Naples and the Elena Ferrante novels

[Pauline]

The books have stayed with me and I think about them frequently. We will be in Naples for a few nights in May, so I will see if I can find some of the areas she writes about. Once I get organized, I will post my notes here. When I was reading the books, on my Kindle, I highlighted sections where she talked about locations.

 

[Valerie]

Just read this interview with Elena Ferrante, which is interesting. She's as complex as the characters she writes.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/1f019b5c-9d18-11e5-b45d-4812f209f861.html

 

[Colleen]

http://www.npr.org/2016/02/20/46738...rante-novels-says-her-job-is-to-be-an-enabler

I was given book 1 but haven't started it yet.
Readers may appreciate this interview with the books' translator.

 

[Valerie]

The area of Naples from the Ferrante books is not an area you want to go walking around as a tourist! I drove through it once with a local who said it was not a good neighborhood (not that he needed to say it, as it was clear enough from the ambiance!)

 

[Pauline]

The area of Naples from the Ferrante books is not an area you want to go walking around as a tourist! I drove through it once with a local who said it was not a good neighborhood (not that he needed to say it, as it was clear enough from the ambiance!)

How about the piazza where they had the shoe store - I can go there at least? Thanks for the advice - I won't bother seeking out her neighborhood. Maybe instead we will go to the Archaeological Museum.

 

[Pauline]

Well, someone is doing Ferrante tours!

http://www.feastonhistory.com/naples-tour-elena-ferrante/

 

[Pauline]

And now we know who the author is: Italian journalist Claudio Gatti, reveals that she is not a Neapolitan from the neighborhoods she writes about, but Anita Raja, the daughter of a German-born teacher who lived only her earliest years in Naples.

The Guardian - The unmasking of Elena Ferrante has violated my right not to know, by Deborah Orr, 3 Oct 2016
What was it about Ferrante’s anonymity that so irked Italian journalist Claudio Gatti? Did he simply fail to understand that men crave public acknowledgement more than women do?

The Guardian - Who cares who Elena Ferrante really is? She owes us nothing, by Suzanne Moore, 3 Oct 2016

I like the conclusion of this article: "One truth remains: if you want to know who Elena Ferrante is, there is a very simple way to find out. Read her books."

 

[Chris]

I've been grumbling to myself all morning after reading an article in the New York Times about this (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/books/who-is-elena-ferrante-supporters-say-noyb.html). I'm not sure why, but it really bugs me that he worked so hard to out her instead of just respecting her wishes.

 

[Pauline]

Those books were so good. Frequently I read novels, love them - then forget them. Not those Naples novels. I think of them often and remember the story.

 

[Chris]

I haven't finished them yet. I stopped halfway through #3, not because I didn't like it, but I just needed a break after reading the first two and a half straight through. I will go back to finish one of these days.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I thought I'd posted a reply yesterday but now realized I wasn't logged in as a new computer. Must have floated off into the ether somewhere.
Anyway, I'm totally disgusted by this outing. A so called Italian journalist with nothing better to do than out a woman who has made it clear that she needs her privacy in order to work. Another clear example of "no" meaning "yes" to some men.

As a fan, I certainly don't believe I had a right to know her identity. What hubris to assume such a thing.
And I don't care if she "lied" about her background. She has said that she would take liberties with the truth. Why not? She wanted her privacy and was besieged with requests about her identity so she made up a story. I think this is very different from writing as say a woman of color, claiming your that person and then revealing your self to be a white male . I think Gatti makes this argument in support of his defenceless position.

I heard him on our public radio broadcaster show "As it Happens" He basically blames Ferrara saying more or less she deserved to be outed.

 

[Pauline]

I thought I'd posted a reply yesterday but now realized I wasn't logged in as a new computer. Must have floated off into the ether somewhere.

I received it as an email and forgot to email you about it!

 

[Karen Frerichs]

And today there is this:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/o..._th_20161006&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=50551017

from the NYTimes.

 

[Pauline]

I loved the ending of that article: "Ms. Ferrante’s identity may have been an open secret, but it was our secret, just as Ms. Ferrante and her wonderfully successful books were ours. There are many things we Italians hide from the world, some far less innocent than a writer’s real name. Why let those starry-eyed foreigners in on this one?"