The Days of Abandonment
Ratings25
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings25
Average rating4.1
From the New York Times–bestselling author of My Brilliant Friend, this novel of a deserted wife’s descent into despair—and rage—is “a masterpiece” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). The Days of Abandonment is the gripping story of an Italian woman’s experiences after being suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage. With two young children to care for, Olga finds it more and more difficult to do the things she used to: keep a spotless house, cook meals with creativity and passion, refrain from using obscenities. After running into her husband with his much-younger new lover in public, she cannot even refrain from assaulting him physically. In a “raging, torrential voice” (The New York Times), Olga conveys her journey from denial to devastating emptiness—and when she finds herself literally trapped within the four walls of their high-rise apartment, she is forced to confront her ghosts, the potential loss of her own identity, and the possibility that life may never return to normal. “Intelligent and darkly comic.” —Publishers Weekly “Remarkable, lucid, austerely honest.” —The New Yorker
Reviews with the most likes.
Elena Ferrante writes circles around 99.999% of all humans, living and dead, seemingly without breaking a sweat.
What an absolute talent Ferrante possesses with this novel.
You are forced to enter the madness of the main character, her dark descent of being abandoned by her husband. Truly brilliant.
i liked this book for like the first... 20%. and then it became olga bitching about her children and not taking care of her dog (sorry, otto, i would've loved and taken care of you better, you sweet dog). for the dog her justification is that her cunt of a husband was the one who brought him into the family, so otto was collateral damage of mario's infidelity, and i don't know, i've never been cheated on by a husband before because i'm 20 and single, but i really don't think i'd be hitting my dog with a branch. the children are a bit annoying especially the girl, but like, their dad had just left them out of nowhere, so maybe i was expecting a bit more compassion for the kids on this end.
the writing is beautiful, but i skim read like 10 chapters because it's repetitive, and i expected to read more about her and carrano's relationship, but instead i get nothing, only one attempted sex scene that made my coochie dry and fall off. like for those 10 chapters elena could've showed us more about carrano & olga but no. she just goes about bitching about her children and leaving her dog to die.
meh, i liked the writing, that's why i'm giving it like 3 stars. the obscenity didn't surprise me because it's an italian book, idk. i wouldn't recommend it though. olga just feels like a mockery of women scorned.
A husband leaves a family, and the wife - a mother of two - spirals downwards into despair, and it is raw and real, and dark and painful. Hadn't I read the Neapolitan novels first, I'd probably be more smitten with it, but now I just accept that I like Ferrante a lot.
