Louise Erdrich on a Scorching Summer in Naples Spent Reading Ferrante

“In 2014 I took a trip to Italy with my daughter Aza. After some time in Capri, we ended our travels in Naples so that we could read Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels in their entirety there. It was July, very hot, and we were greeted by the scent of the sea, the old stone mixed with the salt and the brine and the smells of cooking. It was marvelous. This was our time together to talk about everything that was happening in our lives and in the books (which evoke layers and layers of Neapolitan life): our emotions and what we were feeling with each page. Soon after, Aza would have her first baby, and we knew we would never go on another trip of this sort. Our hotel [the Royal Continental Hotel Naples] was partly designed by the modernist architect Gio Ponti—including the fabrics, the beds, the sinks, and the crazy rooftop pool. We read, mostly in our room, like panting puppies in front of the faltering air conditioning unit. When we weren't reading, we were walking to get lost. We'd turn down some tiny street and it would open straight into a person's kitchen. There'd be people sitting outside smoking, having desultory conversations, playing games. Vespas buzzing by. We also sp