I just read two books back to back that made me realize there is this whole genre of books with a similar form. I have read many of them over the years, but never realized what they were. I decided to call this genre Brilliant Friends books after Elena Ferrante’s magical Neapolitan Quartet and its first book My Brilliant Friend. The stories are all told by an adult woman looking back on an intense high school friendship that was formative, changing their lives in some way or another. The narrator is the more subdued friend, the quiet one, the follower who is remembering the brilliant, defiant, bold, brave and ultimately tragic friend. Tragedy can take many forms, not just death, but always, the narrator ends in a better place than the brilliant friend. Thinking about it, both the books I just read (Marlena and Please Proceed to the Exit) fit that model but not just them. There’s The Girls by Emma Cline, The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel, even All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda, a mystery has the brilliant friend disappear, runaway or murder victim.
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One of my favorite songs ever is “There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York” from Porgy and Bess as sung by Phoebe Snow. This promenade on Staten Island made me think of the song. To be honest, lots of things make me think of this song. It’s on my iPod and I play it frequently. Her voice was amazing and she was a heroic woman.
