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Quick answer: If you loved My Brilliant Friend, read the rest of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels, then The Days of Abandonment, Little Women, Girl, Woman, Other and A Fine Balance. All are rich novels about women's friendships, ambition and family across decades.
Elena Ferrante's 2011 novel, the first of four Neapolitan Novels, follows Elena and Lila, two girls growing up in a poor neighbourhood of Naples in the 1950s, bound by love, rivalry and ambition. It is intense, detailed and unforgettable. The books below offer similar portraits of female friendship and the forces that shape a life.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Story of a New Name | Elena Ferrante | Adult | the second book |
| Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay | Elena Ferrante | Adult | the third book |
| The Story of the Lost Child | Elena Ferrante | Adult | the finale |
| The Days of Abandonment | Elena Ferrante | Adult | marital collapse |
| Troubling Love | Elena Ferrante | Adult | mother and daughter |
| Little Women | Louisa May Alcott | All ages | sisters growing up |
| Girl, Woman, Other | Bernardine Evaristo | Adult | many voices |
| A Fine Balance | Rohinton Mistry | Adult | epic of ordinary lives |
| The Leopard | Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa | Adult | Sicilian classic |
| Beautiful World, Where Are You | Sally Rooney | Adult | friends and love |
| The Vanishing Half | Brit Bennett | Adult | identity and sisters |
| Sula | Toni Morrison | Adult | friendship and betrayal |
| Homegoing | Yaa Gyasi | Adult | generations apart |
| Pachinko | Min Jin Lee | Adult | epic family saga |
| Everything I Never Told You | Celeste Ng | Adult | family secrets |
1. The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
Elena and Lila navigate marriage, study and ambition. Gripping and intense.
Best for: the second book.
2. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
The friends' paths diverge in the turbulent 1970s. Dense and political.
Best for: the third book.
3. The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
The Neapolitan Novels reach their end. Emotional and large.
Best for: the finale.
4. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
A woman unravels after her husband leaves. Raw, intense and unforgettable.
Best for: marital collapse.
5. Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante
A woman investigates her mother's death. Dark and swift.
Best for: mother and daughter.
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The four March sisters grow up during the American Civil War. Heartwarming.
Best for: sisters growing up.
7. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Twelve interlinked lives in Britain. Joyful, bold and Booker-winning.
Best for: many voices.
8. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Four strangers share a home in 1970s India. Long and heartbreaking.
Best for: epic of ordinary lives.
9. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
A prince watches his world change during Italian unification. Elegant and sad.
Best for: Sicilian classic.
10. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
Two friends write to each other about love and the state of the world. Reflective.
Best for: friends and love.
11. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Twin sisters take separate paths, one passing as white. Deeply felt.
Best for: identity and sisters.
12. Sula by Toni Morrison
Two women grow up together in a Black community in Ohio. Compact and profound.
Best for: friendship and betrayal.
13. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Two half-sisters' descendants live different lives in Ghana and America. Powerful.
Best for: generations apart.
14. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
A Korean family lives in Japan across four generations. Sweeping and deeply felt.
Best for: epic family saga.
15. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
A Chinese American family tries to understand the death of their daughter. Quiet.
Best for: family secrets.
How We Chose These Books
Every pick is a real, widely available book that shares something specific with My Brilliant Friend: its tone, its themes, its pace or the kind of characters it puts at the center. We mixed well-known favorites with a few less obvious titles, and we noted who each book suits best so you can match it to the reader. Where a book belongs to a series, we list the first volume so you can start at the beginning.
How to Choose
To continue the story read The Story of a New Name next. For more Ferrante choose The Days of Abandonment or Troubling Love. For women's friendship pick Sula, Little Women or Beautiful World, Where Are You. For family sagas read Pachinko, Homegoing or A Fine Balance. For Italian history try The Leopard. My Brilliant Friend is long in the series, so these picks suit readers who like to be swept up. Ferrante writes under a pseudonym, and her identity has been the subject of speculation for years, which adds to the mystique. The novels have been adapted into an HBO series set in Naples, but the books give much more of Elena's inner life.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is My Brilliant Friend about?
The friendship of two girls growing up in a poor neighbourhood in 1950s Naples.
Who wrote it?
Elena Ferrante.
When was it published?
2011 in Italian, 2012 in English.
How many Neapolitan Novels are there?
Four.
Is Elena Ferrante a real name?
It is a pseudonym.
Is there a TV series?
Yes, an HBO and RAI series.
Do I need to read in order?
Yes.
What should I read next?
Try The Story of a New Name.
Which book here is best for marital collapse?
Try The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante, which suits readers looking for marital collapse.
Which book here is best for many voices?
Try Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, which suits readers looking for many voices.
Which book here is best for friends and love?
Try Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, which suits readers looking for friends and love.