Prolhaný život dospělých – Ferrante Elena (2020)

"Two years before my father left home, he told my mother that I was terribly ugly," begins the story of Giovanna, the teenage protagonist of Elena Ferrante's new novel. The world-renowned author of the Neapolitan quartet returns with another captivating tale of the journey from childhood to adulthood. Giovanna, who undergoes a significant transformation during her adolescence, recalls the devastating impact of her father's words that she overheard at the age of twelve. She begins to perceive her parents, educated teachers moving in intellectual circles, seemingly invincible and loving, in a different light. When she asks why she has never met her father's family, she encounters lies, pretense, and tangled relationships. A key figure in her alienation becomes Aunt Vittoria, who lives in a working-class neighborhood that her father once "cut off." Ferrante remains true to Naples in this novel as well, this time depicting Naples in the 1990s. Giovanna is torn between the dual faces of the city – the wealthy, masked in sophistication, and the poor, wild, and vulgar. The Italian edition of The Lying Life of Adults caused a sensation at home. The book is being released in 25 countries, and Netflix and the Italian production company Fandango are preparing a series based on it.