The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante (2015)

The Story of the Lost Child, the fourth (presumably the last) of the Neapolitan Novels, continues the story of the long friendship between Elena and Lina, which began in the first book, (My Brilliant Friend), when the two are eight years old and ends in this book when the two are in their 60s. The first volume of the series can be read as a stand-alone novel, but the next three depend so much on material from the previous that I don't believe they would be meaningful by themselves. In truth, the four books seem to be one continuous novel divided into parts.

The pivotal event in this installment is the mysterious disappearance of Lina's child and her reaction to the loss. Much attention is also given to her problems with her other child and to Elena's relationship to her three daughters. Elena has returned to live in Naples and she and Lina continue their love-hate relationship against a backdrop of turbulence and changing politics. Elena, as the narrator, chronicles her ongoing insecurity and jealousy of her friend, as she has in all the previous volumes.

I was very impressed with My Brilliant Friend, but, unfortunately, I became more and more weary of Elena and her problems, as she consistently judges all aspects of her personal and professional life in comparison to what she imagines her "friend" is thinking about her or could have accomplished if given the chance. Since the author of these books has chosen to remain completely unknown and unseen, and since her chosen alias has the same name as the narrator of the novels, it is impossible not to assume that this is largely a true story and that the insecurities of the author are the same as those of the character. This certainly reads like a personal confessional. I found it rather wearying to read repetitions of the same mindset for over 1.200 pages.