Welcome to Litsy!

Hmmmmm I‘m not sure how I feel about this one. In some parts I felt like I needed a shower - gritty story emotionally & physically. MC is hard to connect with, probably because she herself has become disconnected from reality. I get how difficult times could do that to a person, but maybe I don‘t want to read about it??? 🤷🏾‍♀️

A quick but not easy read. It was painful to observe the protagonist‘s unraveling and the one section in the second half really felt like a horror novel, it was so disturbing. A low pick as I‘m glad I read it, but it gives me a shudder to think about.

Bookriot has a great article on the history of Europa Editions, a great read for anyone joining the #EuropaCollective reading starting later this year! https://bookriot.com/europa-editions/

Sometimes going insane is actually a really valid reaction to the shitty way people treat you

I think that I found this one on Listy, so this will be my Sunday read.

This was very good. Maggie Gyllenhaal recommended it in an interview with The Economist. Because obviously I listen to their podcasts. If you have read The Woman Destroyed by Simone, I especially recommend this.

My first Ferrante and it's fair to say I appreciated it more than I enjoyed it. My goodness can she write a bleak interior state! It was deeply uncomfortable, at times painful, to watch Olga go so thoroughly to pieces when her husband leaves her for another woman. Obviously Olga is distressed, but is there also a whiff of a more general assumption, that a woman is nothing without a man's appreciation?
One I'd hesitate to recommend to my daughter.

#3books #thatIhaventreadbutshould
1. I listened to a BBC adaptation of Katherine Mansfield stories, and each story was a delight. I should read all her work!
2. I've never read Foundation , despite sci-fi being a genre I enjoy!
3. I haven't read this book by Ferrante either, I will this year though!

#AboutAugust Day 11: #Abandoned is the theme in this novel which I read 3 years ago while traveling in Europe at the time. As I read it, I thought about the many women friends I love who would appreciate this book‘s honesty. Olga‘s silent rage would remain with me for a long time to come, and one that I‘d probably return to, like a yellowed photograph from another life. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-frt

I had snagged this from @mr.ksgreenville right before staying at home and when I saw it on that LitHub list of contemporary novels under 200 pages, that pushed me into reading it. I'm still reading Ducks, Newburyport and needed something I could finish! Just like Strange Hotel though, there is some overlap in reading two books inside another woman's brain at the same time. ⤵️

#QuotsyJan20 Day 7: #Discontent

This book would make a great giallo movie. I would watch the shit out of it.

The straights are not okay.

I had high hopes for this one. Overall it was just ok. I preferred the My Brillant Friend series, but glad I read this one finally!

#QuotsyJuly19 Day 10: #Courtesy
Visceral, real, filled with rage. This book consumes the reader.

Sorryyyy for posting these so late 🙈🙈🙈! It was a massively busy non-stop day.

Part 4/10 of today‘s home-library tour! ☺️

Do you own, or have you read, any of these?

#MrBooksBooks

Ok

After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, Olga falls to pieces. Feeling the weight of all the emotions she‘s held back over the years, she explodes into violence and madness. And, then, abruptly, she decides she‘s okay and goes on with her life.

Not entirely sure what I just read.

One woman‘s descent into desperation and her world falls apart after being abandoned by her husband. Have not read but the blurb seems to fit the prompt. Definitely #thehoneymoonisover .
#marchintooz @Cinfhen @Lizpixie

Johnny Cash is "helping" me read. It's hard to get in the right frame of mind for this book when you have a cat insistently nuzzling your face. ?

Not sure if it's a good idea to bring this book to work as my break read (as it's bound to be intense) but I've been wanting to read this for so long... #toberead #tbrpile #InTranslation #EuropaEditions #ItalianLiterature

And so I just finished reading this ferocious novel of Ferrante while still on the train from Verona back to Milan. There is a metallic taste in my mouth where Olga bit the key to open the door, I smell the putrid odor of the dead dog, and sense her hysteria when the lines around her life dissolved slowly, her withering away such a stark reality, that I begin to think about the many female friends I love who would appreciate this book's honesty.

Ferrante looks right at home at the Caffé Scala, a sashay away from the Teatro alla Scala, where we will be watching La Boheme on Tuesday evening. My Moroccan coffee was divine.

Because traveling to Milano from Munchen on the midnight bus, it's got to be Ferrante.

I LOVED this book. Olga is unlikeable, pathetic, and hits too close to home by turns. It's beautifully written, and completely sucks you in. It's a quick read, but it'll stick in your head for days afterward.

