Our prize book in September’s “What’s Your Book Group Reading This Month?” contest is MY BRILLIANT FRIEND, the first book in acclaimed Italian author Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan series. It’s the story of Elena and Lila, two girls growing up on the tough streets of Naples in the 1950s, who learn to rely on each other ahead of anyone or anything else. As they grow, and as their paths repeatedly diverge and converge, Elena and Lila remain best friends whose respective destinies are reflected and refracted in the other. The series has gained quite a following since MY BRILLIANT FRIEND pubbed in 2011, partly because of Ferrante’s masterful and honest depiction of female friendship, and partly because the mystery of the author’s identity persists! As usual, we’re giving three groups the chance to win 12 copies of the book; click here to enter and let us know what your group is reading this month for your chance to win. The deadline for entries is Wednesday, October 7th at noon ET. You can also click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com. By the way, the fourth and final book in this series, THE STORY OF THE LOST CHILD, was just published, bringing what we are calling “Ferrante Fever” to an all-time high. The books have been quite a hit in our office. You can read our review here.
