75 pages • 2 hours read
The Story of a New Name
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Story of a New Name is the sequel to My Brilliant Friend, the first book in Italian writer Elena Ferrante’s world-acclaimed quartet of Neapolitan novels. The second book in the quartet continues to document the friendship between Elena Greco and Lila Cerullo and opens in 1966 when first-person narrator Elena, burdened by the contents of the notebooks that Lila has entrusted to her, throws all of them into the river Arno in Pisa (where Elena is studying).
Elena narrates the events that immediately follow the ending of My Brilliant Friend. Lila, who has just married Stefano Carracci, discovers that her new husband has betrayed her trust by giving the shoes she made for him to a man she loathes, Marcello Solara. From that moment, Lila feels contempt for her husband and does everything in her power to repulse his sexual advances and humiliate him. Stefano responds with a mixture of cajoling words and beatings, eager to assert his authority over her.
Elena meanwhile, continues her studies, which she struggles with in the aftermath of Lila’s wedding. Elena’s crush on the handsome, intellectual, and seemingly inaccessible Nino Sarratore first sabotages and then wrecks her romantic relationship with another neighborhood boy, Unlock all 75 pages of this Study Guide Plus, gain access to 8,900+ more expert-written Study Guides. Including features:
Related Titles
By Elena Ferrante
