The Lying Life of Adults

Last updated
The Lying Life of Adults
La vita bugiarda degli adulti (Elena Ferrante).png
Cover of first edition (Italy)
Author Elena Ferrante
Audio read by Anna Bonaiuto [1]
Original titleLa vita bugiarda degli adulti
Translator Ann Goldstein
LanguageItalian
Set in Naples
PublisherEdizioni e/o
Publication date
7 November 2019 [2]
Publication placeItaly
Published in English
1 September 2020
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages336
ISBN 9788833571683
OCLC 1128092847

The Lying Life of Adults (Italian : La vita bugiarda degli adulti) is a 2019 novel by Elena Ferrante. It was adapted into a television series of the same name by Edoardo De Angelis in 2023.

Contents

Synopsis

In Naples in the early 1990s, twelve-year-old Giovanna Trada overhears her father Andrea disparagingly liken her appearance to that of his estranged sister Vittoria. This sends Giovanna into a search for Vittoria on another side of Naples to discover the nature of the family's fallout.

Publication

The novel was first published in Italy in November 2019 by Edizioni e/o, published as part of their Dal Mondo series. [3] An English translation by Ann Goldstein was scheduled to be published by Europa Editions on 9 June 2020, but was postponed to 1 September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] [5] [6] [7] The English translation debuted at number two on The New York Times fiction best-seller list. [8]

Reception

In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews praised Goldstein's "fluid" translation and wrote, "Giovanna's nascent sexuality is more frankly explored than that of previous Ferrante protagonists". [9]

Publishers Weekly called Giovanna a "winning character" but nonetheless wrote that the novel "feels minor in comparison to Ferrante's previous work". [10]

A review by Parul Sehgal in The New York Times stated that the book "evokes for me all the ordinary, warring paradoxes of intimate life." [11]

Television adaptation

In May 2020, Netflix announced it would be adapting The Lying Life of Adults into a television series of the same name in collaboration with Italy's Fandango production company. [12] [13] [14] [15] The series was released by Netflix in January 2023. [16]

References

  1. ↑ "La vita bugiarda degli adulti - Elena Ferrante". www.edizionieo.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Elena Ferrante, il nuovo romanzo si chiama "La vita bugiarda degli adulti". In libreria il 7 novembre". la Repubblica (in Italian). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "La vita bugiarda degli adulti - Elena Ferrante". www.edizionieo.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Lying Life of Adults - Elena Ferrante". Europa Editions . Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. ↑ Cowdrey, Katherine (7 April 2020). "Europa Editions postpones Ferrante's new novel". The Bookseller . Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Bussel, Rachel Kramer (31 October 2019). "New Elena Ferrante Novel 'The Lying Life Of Adults' To Be Published By Europa Editions in 2020". Forbes . Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Winik, Marion (31 August 2020). "Elena Ferrante returns with 'The Lying Life of Adults,' and fans of the Neapolitan novels will be thrilled" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Combined Print & E-Book Fiction - Best Sellers". The New York Times . 20 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ↑ "The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante; translated by Ann Goldstein". Kirkus Reviews . 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, trans from the Italian by Ann Goldstein". Publishers Weekly . 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Sehgal, Parul (2020-08-25). "Elena Ferrante's New Novel Is a Suspenseful Story About the Sins of Parents". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  12. ↑ Vivarelli, Nick (12 May 2020). "Elena Ferrante's 'Lying Life of Adults' to Be Adapted by Netflix, Italy's Fandango". Variety . Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  13. ↑ Davies, Hannah J (12 May 2020). "Netflix to adapt Elena Ferrante's The Lying Life of Adults". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  14. ↑ Romano, Nick (12 May 2020). "Netflix is adapting new Elena Ferrante book before its even out". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  15. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (12 May 2020). "Netflix & Italy's Fandango To Develop Series Based On Elena Ferrante's 'The Lying Life Of Adults'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  16. ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca (5 January 2023). "The Lying Life of Adults: another impeccable Elena Ferrante TV show". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.