Nonfiction Review: Incidental Inventions is a book I was certain to read because I must devour everything Elena Ferrante writes. Had to read even though this wasn't fiction but a series of short essays on a variety of prompts suggested by the editors of the Guardian. Wonderfully, they're written by the same voice that wrote the fiction. The essays mostly fall into two categories: glimpses of her life that often show parallels to the novels, and her thoughts on a host of significant contemporary issues. Included in the latter is her consistent dedication to daily and practical feminism. Despite her protestations as to the necessity of anonymity to her writing, for those interested these columns provide a great deal of biography and many hints as to where the books originated. Some of these brief rambles fill out ideas from the stories and readers who subscribe to the cult of personality will find many insights into the person who wrote the novels. There are numerous references to childhood, family, and her own life story. All enriched by the illustrations. There are also purely personal confessions. In Incidental Inventions we learn that Ferrante suffers from insomnia, is afraid of snakes, has trouble digesting pizza, that she was once a heavy smoker, that as a child she "was a big liar." All of which (except the last) completely irrelevant to our reading of her books. Incidental Inventions also contains her illuminating perceptions and understanding of a variety of matters important to conversations in today's world. These subjects are subtly expressed in the novels and elaborated on and enunciated in Frantumaglia. Even in these brief essays she's always discerning, enlightening. There is much to treasure seeing her mind at work. She lives life consciously, analytically. These essays appealed to me more than the personal information as I love to see her mind work. I respect Ferrante's position that we only need to know the author through her creations, which is why when she's spilling about her own life it seems contradictory. I don't need to know those things. What does interest me is when she's expressing her opinions. I enjoy seeing a strong, intelligent mind at work, with enough common sense to bring it all down to earth. Her many comments here on literature and writing constitute a graduate seminar on the subject: "All literature, great or small, is ... contemporary." I may not always agree (my exclamation points are not as phallic as hers), but I relish and value what she has to say. The Italian view of things is all too rare in the world. I only wish an American newspaper was cool enough to publish her column as the Guardian was,. I also wonder just how much controversy these columns stirred up with her thoughts on affirmative action and the (mostly hetero) relationship between the sexes. She notes that she refuses to speak badly of other women, even those she dislikes, because she knows the trials all women endure. There was no mention in Incidental Inventions of her outing by an Italian journalist or whether she'd publish again. After the outing and given her feelings about anonymity I was afraid that she might not write again, but I've just learned that The Lying Life of Adults will be released in English in June of 2020 (the Italian edition was published in November 2019). Until then, in this short book there is a seemingly limitless wealth of epigrams to spur and provoke. And for someone who has spent many pages with Elena Ferrante, even the personal information in Incidental Inventions was as enjoyable as news from an old friend. [3½★]
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