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4.0 

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

By Elena Ferrante & Ann Goldstein
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante & Ann Goldstein digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

Part of the bestselling saga about childhood friends following different paths by “one of the great novelists of our time” (The New York Times).
 
In the third book in the New York Times–bestselling Neapolitan quartet that inspired the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, Elena and Lila have grown into womanhood. Lila married at sixteen and has a young son; she has left her husband and the comforts her marriage brought and now works as a common laborer. Elena has left the neighborhood, earned her college degree, and published a successful novel, all of which has opened the doors to a world of learned interlocutors and richly furnished salons. Both women are pushing against the walls of a prison that would have seen them living a life of misery, ignorance, and submission. They are afloat on the great sea of opportunities that opened up for women during the 1970s. And yet, they are still very much bound to each other in a book that “shows off Ferrante’s strong storytelling ability and will leave readers eager for the final volume of the series” (Library Journal).
 
“One of modern fiction’s richest portraits of a friendship.” —NPR

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3208 Reviews

4.0
Thinking Face“girl so confusing reloaded i think this may be me favorite out of the whole series so far? the historical backdrop of this installment puts extra pressure on the strained relationship between elena and lila. despite being politically aligned, the girls are pushed further and further apart. while expected, the push and pull between the girls brings a relatable element to the story. out of all the plot lines lila’s arc with the factory and elena’s relationship really stood out to me, with the latter pushing me to finish the book in a few days. was considering taking a break from the series but will probably jump into book four asap.”

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