This is the first installment of the author’s Neapolitan novels, a series that has been translated from the original Italian into many languages and has become something of an international publishing sensation. Focusing on the friendship of Elena and Lila, the first novel in the series follows the girls from elementary school to Lila's marriage. A central theme is the limited opportunity afforded women at that time. Elena pursues an educational path beyond elementary school, a path that is not easy and which she at first struggles with, but eventually excels at. Lila, whose intellectual abilities might even surpass Elena's, instead drops out of school and helps out with the family shoe repair business before becoming engaged at the tender age of sixteen. My Brilliant Friend is a wonderful look at growing up in a poor 1950s Naples neighborhood, but has universal touchstones that anyone of a certain age will identify with.