The Lying Life of Adults: A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER - Softcover

Ferrante, Elena

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1787703126 ISBN 13: 9781787703124

Publisher: Europa Editions, 2021

Synopsis

“AN INCENDIARY PORTRAIT OF THE VOLCANIC CURRENTS OF SEX AND BETRAYAL.”―Mail on Sunday

THE INTERNATIONAL No. 1 BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF MY BRILLIANT FRIEND

A BBC2 Between The Covers Book Club Pick

BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 – SHORTLISTED FOR FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

Soon to be a NETFLIX original series

18M OF ELENA FERRANTE'S BOOKS SLOD WORLDWIDE

Giovanna’s pretty face has changed: it’s turning into the face of an ugly, spiteful adolescent. But is she seeing things as they really are? Where must she look to find her true reflection and a life she can claim as her own?

Giovanna’s search leads her to two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: the Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and the Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity. Adrift, she vacillates between these two cities, falling into one then climbing back to the other.

Set in a divided Naples, The Lying Life of Adults is a singular portrayal of the transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

“This is no amiable coming-of-age tale… the most intense writing about the experiences and interior life of a girl on the cusp of adulthood that I have ever read. It is brilliant.”―The Financial Times

“An astonishing, deeply moving tale.”―The Guardian  

“Ferrante confronts female sexual awakening with such an absence of romantic enchantment it leaves you gasping.”―The Daily Mail

 

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING:

“Brilliant as always.”―Jan on Amazon

“A tightly crafted and gripping story.”―Maxwell on Goodreads

“Excellent book. My only complaint was that it ended too soon!”―Mhairi on Amazon

“I woke up eagerly looking forward to reading more of this novel every single day.”―Violet on Goodreads

“Fans of Elena Ferrante will not be disappointed.”―Lesley on Amazon

About this title

About the Authors

Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), and the four novels known as the Neapolitan Quartet (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) which were published by Europa Editions between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. Ferrante is also the author of Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey (Europa, 2016), a children’s picture book illustrated by Mara Cerri, The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016), and a collection of personal essays illustrated by Andrea Ucini entitled Incidental Inventions (Europa, 2019). The Lost Daughter was made into a feature film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman. Her most recent novel is The Lying Life of Adults (Europa, 2020). In the Margins, a collection of original essays on reading and writing, was published by Europa in 2022. 

Ann Goldstein is one of the most accomplished translators from the Italian working today. Best known for her translations of Elena Ferrante’s oeuvre, she has also brought to Anglo-Saxon readers novels by Primo Levi, Pierpaolo Pasolini, Alessandro Baricco and other classic and contemporary Italian writers.

From the Back Cover

Soon to be a NETFLIX original series

Giovanna’s pretty face has changed: it’s turning into the face of an ugly, spiteful adolescent. But is she seeing things as they really are? Where must she look to find her true reflection and a life she can claim as her own?

Giovanna’s search leads her to two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: the Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and the Naples of the depths, a place of excess and vulgarity. Adrift, she vacillates between these two cities, falling into one then climbing back to the other.

Set in a divided Naples, The Lying Life of Adults is a singular portrayal of the transition from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.

Edition details

• Publisher: Europa Editions
• Publication date: 2021
• ISBN 10: 1787703126
• ISBN 13: 9781787703124
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336