Several years ago, I offered Elena Ferrente's "My Brilliant Friend" to The Daughter. I said, this is a grittier Jane Austen, which is no put-down of Austen at all. The novel shows how dangerous it is to be a woman in a world where men can physically control or abuse you, how intense and passionate a platonic friendship among women can be, and how important it is for women to stick up for each other (but too often don't) in that man's world. The Daughter demurred, respectfully, I felt.
For me personally, I had tried reading "My Brilliant Friend" to walk the walk. However, it was just too tough for my night reading. I respect Ferrente's powerful and insightful prose, but I need some comfort in my night reading. Right now, I'm reading Edna Ferber's "The Ice Palace," from 1958, which is a family saga set in Alaska from the post-Gold Rush of the 1890s to the cusp of statehood (Alaska became a state a year after this book was released). The novel is very progressive despite its white people orientation, and conscious of white supremacist hypocrisies among even progressive minded people. Ferber wrote novels adapted to famous films, such as "Giant," "Showboat," and other lesser known but better novels, such as "So Big," an early work. I am finding this work to be very enjoyable and enlightening to read.
Anyway I never knew there was an HBO series for "My Brilliant Friend." It was released in 2018. Now, post-Roe reversal, The Daughter found the series on HBO Max. She binged it, and then said, Dad, you MUST watch. I said, Okay, I will try it. I am about half way through season 1. I must say it is outstanding on every level, cultural, political, and economic. The series captures the first book's sensibility, and I do note Ferrente (a pen name, as her real name was exposed several years ago) is a co-screen writer. In this post-Roe reversal world, I highly recommend "My Brilliant Friend." If you don't have HBO Max, then find a way to buy or rent the series. I have no doubt it gets even better.
Oh, and the Max Richter score is beautifully rendered.
