My Brilliant Friend
Italian novelist, born 1943.
My Brilliant Friend is a 2011 novel by Elena Ferrante, translated from Italian.
On 4 of the 11 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Elena Ferrante
- First published
- 2011
- Length
- 336 pages (UK paperback)
- Original language
- Translated from Italian
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Coming of age, Feminist, Class and society
- Series
- Book 1 of The Neapolitan Novels
Is My Brilliant Friend worth reading?
4 of the 11 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times) and The 100 best books of the 21st century (The Guardian).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| The 100 best books of the 21st century (The Guardian, 2019) | No. 11 | See the list |
| The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024) | No. 1 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 51 | See the list |
| Waterstones Book of the Year (winners and shortlists) (Waterstones, 2012-) | Shortlist | See the list |
Best edition of My Brilliant Friend
The edition we link to is the Europa Editions paperback (2018), 336 pages, translated by Ann Goldstein.
- Publisher
- Europa Editions (paperback, 2018)
- Pages
- 336
- Translator
- Ann Goldstein
- ISBN
- 9781787701748
How critics, prizes and readers rate My Brilliant Friend
Critics rate it most highly: it earned 82% of the points available on critics' lists, against 14% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 0% on prize lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like My Brilliant Friend
If you liked My Brilliant Friend, try The Story of the Lost Child, Middlesex or A Prayer for Owen Meany.
