by Annalisa Merelli

Sorry, New York Times Sunday Book Review, Elena Ferrante is not "one of the great novelists of our time." Zadie Smith, Arundhati Roy, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie—these are all great novelists. Ferrante is not, which is unfortunate, because she has a good story to tell.

About a month ago, while I was back in my hometown of Bergamo, near Milan, I finally picked up the first of Ferrante's four Neapolitan Novels, L'Amica Geniale (My Brilliant Friend). I had been waiting to read it in Italian: so many people and publications I trust—The New Yorker! The New Yorker!—had sung the praise of this Italian writer that I could not wait to read her in my language.

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Source: http://qz.com/