Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey

This is an amazing collection of….well, fragments, thoughts, letters, interviews. It gave me so much background and added more complexity to Ferrante’s oeuvre. What a brain, what thought provoking questions and considerations. Truly impacted my perspective on a number of things.

I discovered Elena Ferrante when I heard about her books on public radio; then the series "My Brilliant Friend" came on HBO. Watched that and was hooked. Ordered EVERY SINGLE ONE of her books on my Kindle. Best author I've ever read. Her writing just has such a profound effect on me. Engrossing, moving, real, genuine - real life tragic / happy , introspective narratives. What I like most about her is she retains her anonymity - read Frantumaglia and you'll understand the author and love and appreciate her all the more.

OHHHHH, to have some essays of Ferrante's is a HUGE GIFT!!! READ ALL OF HER WORK!!! I have in English and her translator is brilliant. I have checked her out on You tube. Don't miss out on one of the most amazing writers who not only takes us on a journey with her mesmerizing characters, but also gives a history of Napoli through them. Pure brilliance and heart in every sentence! Ferrante is a phenomenon!! xoox

I listened to this audiobook and had to have the digital book. I'm buying the regular book next. Ferrante is an amazing writer and her words are inspirational and informative and make me soar as a woman, especially as a writer. If you haven't read any of her books yet, I urge you to do so.

After reading The Neapolitan Novels & finding them an intensive read I was curious to find out more about this author. I found the book a little self indulgent but interesting.

I love her fiction but these personal letters seem so foreign to what I expected. It is. A personal perception, but I do not like this side of her, even if it is her own words. It is disappointing.

I would rather read her books. I also had read many interviews prior to reading this book, so it ended up not being that helpful to me.

amazing writer brings the mundane to life her details are wonderful and her references to time in life are great

Already a rabid fan of The Neapolitan Quartet, this book has cemented my adoration of, and intellectual respect for, Ferrante. Consisting of letters, emails, interviews and fragments of writing, it gives us unparalleled access to Ferrante's mind as she opens up about her writing, her thinking, her politics and her literary influences as she discusses her work and her books.An informed feminist who admits she's been influenced by Irigaray and Butler, as well as by the classical tradition of abandoned (in all sense of that word) women from Ariadne and Medea to Dido who she discusses at length, Ferrante is articulate, passionate and a true writer's writer - she takes her calling seriously ('a book should push the reader to confront himself (sic) and the world',p.323), working to write with authenticity, truth and sincerity, not to push out books to be published at regular intervals. Indeed, those of us who came to her via My Brilliant Friend may well be surprised to find this book covering a 25 year period from 1991 through to 2016.Because so much of this is based on written interviews with various journals and newspapers, there is inevitably an overlap in questions asked, especially about Ferrante's anonymity and refusal to insert herself between her books and her readership ('I believe that books, once they are written, have no need of their authors', p.15) and her very patience is a marked characteristic of her seriousness and intent.We also, though, gain a fascinating insight into her view of literature in a broad sense, and her insights into her writing of the startling, subtle, complicated relationship between her two great protagonists, Lina and Elena.One of the things that makes Ferrante outstanding today is the way she has effortlessly bridged the space between 'literary' and 'popular' fiction and readers - her books speak to us on a human (dare I say gendered?) level while also placing themselves into a tradition that is both familiar and yet startlingly unfamiliar given its emphasis on female friendship, a relationship which ultimately supersedes all other bonds in her quartet.This is a book which is rewarding for fans, but also for anyone working on feminist literature, gender and writing, and women's writing.

Although in places the themes are repetitive, with rather too much discussion of the author's choice to avoid appearing publicly, this is an insightful publication of the author's interviews and letters illuminating the profound intelligence of her novels

very interesting read from a great story teller

A quite complete, interesting and necessary collection of Elena Ferrante's interviews, story fragments, and consideration, put together by her publishers . Although at times the journalists' questions as well as the brilliant Elena Ferrante's answers may seem repetitive, there are numerous moments when the writer's response, analysis and considerations simply take your breath away. She is a visionary, a profound analyst of our contemporary world, and a magnificent fiction writer.

Many are aware that we do not know who Ferrante is in person, however, her responses in Frantumaglia verify her philosophy that it is the words that are the most important. What magical words and images she generates in her writings!!! I thoroughly enjoyed her responses to the producer of the film trembling love. As she states he 'disturbed' her because he saw in her text what she herself had not. The more I read of this author the desire to know 'who she is' remains absent. It is the writing that seduces.