Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

The Neapolitan Novels, Book 3

De: Elena Ferrante

Narrado por: Hillary Huber

In the third book in the New York Times bestselling Neapolitan quartet that inspired the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, Elena and Lila have grown into womanhood.

Lila married at sixteen and has a young son; she has left her husband and the comforts her marriage brought and now works as a common laborer. Elena has left the neighborhood, earned her college degree, and published a successful novel, all of which has opened the doors to a world of learned interlocutors and richly furnished salons.

Both women are pushing against the walls of a prison that would have seen them living a life of misery, ignorance, and submission. They are afloat on the great sea of opportunities that opened up for women during the 1970s. And yet, they are still very much bound to each other in a book that “shows off Ferrante’s strong storytelling ability and will leave readers eager for the final volume of the series” (Library Journal).

©2015 Elena Ferrante (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Can't get enough of this series

I'm at work listening, doing assembly work and rushing to turn down the volume anytime someone comes in the room, just in case a racy part starts. There's only men who work here so it already sounds like I'm listening to something elicit, if only because a woman is speaking. How Elena Ferrante delves into sexism and classism rings true here, working in a factory, surrounded by machismo, 40+ years after the time her novel is set.

I cant stop reading these books!

Reading these Neapolitan novels has defined this summer for me and I’m sure I will always remember this summer as the one where I was finally able to read them compulsively and non-stop, starting the next the minute I finished each one. I had to know what happened and how it ended and what she thought and how their friendship fared….and then I had to go back and read them in paper more slowly to think about each thing that happened and what it meant. I can’t recommend these wonderful authentic books more highly despite not really loving the narrator’s flat voice.

Not my favorite in the series but still a necessary part of the story.

A little too political at times but I realize it was a necessary evil. Elena Greco needed depth and her often-changing political views provided that depth.

Not the best one

The first one so far has been the best. THe performance is excellent. The last one (according to the NY times) is amazing... so on to the next!

The narrator spoiled these audiobooks for me

I first took interest in Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels because my grandfather, whom I did not know, was born in Naples. When I heard that they were wonderful, I purchased the first audiobook right away, and I loved it. The books are written very artfully. Ferrante cleverly mixes contemporaneous narrative and historical reflection. However, I was puzzled why I found listening to the books progressively more painful. Everything about the character Elena's story was compelling. However, I was finding her unlikeable, and more so as the books progressed. Then, I realized that it was the narrator. When discussing the books with someone who read them, our takes on the character were different, and I believe this was due to the narration. There are many audiobooks in which the narrator enrichens the experience. Unfortunately, this was not the case with the Neapolitan novels, at least for me. I need a break before finishing the series.

Hooked on the series

The story of Elena and Lila is addictive. This volume focuses more on Elena and her marriage, and her struggle to find a voice as a woman apart from men -- something she resolutely fails to do despite her emerging feminist longings. Lila's life in the violent world of working-class Naples provides a physical counterpoint to the emotional resistance in the world of Elena. Captivating. Don't start listening unless you have the hours to devote to it.

Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber did a marvelous job narrating these novels. Her voice and beautiful accent made the books even more charming.

Incomparable

A must-read. I cannot emphasize enough how human, how perceptive, how present this work is. The performance is masterful.

Review of Elena Ferrante; Those Who Leave

Loved this book series. Narrator performed well. easy to follow.
cant wait to hear the next one.

Solid read

The first (especially second) book, just amazing. This third book is fantastic but heavy most of the way through, perhaps making it feel a tad slow. BUT still impossible to put down somehow.
So now I’m looking forward to, and about start on the fourth book. Which probably is just as heavy. But you just grow to love these characters and now I just crave to know how it all ends up!!!