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In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing

In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing

by Elena Ferrante, tr. Ann Goldstein

Europa Editions ·2021 ·112 pages ·Essays
Near the Top
Near the Top
I Index
62/99
Near the Top

69/99

Critics

Near the Top

56/99

Readers

n/a

Scholars

40/99

Rating

98/99

Volume

28/99

Rating

85/99

Volume

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About This Book

Four new and revelatory essays by the author of My Brilliant Friend and The Lost Daughter In 2020, Claire Luchette in O, The Oprah Magazine described the beloved Italian novelist Elena Ferrante as "an oracle among authors." Here, in these four crisp essays, Ferrante offers a rare look at the origins of her literary powers. She writes about her influences, her struggles, and her formation as both a reader and a writer; she describes the perils of "bad language" and suggests ways in which it has long excluded women's truth; she proposes a choral fusion of feminine talent as she brilliantly discourses on the work of Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, Ingeborg Bachmann, and many others. Here is a subtle yet candid book by "one of the great novelists of our time" about adventures in literature, both in and out of the margins.


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Reviews

"I margini e il dettato is a book filled with suggestions and musings that try to extract the elusive meaning of writing ..."

Chiara Marchelli· Times Literary Supplement Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"This brief book provides a vivid and concise introduction to effective writing for students and professionals alike, as well as intimate insight into Ferrante's thinking that will be deeply appreciated by her legions of fans."

Marissa Moss· The New York Journal of Books Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"While each essay in the collection engages its own topic, all four cohere along this thematic through-line, offering critical insight into the question of how one can 'learn to use with freedom the cage we're shut up in.'"

Alice Martin· Shelf Awareness Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Although a slim collection, there is more than enough meat here to nourish both the common reader and the Ferrante aficionado ..."

Malcolm Forbes· The Minneapolis Star Tribune Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"How refreshing to access words without fighting through the obscuring fog of a 'brand' ..."

Molly Young· The New York Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Despite her determination to keep her identity secret, Ferrante drops clues in these essays, implying an author whose cultured background has shaped her writing."

Lucy Popescu· Financial Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

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