A meditation on Ferrante's Neopolitan Quartet universe, a collection of letters and essays that explore various literary themes throught the scope of cultural theory; well-written with strong arguments and poignant, critical interpretations.

Reading Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet was one of the most intense literary experiences I've enjoyed as an adult; her books led to much deep and interesting conversation amongst the women with whom I shared the books.

"The Ferrante Letters" helped me revisit the pleasure and interest I found in the novels. The authors combined literary criticism with the kind of book talk one might expect to find in a really good book group.

I particularly enjoyed the letters section of the book though the critical essays were also interesting and illuminated several ideas and themes I hadn't previously considered.

Recommended for the serious Ferrante fan and for students wanting to understand the books on a deeper level.

This was interesting but also difficult to read. I've read the Neapolitan series novels and really enjoyed them. This book felt like reading a book clubs minutes but not always understanding the original thought process. I did like some of the insight but on the whole I found it a little hard to read.

This book is a must read for anyone out there who like and loved and cried when reading Ferrante's Neopolitan novels. A mix of essays and letters, these pages will bring you back in Ferrante's fascinating universe of melancholia, sorrow and friendship.

Do you ever finish a book or series and immediately need to discuss with someone who's just finished reading so you can fully process your experience? If yes, this book is for you. A must-read for fans of Ferrante, The Ferrante Letters is half lecture hall, half book club where four writers take on the task of divulging their responses and criticism of the Neapolitan Quartet through the writing of letters. A delightful take on the exchanging of thoughts and ideas as a group, then shared with the public. A slow, but thoughtful read.

Reading this collection of correspondence and essays between four very smart and literary women is like joining a terrific book club. It's a different form of the bibliomemoir genre and a refreshing way to engage with a literary text, especially one as complex and layered as the Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante. As we witness how each of the women here grapples with her varying responses to the novels and what the themes and issues mean to her both personally and professionally, we come to understand a better way of reading not just these novels but any work of fiction. In this way, the book is also a masterclass in close reading and how it can alter us not only as readers but as human beings too. I came away with a whole new appreciation for Ferrante's novels. And I am now looking forward to reading other works by each of these writers as well.

The Ferrante Letters exist for one audience only: The exuberant Ferrante Fan. This brilliant book is like an academic book club of sorts. Four literary, intelligent women got together to discuss the quartet of writings, four books, by the writer know as Elena Ferrante, beloved by many. This collection is a testament of that incredible gathering.
Personally, I sought out this book in hopes that it would help me better understand what I was missing in my understanding of Ferrante's books, and in all truth, the appeal! I just could not see it, and I desperately wanted to see it. I needed help! Even my Italian heritage was of no help! (Weak smile.)
These four educated and successful and accomplished women saw it and they wrote this book to help others see it! Here it is for all to read; really you must read; it's as if you've gained admittance to a really special book club.
There's a word in Italian, it's really slang and strongly changed in each dialect, so I'm not going to even attempt it here, but it basically translates to: "hardhead." There's probably a word in every language for kid or person who's stubborn or a hardhead; well, that was me. I was called that name in my family constantly.
So, if you can relate, ignore them and read this anyway. Authors appeal to each person in different ways. That does not label them or us as good or bad, just a different connection.

Thank you Netgalley, and the women authors of the Ferrante Letters

(This title constantly reminded me of the Cheever letters episode of Seinfeld.)

This book will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it. It is sort of a book club meets epistolary novel--4 women (3 academics, 1 novelist) take on reading the works of Elena Ferrante one summer, writing long letters to each other, emulating the intellectual exchange between Lenu and Lila in Ferrante's novels. Each offers a longer essay in part II, revealing very different takes on what they uncovered in this reading project. Finally, there are several guest letters from others lucky enough to join the discussions. And some great notes and references that would be useful to anyone studying Ferrante.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

One of the most interesting aspects of Ferrante's work is the amount of academic engagement it has engendered. I can't quite think of another author who - less than a decade following the publication in English of her career-defining work - would go on to become the subject of not one, but several books and at this point hundreds of academic articles that go beyond mere book reviews.

"The Ferrante Letters" is part of the literature coming out of the nascent academic sub-genre we might even be tempted to call Ferrante studies. As a book, it epitomizes the interdisciplinary and personal flair that these academic responses to Ferrante can take. "The Ferrante Letters" began as an online project, when four friends, all tenured professors at various academic institutions, spent one summer reading the Neapolitan Novels together and sending letters to each other with their thoughts. It is a boundary-breaking book, as we see the four authors pick up on Ferrante's literary references, do some illuminating and detailed close readings of the text, and perhaps more entertainingly see how the lives of Ferrante's characters map into the authors' own lives, past and present.

Chihaya, Emre, Hill, and Richards know what they're doing. Their letters are erudite, full of intertextual analysis, but also replete with personal anecdotes and musings that make the book approachable, a bit like talking to a friend about your favorite author. As a person who has been there, it is also fascinating to see how other women respond to particular chapters and exchanges, how Ferrante, writing about Italy in the 50s and 60s, still manages to feel extremely personal. It's that sort of magic that I think we keep seeking after the first time a book makes us feel like we've just emerged from a very powerful, and life-changing, spell. And "The Ferrante Letters" is precisely this: four friends on a thrilling literary treasure hunt, trying to discover the source of Ferrante's magic through words.