The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante
The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante
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The Days of Abandonment

Author: Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Unabridged: 7 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/07/2015

Synopsis

The Days of Abandonment is the gripping story of an Italian woman’s experiences after being suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage.With two young children to care for, Olga finds it more and more difficult to do the things she used to: keep a spotless house, cook meals with creativity and passion, refrain from using obscenities. After running into her husband with his much-younger new lover in public, she cannot even refrain from assaulting him physically.Olga conveys her journey from denial to devastating emptiness—and when she finds herself literally trapped within the four walls of their high-rise apartment, she is forced to confront her ghosts, the potential loss of her own identity, and the possibility that life may never return to normal.

About Elena Ferrante

Elena Ferrante, author of The Days of Abandonment, Troubling Love, and My Brilliant Friend, among others, is one of Italy’s most important and acclaimed contemporary writers. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2016 by Time.

About Hillary Huber

Hillary Huber is a multiple Audie Award finalist, an Earphones Award winner, and an AudioFile Best Voice. She has recorded over three hundred titles spanning many genres and holds a bachelor's degree in English literature. A voracious reader and listener, she was raised in Connecticut and Hawaii but now splits her time between California and New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by emma on November 20, 2023

"the gripping story of a woman's descent into emptiness"...i don't remember selling my life rights to elena ferrante. this was incredibly disturbing and difficult to read in how consuming it was. on days when i was anxious already, reading this book was impossible because of how exactly it heightened......more

Goodreads review by Violet on December 03, 2016

Oh dear! Basically the Neapolitan novels render this book completely obsolete. It’s like a crude test drive for the character of Elena. Elena is called Olga in this novel and is the woman from hell. A kind of fantasy creation of how we might behave in our most self-indulgent, man-hating and self-pit......more

Goodreads review by William2 on October 06, 2021

This is the sixth novel I have read by Elena Ferrante, and let me tell you her characters are not introspective, contemplative people. They are angry people pissed off in a variety of complex ways about why their lives have turned to shit. In The Days of Abandonment a husband leaves his wife and two......more

Goodreads review by Fabian on March 04, 2020

Almodovar's "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" + Margaret Atwood's terrific uberfeminist two first published novels + Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story avatar heroine from The Yellow Wallpaper = THIS, a novel with absolutely perfect symbolism that describes the descent of this woman go......more

Goodreads review by persephone ☾ on December 28, 2022

i'm not saying Mario can choke but that's exactly what i'm saying <3......more

Quotes

“I could not put this novel down. Elena Ferrante will blow you away.” Alice Sebold, New York Times bestselling author

“In Ferrante’s ice-pick of a novel, Olga’s orderly life spins into disarray—a purgatory of rage and bereavement.” New York Times

“The book’s power is in its fearless, closeup details and in the ways the narrative subtly implicates the reader: given a certain set of horrific circumstances, I, too, might be capable of this psychic fury.” The Guardian (London)

“Ferrante’s theme…has seldom received such close scrutiny in literary fiction…an elegant novel.” New York Times Book Review

“Sometimes, in dark times, it’s nice to have another voice beside you. This is a dark novel, and listening to the audiobook might help alleviate some of the desolation of the narrative.” BookRiot (audio review)

“This intelligent and darkly comic novel…conveys the resilience of a complex woman.” Publishers Weekly

“In this deeply observed, excruciatingly blunt novel…Still, Ferrante knows just when to let up, and the redemptive note struck by the ending is a welcome reprieve.” New Yorker

Awards

  • Guardian Pick
  • BookRiot Pick
  • New York Times Pick
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