The Story of a New Name: A Novel (Neapolitan Novels, 2)

A novel in the bestselling quartet about two very different women and their complex friendship: "Everyone should read anything with Ferrante's name on it" (The Boston Globe).

The follow-up to My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name continues the epic New York Times-bestselling literary quartet that has inspired an HBO series, and returns us to the world of Lila and Elena, who grew up together in post-WWII Naples, Italy.

In The Story of a New Name, Lila has recently married and made her entr e into the family business; Elena, meanwhile, continues her studies and her exploration of the world beyond the neighborhood that she so often finds stifling. Marriage appears to have imprisoned Lila, and the pressure to excel is at times too much for Elena. Yet the two young women share a complex and evolving bond that is central to their emotional lives and a source of strength in the face of life's challenges. In these Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante, "one of the great novelists of our time" (The New York Times), gives us a poignant and universal story about friendship and belonging, a meditation on love and jealousy, freedom and commitment--at once a masterfully plotted page-turner and an intense, generous-hearted family saga.

"Imagine if Jane Austen got angry and you'll have some idea of how explosive these works are." --The Australian

"Brilliant . . . captivating and insightful . . . the richness of her storytelling is likely to please fans of Sara Gruen and Silvia Avallone." --Booklist (starred review)

Author: Elena Ferrante
Publisher: Europa Editions
Published: 09/03/2013
Pages: 480
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.20w x 1.50d
ISBN: 9781609451349
Audience: Young Adult


Award: Best Translated Book Award - Finalist


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2013
Publishers Weekly 08/26/2013
Shelf Awareness 09/06/2013
Booklist 09/15/2013 pg. 31
New York Times Book Review 09/29/2013 pg. 19
New Yorker (The) 11/18/2013 pg. 83
Entertainment Weekly 09/12/2014 pg. 43
New York Review of Books 12/18/2014 pg. 67

About the Author

Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), which was made into a film directed by Roberto Faenza, Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), adapted by Mario Martone, and The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), soon to be a film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She is also the author of a Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey (Europa, 2016) in which she recounts her experience as a novelist, and a children's picture book illustrated by Mara Cerri, The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016). The four volumes known as the "Neapolitan quartet" (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) were published in America by Europa between 2012 and 2015. The first season of the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, directed by Severio Costanzo premiered in 2018.
Ann Goldstein is an editor at The New Yorker. Her translations for Europa Editions include novels by Amara Lakhous, Alessandro Piperno, and Elena Ferrante's bestselling My Brilliant Friend. She lives in New York.