Yo, Lila – sisters before misters.
3/5 I enjoyed the second installment more than the first. I’ll be reading on, hoping that Elena’s EQ begins to match her IQ.
Yo, Lila – sisters before misters.
3/5 I enjoyed the second installment more than the first. I’ll be reading on, hoping that Elena’s EQ begins to match her IQ.
I’m recalling that high IQ and low EQ are part and parcel of the make up of both women…that said, I do recommend reading the second half of the quartet of Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. I personally felt that taking the entire journey, though long and laborious at times, was rewarding for this reader of literary fiction.
Interesting David because I think that while both girls have IQs, Lila also has a high EQ – I feel like all of her actions are deliberate, extremely manipulative and carefully thought through. I don’t buy her ‘impulsiveness’ for one second. So while she may not have appealing personality traits, I do think she is emotionally-savvy. Perhaps though, book three will show that I’ve judged her too hastily?
Kate…someone with a high EQ level is normally in tune with the emotions of others and, like Lila, can manipulate with ease. But, that same person, with a refined EQ, is usually cognizant of their own emotions as well, and I’m not so sure Lila fit the bill in this respect. But, I could have misunderstood the emotional intelligence, the complexity, of this extraordinary, autistic savant-like, character.
Keep reading.
I think we’re saying the same thing about EQ except that you see Lila as not in control of her own emotions whereas I think she is. Maybe as the story progresses I will see Lila differently but so far, I think everything she has said and done has been highly manipulative, deliberate and she’s been in full control. It may not be ‘nice’ or ‘caring’ but still fits the EQ definition.
I have looked at this story very much from the perspective of my own experiences – most women know a woman like Lila. They’re also known as ‘frenemies’. I knew girls like this at school – they never changed into someone who was kind at heart as they grew older. May Lila surprise me…
I went out on a limb and bought the whole quartet for my mum for Christmas (with the added bonus that I can read them too). I’ve never read them so I don’t know if that was a good idea or not, but she loves anything and everything set in Italy, so fingers crossed it turns out to be a winner.
I bought the first three after I read Ferrante’s stand-alone novel, The Lost Daughter, and really enjoyed it. Had I only had the first one, I probably would not have forged on to the second, except that it was already on the shelf. All that said, if your mum likes all things Italy, then I think she’ll love these books – the sense of place and time is very well done and certainly one of the strengths in Ferrante’s stories.
Good to hear this is better than the first, which I liked but didn’t love. I have a copy on the TBR tower and its -3 here this morning so I may try for some Neapolitan literary sunshine soon!
This instalment was more structured than the first – I found the first book fluffed along whereas this one had a single, main plot line.
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