your guide to exploring the work of this highly-acclaimed, pseudonymous Italian female author–and the work of her translator collaborator, Ann Goldstein.

Ferrante’s been writing since 2002 in her native language of Italian. Her translated work first made its American debut in 2005 with The Days of Abandonment, and most of her work has gone on to be published by the eclectic Europa Editions, which is responsible for bringing so many literary gems from around the world to an English-reading audience. Her star shot to its height of fame with the release of her series known as the Neapolitan Quartet, which was adapted for the screen to critical acclaim as HBO’s first non-English-language original series in 2018, launching its fourth season this September.

The Neapolitan Quartet

This quartet of novels ushers readers into the world of a literary friendship so specific, yet relatable, that it feels like you’re another one of the BFFs. Meet Elena (nicknamed Lenú) and Raffaella (Lila), two young women who grow up on the outskirts of Naples in poverty, struggling against the sometimes smothering social expectations of their community. The first book of this series, the contemporary classic My Brilliant Friend, was just named best book of the century by The New York Times.

My Brilliant Friend (2003)

Named best book of the 21st century by the New York Times

The Story of a New Name (2013)

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014)

The Story of the Lost Child (2013)

The Lying Life of Adults (2019)

In 1990s Naples, twelve-year-old Giovanna eavesdrops on a conversation when her father compares her features to his estranged sister, Vittoria. Deeply curious about this estranged aunt, Giovanna sets out on a quest to meet her and unearth the history of her family’s fallout.

"Ferrante’s fiction reminds us that sometimes you need someone else to help gather the scattered fragments of your existence. A writer is a friend who can find the thread of your story when you are too blinded by your lies to grasp it yourself. She can give you the beginning and end you need—if not in life, then in fiction."—Merve Emre in The Atlantic

Troubling Love (2006)

While this was Ferrante’s first novel, it was published as her second in the United States. If you’re committed to being a Ferrante completist, start with this one. In Troubling Love, Delia returns to Naples, Italy, upon the strange passing of her mother, and finds herself revisiting her childhood and the places of her youth.

"In tactile, beautifully restrained prose, Ferrante makes the domestic violence that tore the household apart evident."—Publishers Weekly

The Days of Abandonment (2005)

One day, Olga, a woman in her 30s, is abandoned by her husband, Mario, when he says he will leave her and their two children. At first, she thinks he’s kidding, but he ends their marriage of 15 years and leaves her for another woman.

“Remarkable, lucid, austerely honest.”—The New Yorker

The Lost Daughter (2006)

Recently adapted into actor Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial film debut, The Lost Daughter follows Leda, an English professor who spends her summer alone on the Ionian Coast as her daughters stay with her ex-husband. She becomes fascinated with a family, especially the mother and a young daughter, who are also staying nearby. We highly recommend reading it before seeing the film, which is also a must. The New Yorker said it best:

"The crucial subject of “The Lost Daughter” is the woeful fact that it’s exceptional, that there is no Elena Ferrante of filmmaking. Whatever the conventions and shortcuts of literary adaptation that the movie reflects, Gyllenhaal has thrown down a gauntlet to filmmakers and producers, to the movie industry at large, and to the future of the art."

The Beach at Night (2016)

Ferrante’s book for young readers follows a doll, Celine, who is left at the beach and has to make it through the night alone. Following in the vein of dark European fairy tales, the novel reads like something akin to Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. As children's literature, this sometimes disturbing book may not be the most comfortable for all parents and kids, but it's definitely worth a read in your Ferrante journey.

"For Ferrante’s grown-up readers, though, this book will be a small delight, another lovely and brutal glimpse of female subtext, of the complicated bonds between mothers and daughters in a cruel and indifferent world."—The New York Times

Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey (2016)

Ferrante’s non-fiction work catalogs letters to publishers, interviews, and essays, discussing her work, her anonymity, her writing process, and her life.

"This is a fascinating volume, as ever beautifully translated by Ann Goldstein. At times, it is as absorbing as Ferrante’s extraordinary fictions and touches on troubling unconscious matter with the same visceral intensity. For those who can’t wait for the next Ferrante fiction to sink into, it provides a stopgap."—The Guardian

Incidental Inventions (2019)

Calling all aspiring writers, this one's for you! Starting in 2017, Ferrante wrote a weekly column for The Guardian with prompts from her editors. Covering a year of her column from 2018 to 2019, the book features thoughts on a writer’s diary and process, feminism and art, and the politics of the time.

In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing (2021)

This collection of four essays is based on talks given at the University of Bologna and addresses the nature of writing realism, different ways of writing, gratitude for Dante’s muse, Beatrice, and women in culture. Rarely does a book based on lectures get such rave reviews, reflecting how Ferrante fans are endlessly hungry for more access to the writer behind the page.

"Every essay here is a blend of deep thought, rigorous analysis and graceful prose...The essays are at their most rewarding when Ferrante discusses the origins of her books, in particular the celebrated Neapolitan Novels, and the multifaceted heroines that power them...they provide valuable insight into how she developed as a writer and how she works her magic."—Malcolm Forbes in The Star Tribune

Elena Ferrante has completed an impressively sizable body of work in a short period of time, spanning fiction, children’s literature, and non-fiction. Since most of her non-fiction covers her writing process, especially In The Margins and Frantumaglia, we recommend starting with her fiction and working your way through as much of her oeuvre as you’d like before hearing the “behind-the-scenes,” which can only deepen your appreciation of her complex, vibrant, melancholy, and rich writing.