My Brilliant Friend: The Graphic Novel - (Hardcover)

About the Book

"A graphic novel based on Elena Ferrante's story of friendship that started in the 1950s, on the outskirts of Naples between Lila and Lenáu."--

Book Synopsis

Elena Ferrante's New York Times bestselling masterpiece, My Brilliant Friend, book one of her Neapolitan Quartet, is now an extraordinary, visually vibrant graphic novel, with text adapted by Chiara Lagani, and illustrations by Mara Cerri.

HBO's four-season TV adaptation of My Brilliant Friend has enjoyed success with critics and viewers in the U.S.; the novel has been adapted for the stage and radio plays. Here, for the first time, it is brought to vivid life as a graphic novel by one of Italy's most beloved illustrators.

For Ferrante fans, for those new to Ferrante, for readers of graphic novels, Chiara Lagani's and Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend: the graphic novel is a thrilling new adaptation of one of the best loved novels of recent decades. Translated by Ferrante's long-time translator, Ann Goldstein, the graphic novel tells the enduring story of the complex friendship between Lila and Lenù in post-war Naples.

Review Quotes

★ "Classics often pale in their retelling, but this homage to Ferrante's epic shines with its own light."--Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"This impressive graphic novel adaptation recalibrates the original story line of fraught friendship in post-WWII Italy with sensitive, buoyant drawings and economic yet powerful narration...exquisitely captures Ferrante's story of a passionate and consuming friendship."--Publishers Weekly

"Aunique and evocative tribute to a modern classic."--BookPage

"This adaptation of Elena Ferrante's first volume in the Neapolitan novels is absolutely gorgeous...a must-read for all Ferrante fans."--Book Riot

"Both unique and uniquely devastating, this entry in the Ferrante-verse will almost certainly find an enthused audience."--Annie Bostrom, Booklist

"A muted palette and faded colors evoke a sense of unhappy nostalgia similar to looking at a water-stained photograph...Frequent close-ups of people's faces show subtle but deep emotions during intense moments. My Brilliant Friend is a graphic novel about the ups and downs of a lifelong, life-changing friendship."--Foreword Reviews

"Ferrante's beloved novel has already been adapted to just about every other medium you can think of, so it's not surprising that it has now gotten the graphic novel treatment."--Book Riot

"Atmospheric, smoky, enigmatic, lovely in many ways, the artwork that fleshes out the tale is fascinating and compelling, raising the level of suspense, mystery and peril the girls face."--Eric Boss, Reading the West