Book Review: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay covers "Middle Time" in our saga. I've never used the word "monumental" in a review, but it's certainly coming to mind now. The third book in a tetralogy (another word I've never used) serves a certain purpose and this book delivered. Many doors were opened, few doors were closed. The final 33 pages were an effort to cause me a nervous breakdown and ended on a cliffhanger (not literally). I felt I was watching a film and yelling "Don't go into the basement!" How to deal with intelligent people doing stupid things? The characters begin to take on a life of their own, the unexpected occurs regularly, and just how Italian these books are finally struck me. Of course, there's a certain universality because of Ferrante's microscopic observations and precise descriptions, but Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay is also very, very Italian, culturally unique. Here the educated Elena finally discovers feminism (a subtext in the previous books): "The solitude of women's minds is regrettable." She begins to form her own thoughts and beliefs on issues confronting women. But it's not enough. After making a new (male) friend, Elena's husband says: "Finally a person it's worthwhile spending time with." Heartbreaking. Despite how good it is, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay is a conduit, a bridge from the first two volumes to the last. As that it works well -- now I can't wait to read The Story of the Lost Child. [4½★]
Fabulous! The importance of Italy and Naples also really hit home to me in this book and Book 4 (this sounds dumb, but it wasn't until these installments that I suddenly realized...oh, the Solara brothers are like...the Mafia, lol...the Camorra, I suppose, since we are in Naples! there's a Godfather aspect to these books that is so much more interesting than the actual Godfather). I also enjoyed the exploration of the political and ideological upheaval that hit Europe in the '60s (which I think those of us in the US don't know as much about because we were caught up in our own Civil Rights movement and Vietnam protests, etc.) Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the last book.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's so great how the books build upon each other, how earlier events evolve into later actions. Thanks for stopping by!
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