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  • My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1

  • By: Elena Ferrante
  • Narrated by: Hillary Huber
  • Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (397 ratings)

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My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1 cover art

My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1

By: Elena Ferrante
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
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Publisher's Summary

The story of Elena and Lila begins in a poor but vibrant neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples. The two girls learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else, sometimes to their own detriment, as each discovers more about who she is and suffers or delights in the throes of their intense friendship.

There is a piercing honesty about Ferrante’s prose that makes My Brilliant Friend a compulsively readable portrait of two young women, and also the story of a neighbourhood, a city and a country.

©2011 Edizioni E/O (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Gutsy and compulsively readable ... One of the more nuanced portraits of feminine friendship in recent memory.... Ferrante wisely balances her memoir-like emotional authenticity with a wry sociological understanding of a society on the verge of dramatic change." ( Vogue)
"Elena Ferrante will blow you away." (Alice Sebold)

What listeners say about My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1

Average Customer Ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narration is awful!

This story seemed interesting but I had to swap it straight away because of the voice! I do not want to listen to an American accent when I want to listen to a European novel! Anything other than USA American would suffice. Horrible!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Narrator couldn't get main character's name right

Firstly, the reason I wrote this review is because I hated the narration. Truly awful. She could not even consistently say the main character's name right. On many occasions she pronounced Lila (in Italian this is pronounced Leela) as Lyla and sometimes it sounded like Lina. Was very distracting. Was also very wooden reading.
I didn't particularly like the book either but that is my problem as I know a lot of excellent people who loved it.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What an amazing book.

What an amazing book. Unfortunately I had to stop listening as the narration was unlistenable. Did I just make up a word? The story of two young girls in a tiny impoverished corner of Naples read by a harsh American voice kept pushing me out of being fully immersed. Why oh why was it not read by someone who’s first language was Italian? It felt like it was being read by an awful American tourist. Imagine if they had used someone with a lovely Italian accent. I’m going to buy the book so that the voice in my head sounds like Monica Belluci. Apologies to the narrator but a big slap to the producer.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

More than just about friendship...

Would you consider the audio edition of My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1 to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version so can't comment.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the engaging narrative in the story. Ferrante writes in a way that is easy to listen to .... conversational and engaging. The story line is more than the friendship between the two girls. It views mafia activities in Naples from a child's perspective, and shows how difficult it was to transcend the social environment in which the girls are born. Although a work of fiction, it felt like I was listening to an autobiography.

Have you listened to any of Hillary Huber’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any of Hillary Huber's other performances, but I thought she was excellent in this book.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book (and the whole series) was so engaging that I sought every opportunity to listen to it. I was totally captivated, and often found myself reflecting on social issues.

Any additional comments?

This was my book of 2015!!!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Recommended

Fantastic book, read for book club. About to download book 2 can't wait to see the progression!!

Only negative was the amount of characters you have to keep up with, who they are related to where they fit etc. Audiobooks definitely arepte challenging in this way. Otherwise fantastic!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Laborious read.

Struggled to finish. Too many names of insignificant characters mentioned. The narrator often sounded bored.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing

Narrator switching pronunciations of the main character, plus toxic characters and an unresolved ending. I stuck with it but wow I wish I had chosen a different book!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrible performance, amazing story

What an absolute crime to do such a poor job on the audio for such an incredible work of literature. I’m speechless. I’ve worked in audiobook production and this is heinous. Not only is the narration affectless and robotic but the pronunciation is terrible and inconsistent. The narrator even gets the name of one of the main characters wrong consistently. The production should be ashamed of themselves. What a lost opportunity. This story deserved so much better.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Did I miss something?

Feel as though I missed something here from this international “bestseller”.
Maybe it was the performance that made the story less captivating, the unenthusiastic narration really didn’t do much to grab you and suck you in to the story.
Both unlikeable main characters who I hoped would at least have depth, but I didn’t really feel that.
Most enjoyable aspects were the images painted of a simple time in a beautiful part of the world. But not enough of that either sadly.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An interesting Tale

If you could sum up My Brilliant Friend: The Neapolitan Novels, Book 1 in three words, what would they be?

The opening line of this book keeps you going to read all three. This book is a little slow but keep with it as books 2&# are worth it

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