Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey

Elena Ferrante is one of the greatest novelists of our time. Read her novels and don't worry about who she is: you will be entranced by her writing.

Frantumaglia is a riveting compilation, over the course of her writing career, of Elena Ferrante's letters to her publisher, interviews with editors and journalists, and responses to readers' questions. For fans of Ferrante, and for fans of writing, this is essential reading. Her comments have the ring of truth and the power of wisdom. This is a woman who not only knows her own mind, she can see deep into ours, too.

Elena Ferrante was born in Naples. She is the author of seven novels: The Days of Abandonment, Troubling Love, The Lost Daughter, and the quartet of Neapolitan Novels: My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child. She is one of Italy's most acclaimed authors.

Ann Goldstein has translated all of Elena Ferrante's work. She is an editor at the New Yorker and a recipient of the PEN Renato Poggioli Translation Award.

‘Frantumaglia is never less than compelling and we read with a similar desire to recognise a pattern...The letters are presented without introduction, and as we read we’re curious to know how they fit into the larger picture.’ Australian

‘We guarantee all the cool girls will be clutching Frantumaglia.’ Marie Claire

‘An absorbing explanation of why this writer insists on anonymity, and also reveals a lot about the inspiration for and thinking behind her remarkable novels.’ Australian

‘A fascinating companion piece, both to the remarkable novels Ferrante has written and to the ongoing discussion about the author’s real identity...Her fans should be grateful for this highly readable, insightful resource.’ Herald Sun

‘Drawing on a storehouse of formative traumas and tensions, Ferrante’s novels are at once furious and reparative; little wonder she has opted for anonymity. Commenting on excerpts that failed to make it into her published novels, Ferrante rues moments of self-censorship, asserting that a writer must not be cowed by taboo, but instead trust the instincts of the body, "the heart’s acceleration". Such moral intensity bodes well for Ferrante’s fans, suggesting recent intrusions into her privacy will not be so injurious as to deter her from—as she so viscerally describes her writing process—"butchering eels": drawing from the depth of her experience, "everything that is alive and writhing.”’ Overland

‘Fans of Ferrante and her Neapolitan novels with delight in this revealing collection of letters to her publisher, interviews with her editors and journalists, and responses to readers’ questions.’ Best Books of 2016, Sunday Life

‘Ferrante writes well about writing, publishing and literature, and I recommend Frantumaglia to writers and those interested in her books...It was an unexpectedly helpful companion through the grief and fear of one hell of a month. Thank you, Elena, whoever you are.’ New Zealand Listener

‘An excellent accompaniment to the novels of Elena Ferrante and insight into this writer’s journey and process, in particular the inspiration behind her characters, settings and recurring themes.’ Word by Word

‘Much food for thought in this age of endless self-promotion.’ Ceridwen Dovey, Australian, Books of the Year 2017