'Ferrante Fever' Documentary: A Literary Phenomenon, Lovingly Explored
This Italian documentary loosely, and very gently, profiles the mysterious author Elena Ferrante, and her international fanbase, in an effort to celebrate, not expose.
by Andrew Lapin
Mar 07, 2019
3 minutes
It's generally accepted that, in order to achieve fame and fortune, one must be prepared to sell one's soul. But Elena Ferrante did it without giving up so much as her name.
In less than a decade, the anonymous Italian author has become a global phenomenon, with her four-part "Neapolitan" novel series ensnaring millions of readers in their decades-spanning, emotionally raw chronicle of a female friendship. Ferrante has become literary royalty in spite, or perhaps because, ofnotes, it's the purest possible form of letting the work speak for itself.
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