500 Great Books By Women discussion

The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante, translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein, 2002, Italy, NOVEL

"What happens when a person’s domestic life with spouse and children, their entire personal existence, cracks like a bottle of wine and spills all over the floor?
The Days of Abandonment happens...."

(Fionnuala, review)

Review Medley
Cheryl
Kallie
Claire

Hi, Aubrey,

Submitting my review of The Days of Abandonment: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Cheryl wrote: "Hi, Aubrey,

Submitting my review of The Days of Abandonment: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Hi Cheryl. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews. And so many at once!

Thanks for this thread--a book I hadn't heard of that I must now thanks to great reviews.

Hi Aubrey, thanks for the discussion of this book. I'm sorry, but I couldn't figure out how to link to my review, so here it is: "This is a disturbing book, and my second read. Ferrante writes in such detail about loss. After her husband abandons the family, Olga disintegrates. She forgets how to do simple yet crucial things for herself, her children. Pull yourself together! the reader may urge. But then one doesn't fail to notice how things going wrong in one's own life -- forgetting or losing something important for example -- can trigger emotions of disintegrating force. There are references to Proust, and the Proustian detail also reminds me of Lydia Davis but Davis is more cerebral and less visceral and writing about thought rather than feeling."

I look forward to more discussion. I haven't cried while reading a book for a very long time, and Ferrante evokes that without sentiment. Reading her caused me to realize how I function: in a veneer of rationality.

Kallie wrote: "Hi Aubrey, thanks for the discussion of this book. I'm sorry, but I couldn't figure out how to link to my review, so here it is: "This is a disturbing book, and my second read. Ferrante writes in s..."

Hi Kallie. Thanks for your review. I can't link to it directly because your profile is private, but I can link to your comment that contains it. You should now see it above.

My review here:

The Days of Abandonment

Claire wrote: "My review here:

The Days of Abandonment"

Thanks for all your wonderful reviews, Claire. I'm in the midst of processing them, but they should all be incorporated by the end of today.