Morning all,

Have you read Elena Ferrante yet! I read My Brilliant Friend and one other last month and had the same reaction as the approx. 6 billion other people who have read one or more of her books, i.e., they are wonderful. I did wonder why the cover looked so 1980s, and found the answer here:

I intentionally searched for a photo that was “kitsch.” This design choice continued in the subsequent books, because vulgarity is an important aspect of the books, of all that Elena wants to distance herself from.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/08/28/elena_ferrante_neapolian_novels_cover_design_an_interview_with_the_publisher.html

One of the many great things about My Brilliant Friend is the way it talks about friendship as a part of life that is serious and joyous and upsetting in its own right. I, like the author of the below, would love to see more media that treats friendships as the “real” relationships that they are, in the same way that we have a reasonable body of culture, at this stage, on romantic relationships. In conclusion, if you have a significant friendship in your life, please consider writing a novel about it.

“You know how busy she is,” my husband said.

“I do,” I replied, “but I also know something is wrong.”

http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/the-art-of-loving-and-losing-female-friends

This is an interesting article on how “pink viagra” medicalises a totally normal aspect of sexual desire. And then “treats” it in a way that has high blood pressure and vomiting as side effects! Obviously the pullquote is part of an extended metaphor, but it stands alone as well.

If you're having fun at the party, you're doing it right.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0823-nagoski-pink-viagra-20150823-story.html

Happy Friday, Brits, and happy Labor Day Americans!

Alex.