Latest book club book. A woman is left suddenly by her husband and unravels. Not done, but excellent so far. Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Here are my Goodreads stats for the year. I ended up reading more than my challenge goal, which was 45, so that's great. I think I may go for 75 books next year.

Started strong, then got crazy, weak finish.

Slightly disturbing but well written. I've read the first 3 of the Neapolitan novels (not sure why I keep putting off the fourth) and wanted to try a different Ferrante novel

Wow. This book was so raw and engaging. My heart ached for Olga and I found myself cursing her husband even when I wasn't reading. This is an honest portrayal of a woman going down the rabbit hole of despair, losing herself, and then very slowly pulling herself out. This is not an upbeat book but is definitely worth the emotional investment. Elena Ferrante definitely lives up to the hype. I will be reading the Neopolitan novels very soon.

I know I'm a little late, but here's my #NovemberTBR. Finally going to tackle A Little Life.

I admire very much the ability of the author to describe the psychology of her characters with a sublime variations from obvious predetermined acts to subtle hint from the incounscious mind. This novel, very different from the more famous series of the Neapolitan novels, is solemnly centered on one female character and the most important interactions are with two men completely different one from the other. Loved it.

Was feeling kind of meh about trying Ferrante until someone told me at my writing conference in Sicily that I MUST read Days of Abandonment...and it did not disappoint. Ferrante is a genius. (Picture taken from the top of Erice at the Norman castle ruins, overlooking the Mediterranean in Sicily).

Went to Half Price Books and finally found Elena Ferrante books.

Listening to Elena Ferrante as I wait for my flight to Venice 😍

Unfortunately, I had to take a break from Days...it was relentlessly emotionally intense, and I felt myself spiraling in despair, just like the protagonist.

Although it's well-written and I still want to read Ferrante's Neapolitan series, I'm afraid I had to put this selection down.

I have heard a lot about Ferrante, so I thought I would start with this before tackling her Neapolitan series--dip my toe in the water, so to speak. Excited to start it!

This was my first Ferrante ❤️. Olga is unflinchingly raw and honest in examining her thoughts and emotions as she ricochets through turmoil when her husband leaves her; her sense of abandonment of her sanity and her identity, as she is left to care for her two young children, is brutal. I wouldn't want to endlessly dissect my characters in interviews if I was Ferrante, everything is already said. #translatedbooks - Thanks Ann Goldstein.

Ugh never mind the plot this was like actually being left by your husband. Amazing. One of the greatest most feminist books I've ever read. She's off the chart great.

Leah is channeling her inner Olga, the scorned and angry protagonist from this novel. When Olga's douchebag husband leaves her, she spirals into a viscous and cruel depression. At first it was wearying to read about, but that may've had to do with personal stuff going on with me. A pivotal, MRS. DALLOWAYesque moment allows for the character to assess her multifaceted reality. But even at her worst, Olga is compelling due to Ferrante's raw prose.

"I don't give a shit about prissiness. You wounded me, you are destroying me, and I'm supposed to speak like a good well-brought up wife? Fuck you! What words am I supposed to use for what you've done to me, for what you're doing to me? " I love angry #elenaferrante

I wanted to try Elena Ferrante, but did not want to commit to the Neapolitan novels, so I gave this stand-alone a try. This is a lush description of a woman falling into despair and distraction after her husband leaves her. The writing is raw and urgent, far from the sentimental style I had expected. Perhaps the cover art of her novels gave me the impression that her writing would be drippily uplifting. This is dark and real. Read with caution.

After finishing up the Neapolitan series last fall, it is due time for a little more Elena Ferrante in my life. This one has her (his 😬?) signature style of frank/brutal/vulnerable/ferocious writing and Olga is a character all her own. Enjoying this story so much!

It was different from what I usually read. Good different. Very frustrating at times (mostly all the time), not because of the writing, but because of Olga's way of coping, or lack there of, with her husband's treachery. Mario this and Mario that was getting on my nerves, but I understand. 4.5 🌟s

Another Audible Daily Deal find. This one is about an Italian woman's struggles with her husband's abandonment. Started reading/listening to it today...or yesterday (don't remember anymore). I honestly want to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her and slap her a few times...😔

"The whole future - I thought - will be that way, life lives together with the damp odor of the land of the dead, attention with inattention, passionate leaps of the heart along with abrupt losses of meaning. But it won't be worse than the past."

A fascinating, beautifully written novel... arguably even more raw and intimate than the Neopolitan Novels.