Hi there, friends! I (Valerie) picked our 2019 Q3 (July, August, September) book: The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante (Translated by Ann Goldstein).
Here's why I picked it:
I've always been attracted to and simultaneously repulsed by the ugly Neapolitan Quartet; there is something deeply unsettling to me about the aesthetics of the books' covers, but also something appealing and thrilling in the IGAF vibes of deliberately choosing such awful covers.
Anyways, I thought about them quite a lot, for many years (this was made easier by the ongoing drama surrounding the identity of Elena Ferrante; the name is a pseudonym). I finally bought the first book, which confusingly (considering the unpleasantness of the cover) has a very satisfying hand-feel. I stared in down for months. I finally read it; it was slow to get into, but by the end, I was hooked, and thoroughly in awe of the writer (whomever she is). I immediately had to buy and devour the remaining three books. The quartet is now one of my favorite things I have ever read; and while I don't see how she could have ever written anything better, I now am interested in reading her other books.
The Days of Abandonment is a one-off, so it seemed like less of a commitment for our book club (although I maintain that any of the 4 books in the Quartet could actually work as standalones, too). The themes in this shorter book (identity, motherhood, abandonment, ghosts) seem relevant to our interests in the club. And, lastly, we have yet to read a book in translation, so I felt it was about time.
MORE LINKS:
Elena Ferrante, Art of Fiction No. 228 (The Paris Review)
The New York Times book review
Women on the Verge: The fiction of Elena Ferrante (The New Yorker)
Meet the Adorable Italian Stars in HBO’s Elena Ferrante Adaptation, My Brilliant Friend (VOGUE)
Watch the show on HBO: https://play.hbonow.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GW6K_ZQKTARjDwgEAAABA?camp=Search&play=true