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  • The Story of a New Name

  • The Neapolitan Novels, Book 2
  • By: Elena Ferrante
  • Narrated by: Hillary Huber
  • Length: 19 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (842 ratings)
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The Story of a New Name cover art

The Story of a New Name

By: Elena Ferrante
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
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Summary

The follow-up to My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name continues the epic New York Times bestselling literary quartet that has inspired an HBO series, and returns us to the world of Lila and Elena, who grew up together in post-WWII Naples, Italy.

In The Story of a New Name, Lila has recently married and made her entrée into the family business; Elena, meanwhile, continues her studies and her exploration of the world beyond the neighborhood that she so often finds stifling. Marriage appears to have imprisoned Lila, and the pressure to excel is at times too much for Elena. Yet the two young women share a complex and evolving bond that is central to their emotional lives and a source of strength in the face of life’s challenges.

In these Neapolitan Novels, Elena Ferrante, “one of the great novelists of our time” (New York Times), gives us a poignant and universal story about friendship and belonging, a meditation on love and jealousy, freedom and commitment—at once a masterfully plotted page-turner and an intense, generous-hearted family saga.

©2012 Edizioni E/O. Translation © 2013 by Europa Editions (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Story of a New Name

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Robotic narration

It's beyond me how a professional narrator could be this terrible. Strangely, when she is acting the roles of the characters she comes alive but when she speaks the internal monologue of the main character she sounds like a drone. It's so bad it's funny sometimes.
Highly suggest listening to a sample before buying!!

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7 people found this helpful

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Love love love

All absorbing . Going straight to next book in the series can't,t get enough.thanks f

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Mediocre story, quite depressing to listen to!

I have persevered with the novels of this series but I have to say I'm not really enjoying them - firstly the narration I feel is terrible - maybe as I am used to listening to English, rather than American narrators, but this woman sounds like a computer and it's really difficult to listen to! Story is quite realistic but sad and it lost me at several points because there is no real gripping story to keep you going.

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An Amazing Quartet


I love these books. I came to them reluctantly, hating to follow the crowd, but I would, and frequently do, wholeheartedly recommend them to friends. The writing is wonderful without being self-conscious.

These are truly wonderful books. Weeks after reading them I am still in that Neapolitan neighbourhood, surrounded by squalor and violence to witness the palpable yearning of two little girls whose ambitions could not be contained within its boundaries.


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The second book is BRILLIANT

This book is even more powerful than the first book in the four-volume work known as the Neapolitan Novels. The performance is also as good as gold. Thank you!

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loved this book .. xx

the narrator captured the atmosphere beautifully.. looking forward to the next one
beautifully written thank you .

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A beautiful story continued

Her story writing is second to none. I'm enchanted. I will move straight to the 3rd and I can not wait to start.

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So Beautiful, So Alive

It was so good that I listened to book 2 straight after book 1. I could not wait to hear what happened next! There is so much insight into the thoughts and intentions of childhood and the deep connection between friends with all of the intricacies and pitfalls involved. The narrator is a joy to listen to. She creates the atmosphere brilliantly with just the right tone. I am going straight to book 3 now!

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irene

Brilliant read. I can't wait to start the next book in this trilogy. Highly recommended.

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Great story, shame about the narration

If you could sum up The Story of a New Name in three words, what would they be?

Continuing the story begun in My Brilliant Friend, explores the tensions in a friendship which result from different life choices

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book doesn't need to be listened to in one sitting; it explores the evolution of a friendship and can be enjoyed in many small "doses"

Any additional comments?

The American narrator is an irritation, and mangles the English language. Occasionally the translation is incorrect, but the drawling southern US accent, and Americanisms such as "dove" instead of "dived" do unfortunately detract from an excellent book.

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