Point of View

Like its predecessors, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay is told in first person, from Elena Greco's perspective. This is an interesting choice for Ferrante, because the characters seem to orbit around Lila for the most part. During the events of this novel, Elena and Lila don't even live in the same city, so the reader must glean what they can from Lila's life through Elena's eyes; and experience has shown that Elena is not a reliable narrator. The reader cannot possibly believe all of Elena's impressions and opinions about her enigmatic friend, because Elena's own identity is tangled with her perspective.

As a tool through which to glance into Lila's life, Ferrante uses small touch points where the women speak or spend time together. Through these Elena is able to get an update on her friend. Even so, this narrative is much more...