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An Italian novel has been defined book of the century in a selection rigorously curated by the New York Times. An evaluation that saw the participation of over 500 literature experts. This large and prestigious panel included a diverse group of world-renowned writers, critics and intellectuals. The various personalities have contributed with their experience and professional judgment to identify the most influential and significant works of the last two decades.
The book of the century is Italian
The selection process involved a series of votes and in-depth discussions, ensuring an accurate and representative evaluation of the more authoritative voices in the field of literature.
Jury participants include some of the world’s best-known and most respected names international literary panorama, which gives further prestige to this honor.
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The Italian novel overtook “The Heat of Distant Suns” in the New York Times ranking Elizabeth Wilkerson; Pulitzer Prize-winning work that explores the Great Migration of black Americans from the South to the North and West between 1915 and 1970.
In third place in the ranking: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, a historical novel that tells the fictionalized biography of the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell. The top five is completed by The Known World by Edward P. Jones; which chronicles the life of a former slave in Virginia before the Civil War, and from The corrections by Jonathan Franzen, an important work of contemporary fiction.
The brilliant friend
It is the book of the century The brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante (pseudonym of the writer). The choice is the result of an evaluation of volumes published from 1 January 2000 to today. The goal is to identify the works that have most influenced and defined the literary panorama of the XNUMXst century. The brilliant friend, praised in particular for its ability to explore in depth and authenticity the friendship between the protagonists Elena and Lila, set in the vibrant and complex post-war Naples.
The New York Times described the novel as a pre-eminent example of auto fiction, a genre that has dominated contemporary literature. Ferrante’s narrative has been compared to an intense and challenging experience, a praise of her incisive prose and her uncompromising portrayal of reality.
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Besides The brilliant friend, the Times included two more of Ferrante’s works in the ranking. Story of the Lost Girl, the last volume of the quadrilogy, number eightieth, e The Days of Abandonment in ninety-second place. This triple presence in the top 100 confirms Ferrante as the only Italian author to have more than one work included in the prestigious list.
With its narrative elegance and the sincere portrait of human experiences, The brilliant friend not only did he define an era, but he also created a work destined to inspire and stimulate reflection for future generations.
