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My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
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My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
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Publisher's Summary
The story of Elena and Lila begins in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. The two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, sometimes to their own detriment, as each discovers more about who she is and suffers or delights in the throes of their intense friendship.
There is a piercing honesty about Ferrante’s prose that makes My Brilliant Friend a compulsively readable portrait of two young women, and also the story of a neighbourhood, a city and a country.
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mary
- 22-01-2016
Laborious read.
Struggled to finish. Too many names of insignificant characters mentioned. The narrator often sounded bored.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- nelly dean
- 26-10-2016
A snap shot of US immigrant life in the 50s , poor, violent, frustratingly sexists !
If one was to take out the Christian refererences and replace them with Muslim references , it could be in any poor back water Muslim town in any country today .
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anbutassadar
- 14-10-2022
Pronunciation Issues
The story is amazing and the reading is beautiful. However, the reader uses two different pronunciations for one of the main character's names (Lila is pronounced LIE-la and LEE-la interchangeably) which was at first confusing, and later just annoying.
EDIT: The same character has now also, bizarrely, been referred to as Lina and Lilo!?
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Aimee
- 29-10-2015
Recommended
Fantastic book, read for book club. About to download book 2 can't wait to see the progression!!
Only negative was the amount of characters you have to keep up with, who they are related to where they fit etc. Audiobooks definitely arepte challenging in this way. Otherwise fantastic!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jane
- 21-12-2015
More than just about friendship...
Would you consider the audio edition of My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1 to be better than the print version?
I haven't read the print version so can't comment.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed the engaging narrative in the story. Ferrante writes in a way that is easy to listen to .... conversational and engaging. The story line is more than the friendship between the two girls. It views mafia activities in Naples from a child's perspective, and shows how difficult it was to transcend the social environment in which the girls are born. Although a work of fiction, it felt like I was listening to an autobiography.
Have you listened to any of Hillary Huber’s other performances? How does this one compare?
I haven't listened to any of Hillary Huber's other performances, but I thought she was excellent in this book.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The book (and the whole series) was so engaging that I sought every opportunity to listen to it. I was totally captivated, and often found myself reflecting on social issues.
Any additional comments?
This was my book of 2015!!!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cathie grainger
- 07-02-2018
Fantastic
The Ruth Park of Naples Or the Angela’s ashes. Not in a morbid way. A gritty real tale of like.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 15-09-2020
My Brilliant Friend is more than brilliant
This is the best book I’ve ever read (or rather heard). Beautifully written, a truly poetic story.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Golfingnanny
- 10-09-2021
What an amazing book.
What an amazing book. Unfortunately I had to stop listening as the narration was unlistenable. Did I just make up a word? The story of two young girls in a tiny impoverished corner of Naples read by a harsh American voice kept pushing me out of being fully immersed. Why oh why was it not read by someone who’s first language was Italian? It felt like it was being read by an awful American tourist. Imagine if they had used someone with a lovely Italian accent. I’m going to buy the book so that the voice in my head sounds like Monica Belluci. Apologies to the narrator but a big slap to the producer.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ena Markovic
- 02-06-2023
Terrible performance, amazing story
What an absolute crime to do such a poor job on the audio for such an incredible work of literature. I’m speechless. I’ve worked in audiobook production and this is heinous. Not only is the narration affectless and robotic but the pronunciation is terrible and inconsistent. The narrator even gets the name of one of the main characters wrong consistently. The production should be ashamed of themselves. What a lost opportunity. This story deserved so much better.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- SW TUBBS
- 13-04-2019
Adolescence
A good description of adolescent girls in 1950's Naples - but should appeal more to romantics.
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