The protagonist in The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante (transl. from the Italian by Ann Goldstein) is Giovanna, an adolescent girl filled with hate and confusion about her parents and the consequences of puberty, who becomes obsessed with her father’s estranged sister, Vittoria, after overhearing her father say to her mother, regarding Giovanna’s temperament of late, “adolescence has nothing to do with it; she’s getting the face of Vittoria.” Giovanna construes this as a declaration that she is ugly and becomes determined to meet and learn about Aunt Vittoria as part of her larger quest to know herself. Vittorio is strong-willed and vengeful. She regards Giovanna’s father with contempt and urges Giovanna to do the same. The plot is complex and involves a number of flawed supporting characters that the author paints well. As the story unfolds, it seems that the adults have been lying after all, all of them, and the protagonist does some lying herself, but life is complicated. It’s a remarkable book. NPR calls it “slinky and scowling as a Neapolitan cat.” Here’s what The Guardian says:
