History of the new surname: Youth - by Elena Ferrante

The story's guiding threads, the irresistible attraction and the influence that Lila exerts on the narrator Lenu, give shape to experiences lived with other characters. Elena Ferrante, pseudonym of the renowned Italian writer of The Genius Friend, will launch the second volume in Brazil, through Biblioteca Azul. of the Neapolitan tetralogy. Recently nominated for the Man Booker Prize 2016 for Story of the Lost Child, the last book in the series, the author, firm in her decision not to reveal her real identity, became a worldwide literary phenomenon after the publication, in 2011, of the first of four novels that form the saga set in post-war Naples. Bestsellers in the United States and Europe, Ferrante's works tell the story of the strong bond between friends Elena Greco, narrator of the story, and Rafaella Cerullo, better known as Lila , covering all phases of the lives of the two, born and raised in the suburbs of Naples, in the 1950s. After Lila's sudden disappearance, at the age of 66, Lenu reviews her friend's life, exploring its echoes in her own existence. Engaging and with the usual impeccable cadence, the narrative of History of the new surname gives space for deep reflections on subjectivity, sexuality, love and, above all, the role imposed on young women in the middle of the 20th century ― a counterpoint constructed between the two central characters, grappling with restricted possibilities of choice, but at the same time surprised by discoveries about their own capabilities and limits. Lila, whose studies were interrupted due to family issues – she had to work with her father and brother very early on, and got married early. Lenu, in turn, manages to free herself from the certain destiny of the girls of the time and does not get married, but begins to prepare for college, taking with her the definitive marks of her complex friendship with Lila – admiration mixed with identification.The characters they gain space in the story, not only in the daily events reported by Lenu, but also in the narrator's subjective comments. Lenu, without sparing the reader anything, reveals scenes of marriage, adultery, supposed and real betrayals within a friendship, but also the small moments in which she seems to come to terms with herself.