The Days of Abandonment: A Novel

If The Days of Abandonment were a theatrical play instead of a novel, it would have to be performed in one act. Once begun, it is impossible to wrench oneself away from the extraordinary power of a this narrative of a 40-ish woman who navigates Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s four stage of grief (denial, anger, depression and acceptance).In clear and non-pitying prose, Olga relates this: “One April afternoon, right after lunch, my husband announced that he wanted to leave me. He did it while we were clearing the table; the children were quarreling as usual in the next room, the dog was dreaming, growling beside the radiator…Then he assumed the blame for everything that was happening and closed the front door carefully behind him, leaving me turned to stone beside the sink.”Ms. Ferrante is unsparing in her portrait of Olga, without turning this into a maudlin tale or a “poor pity me, the victim” type of story. First of all, the prose is precise and exquisite (examples: Olga’s husband blew away the past “as if it were a nasty insect that has landed on your hand.” Or this: “In those long hours I was the sentinel of grief, keeping watch along with a crowd of dead words.” Or this: “Starting at a certain point, the future is only a need to live in the past. To immediately redo the grammatical tenses.”)As Olga falls into the void – the “absence of sense” – she falls into a frenzy of self-loathing and inertia. It take a strong stomach to read about her attempt to seduce a neighbor in a near-parody of what “making love” is really all about. During the end of that passage, it becomes clear that Olga’s “days of abandonment” are not caused by her husband Mario’s departure; rather, they are caused by her abandonment of herself. While she reaches rock bottom, she is also responsible for her young son and daughter and the innocent dog with “good dog eyes”, Otto. One feels their sense of confusion and betrayal as well – and commiserates.I have never read Elena Ferrante before and have rarely read a book with such raw honesty and such ferocious power. I am, fortunately, happily married but anyone who has ever suffered feelings of betrayal (and all of us do, at some point in our lives, through husbands, family members, friends) will gasp in shock at the authenticity of Days of Abandonment. I believe it’s a masterpiece.

Lately, I've found myself returning to authors that I've enjoyed in the past. Elena Ferrant is one of these authors. Here is my review of her book, The Lost Daughter, in case you missed it previously. In The Days of Abandonment, the title pretty much says it all. A short novel (188 pages but, with a story, and an intro that packs a wallop."One April afternoon, right after lunch, my husband announced that he wanted to leave me. He did it while we were clearing the table; the children were quarreling as usual in the next room, the dog was dreaming, growling beside the radiator. He told me that he was confused, that he was having terrible moments of weariness, of dissatisfaction, perhaps of cowardice. He talked for a long time about our fifteen years of marriage, about the children, and he admitted he had nothing to reproach with us, neither them nor me, He was composed, as always, apart from an extravagant gesture of his right hand when he explained to me, with a childish frown, that soft voices, a sort of whispering, were urging him elsewhere. Then he assumed the blame for everything that was happening and closed the front door carefully behind him, leaving me turned to stone beside the sink."What follows is the story of a 38 year-old wife and mother with two young child who begins to unravel, losing all sense of normalcy in life with this unexpected announcement by her husband Mario. Of course, Mario's confusion is just an excuse, as there is a 20 year-old woman in the picture which is revealed early on. The new woman is actually a student Mario had once tutored, and then began to see on the side. He told his wife the affair was over, when in fact it was still going on.Olga was once a writer, but she traded her dreams of becoming famous for marriage and motherhood, and after 15 years of comfortable routines, she finds herself totally helpless with what has just happened. Once Olga kept a spotless house, cooked gourmet meals, her home is now in shambles, her children and even the family dog , Otto are neglected. She spends her time in desperation, writing letters to her husband - not even knowing where he is staying. She spends a lot of time analyzing what and when things started to go wrong in their marriage. She experiences, many of the stages of "death and dying" -denial, anger and rage, a bottomless pit of depression before she moves on to the final stage of acceptance.She has a hot and heavy sexual encounter with an older man, Carrano, who lives in her building, which could shock some readers. It's descriptive, complete with foul language and some remorse afterward. A sad incident involving the family dog occurs, and there is incident when Mario comes over to see the children and she invites him to stay for a meal that really left me chuckling. After several months of watching her own life spiral downward, Olga gradually begins to accept the fact that life as she one day new if will never be the same.This sparse book was so well written. It was translated from Italian, and the words just flowed so well. It's an additive read, told from Olga's point of view, which worked perfectly; she was a believable protagonist The story's ending was hopeful . I invite you read this book, and to go inside the mind of, "a woman scorned. "

Every once in a while a book comes around that is very difficult to review. Ms. Ferrante’s The Days of Abandonment is one of those. The reason for this is that, though I am enthralled by Ms. Ferrante’s technique and the emotional truth that she uncovers in her story, I just don’t like it very much.The story is straightforward enough: Olga and her two children, Gianni and Ilaria, are abandoned by her husband, Mario, for a younger woman; in fact, a much younger woman whom the entire family once knew well. Olga’s life proceeds to fall apart. The bulk of the novel examines the first few months of Olga’s life on her own.Though nothing about Olga’s subsequent behavior seems in any way false, her level of anger and violence is foreign to me. I cannot connect to her willingness to verbally abuse everyone around her, physically attack her husband, and severely neglect her children and dog. I understand there are real people like her but at my lowest I have never found it in me to act out in profanity and violence. Because of this, I am unable to fully appreciate this novel’s excellences.I also struggle with books that have no sympathetic characters. Not only is Olga problematic but also Mario. He abandons his family and appears to be guilty of statutory rape but exhibits not the slightest bit of remorse. The children behave horribly to a mother who is clearly struggling. These are difficult people with whom to spend time.However, the literary part of me cannot deny that this is a well-done book. In particular, I was carried to the end by how well Olga’s ascent out of depression played so well with the person that was developed in the first part of the book. But it was not enough to save the experience for me.