Teenager Giovanna - well-brought-up, living in up-market Naples with her adored father and refined mother - overhears a chance remark which leads to the discovery of a ferocious, charismatic Aunt. Under her spell Giovanna begins to question everything, what are her roots and are her parents as perfect as she imagines? Ferrante brilliantly evokes all the agonies of those teenage years, the consciousness of self, the black and white judgments, the fluctuating moods, the discovery of sex.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 99 Winter 2021 ) |
