A smattering of thoughts about one of my most stressful reads of the year. Ferrante's descriptions of the character's mental chaos and recovery are dramatic and ring true. IN Elena Ferrante's tale of one deserted wife's descent into disarray, the narrator's husband of 15 years suddenly announces that he is leaving because he's "confused... having terrible … It took me a while to get past it. The language is much more formal than the average book I read. I am the invulnerable animal who passes through fire and is not burned." Typical of Elena Ferrante....reading one of her books is like eating potato chips. So I was looking forward to the book. It's a heartbreaking story, probably not to be recommended if you are after something lighthearted or frothy, but highly recommended if you want stunning writing and a fascinating and real character study of a broken woman who puts herself back together again. Elena Ferrante is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Mother and housewife Olga, 38, is left by her husband Mario, 40, for a girl they … What happens when a person’s domestic life with spouse and children, their entire personal existence, cracks like a bottle of wine and spills all over the floor? It culminates in the worst day of her life, just reading about it tied my stomach into knotsts.I. Directed by Roberto Faenza. I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss this simply as a novel about an unhinged woman. It isn't just a book about an affair, it's a book about the deepest, darkest feelings a person can have about themselves and other people, and the precautions they must take to save themselves from drowning. With two young children to care for, Olga finds it … It comes across as a day of mental illness, one that had its beginnings in previous days and will have repercussions in days to come, days in which she tamps down the feelings that arise. The Days of Abandonment tells of the disintegration and reintegration were loss remains visual and tangible. Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2015. I feel torn over this book, though thankfully not in the way the main character Olga feels torn (fragmented) during what has to be the worst day of her life. If The Days of Abandonment were a theatrical play instead of a novel, it would have to be performed in one act. I am the wasp that stings. Melissa Broder's risqué new book, The Pisces, is a fantastical tale mixing merman lust with group therapy. Almodovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" + Margaret Atwood's terrific uberfeminist two first published novels + Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story avatar heroine from The Yellow Wallpaper = THIS, a novel with absolutely perfect symbolism that describes the descent of this woman goin' bonkers, with the overflow of emotions which invades her after being left for the "other woman." Complex plotting in the dissolution of a marriage, it's astonishing that she can achieve a sense of grandeur in a subject so common it's almost not even worth noting. How men have it all so differently. There's a problem loading this menu right now. The Days Of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. These are some I have read in the last couple of years, This is as close to perfection a novel told in the first person can achieve. In less than 200. On the day that she discovers the identity of the lover for whom Marco has left - and this takes up probably half of the book - all hell breaks loose: her son vomits in his sleep and has a huge fever and her dog (well Mario's dog) gets sick and dies, probably poisoned. Most people have been on the receiving end of a horrible breakup where they find themselves utterly destroyed and devastated, and Ferrante's descriptions are spot on. "Ties" presents the husband's side. I've read the whole "Brilliant Friend" series, sometimes listening (I do audio) to certain passages over and over again. I've kept seeing Elena Ferrante popping up on Goodreads and Amazon so I was expecting something rather wonderful when I dipped into this standalone novel. In fact, I was so upset about what happened to the dog, it made me dislike the main character greatly. Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2015. It quickly became apparent that I would not be able to enjoy the full impact of the journal without reading "The Days of Abandonment". Olga's life is shattered when her husband abandons her. Incendiary & insightful, Elena Ferrante is one authentic discovery! Yet to call it mental illness (and no one does) is probably inaccurate. To get more detailed, Mario leaves her … It culminates in the worst, " One afternoon, right after lunch, my husband announced that he wanted to leave me". She believes she is no longer beautiful or attractive, has no sexual desirability, should in fact be destroyed. Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2017. To celebrate the book's... A national bestseller for almost an entire year. It is subtle but it is there. Elena Ferrante is a very skilled writer, and 'The Days of Abandonment' doubtlessly a very strong piece of writing. Did anyone else find this book to be a good inte=ro to the Neapolitan Quartet? This novel is a powerful account of the emotional stresses of abandonment. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Welcome back. Nothing like reading another 700 page book from Mitchell or Murakami. I read this right before reading "Ties" by Domenico Starnone, who is said to be Ferrante's husband. It's true that the violent rage that overtakes the protagonist is sometimes hard to take. 5.0 out of 5 stars Most of us Have Been There....Ferrante Captures Her "Days of Abandonment". See 2 questions about The Days of Abandonment…, BOOK: The Days of Abandonment - Elena Ferrante. I totes loved it. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein (Translator) (Europa Editions): A national bestseller for almost an entire year, The Days of Abandonment shocked and captivated its Italian … People everywhere fall apart at being abandoned. The Days of Abandonment is a first-person narrative from the perspective of Olga, a 38-year-old mother of two (Gianni and Illaria), recently left by her husband, Mario. Ferrante writes experimentally, exploring issues women deal with - the loss of love and desirability, the need to dissolve or disappear if they are not young and beautiful, the roles of wife and mother, issues of her own career struggles while also trying to be wife, mother. And so she begins to destroy herself, pull herself and her children down. When I finished Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House two days ago, all I wanted to do as read another book exactly like that one. No, this has nothing to do with the Neapolitan Quartet, as it is a separate story. Anyway, I won't let that soften the blow, because this was torture to listen to. Europa editions, 2005. Not up to the Naples quartet but very good. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. A woman who has been rejected by a man is a thing to be reviled, a creature rejected by the community, a monster who frightens children. Once begun, it is impossible to wrench oneself away from the extraordinary power of a this narrative of a 40-ish woman who navigates Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s four stage of grief (denial, anger, depression and acceptance). Pisces ' has your Bookish Horoscope in to your Goodreads account translation other. 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