My Brilliant Friend - Book Summary

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My Brilliant Friend takes place in Naples, Italy, in the 1950’s and is the first of a series of four novels called The Neopolitan Quartet, written by the Italian author, Elena Ferrante. All four tell the story of a long and complicated friendship between two women. The novel can be classified as both a bildungsroman (a coming-of-age novel) and kunstlerroman (a development-of-the-artist novel). It both describes Elena Greco’s journey into adulthood and establishes her identity as a writer. Additionally, the book contains strong feminist elements as it explores the ways in which Elena and her friend Lila Cerullo's experiences are shaped by their gender.

As the novel opens, Elena learns that her longtime friend Lila has vanished without a trace. This strange turn of events prompts Elena to write the history of her friendship with Lila, beginning with their childhood in Naples, Italy.

Elena and Lila meet in grade school. They live near each other in a rough and tumble, working-class neighborhood where violent feuds are common. The lives of many families intersect through shared stories and secrets. Lila is precocious, intelligent, and courageous, and attracts the attention of the more mild-mannered Elena.

For example, when the girls are around eight years old, Lila throws Elena's doll into Don Achille's cellar. Don Achille is a feared man in the neighborhood. Elena responds by throwing Lila's doll in as well. The two girls enter the cellar, but cannot retrieve them. Lila eventually persuades Elena to go to Don Achille's apartment and ask for the dolls back, convinced that he has taken them. Elena finds this prospect terrifying, but follows Lila, exemplifying the reluctant trust she has for her friend. Lila fearlessly accuses Don Achille of having stolen the dolls, and he gives the two girls money to buy new ones.

Elena is profoundly shaped by the events the girls witness growing up in their neighborhood. They observe the affair between Donato Sarratore and the mentally unstable widow Melina Cappuccio, for example, and the murder of Don Achille Carracci.

The girls’ teachers recognize their intellectual talents early on. At the end of the fifth grade, the teachers recommend that both girls take the exam that would qualify them to continue their studies. Elena's parents are uncertain, but reluctantly agree to pay for the private lessons that will help Elena prepare for the exam. Lila's parents, however, refuse, despite the objections of Lila’s brother Rino. Lila is sent instead to complete some courses targeted to a more technical education.

As Elena continues her studies in middle school, the girls’ friendship changes. Lila becomes more reserved and cultivates a close friendship with Carmela, another neighborhood girl. Elena struggles both with the transition to middle school and the experience of puberty.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood revitalizes and local businesses thrive. The Solara family, especially, prospers, as they expand their bar into a pastry shop and do very good business. The two sons of the Solara family, Marcello and Michele, attract a lot of attention in the neighborhood due to their good looks, wealth, and arrogance.

Lila, meanwhile, observes these changes and makes a plan of her own. Her father owns a shoe repair shop, but Lila dreams that the family will one day design, manufacture, and sell their own shoes. Secretly, she and her brother Rino begin to design and make a sample pair of men's dress shoes.

Lila and Elena remain close, although their friendship is marked by ambivalence. They are competitive with one another. Elena is very committed to her studies and typically performs well academically, but she fears she will never possess Lila’s sharp mind and charisma. Lila maintains her own intellectual accomplishments and is increasingly attractive to men of all ages, both in and beyond the neighborhood.

On New Year's Eve 1958, when the girls are fourteen years old, they attend a party at the home of Stefano Carracci. Stefano is the son of Don Carracci, who was murdered years before. The event marks a shift in Carraci’s social acceptance as he invites many families, including the children of the man accused of the murder. The party is initially pleasant but is disrupted by a firework competition. The Solara brothers become aggressive and the event escalates into gunfire. As Elena will find out later, during the party Lila also experiences a strange trance-like state in which she loses her sense of perspective and time.

A few days later, during the traditional gift-giving holiday, Rino, Lila’s brother, presents the shoes that he and Lila have been working on, to their father. Rino has not asked for Lila’s permission. Their father is very angry. After the quarrel, Lila appears to lose all interest in her plans for the future and becomes focused only on domestic life.