In 1950s Naples, Elena narrates her lifelong friendship and rivalry with the brilliant, volatile Lila, as the two girls claw their way toward an education and a way out of their impoverished, violent neighborhood.
Books mentioned in My Brilliant Friend (8)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: “Meanwhile, however, with the money from Don Achille, she bought a book: Little Women.”
Heart by Edmondo De Amicis: “Lila had received Little Women... and I got the book Heart, by Edmondo De Amicis, with not a word of explanation.”
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome: “Praising me generously, Ferraro gave me Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K.”
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: “Too many bad gallant novels, Lenù, make a Don Quixote; but here in Naples we, with all due respect to Don Quixote, have no need to tilt against windmills.”
Iliad by Homer: “he resembled Hector as he was depicted in the school copy of the Iliad.”
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni: “when I tried to talk to him about The Betrothed, or the marvelous books I still borrowed from Maestro Ferraro's library...”
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: “But meanwhile I saw that under War and Peace, and bearing the label of Maestro Ferraro's library, a tattered volume was sticking out.”
Bruges-la-Morte by Georges Rodenbach: “"Bruges-la-Morte." "Are there ghosts?" "I don't know." "May I come along when you give it to him?"”