The Great Books Society of Denver

In last month's book, we had a protagonist explaining the harsh truths of atheism. This month, we get John Milton attempting to "justify the ways of God to men." Should make for an interesting contrast!

Here's a quick intro from Wikipedia:

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Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books (in the manner of Virgil's Aeneid) with minor revisions throughout. It is considered to be Milton's masterpiece, and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets of all time.

At the heart of Paradise Lost are the themes of free will and the moral consequences of disobedience. Milton seeks to "justify the ways of God to men," addressing questions of predestination, human agency, and the nature of good and evil.

The poem begins in medias res, with Satan and his fallen angels cast into Hell after their failed rebellion against God. Milton's Satan, portrayed with both grandeur and tragic ambition, is one of the most complex and debated characters in literary history, particularly for his perceived heroism by some readers.

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My Brilliant Friend (Italian: L'amica geniale) is a 2011 novel by the anonymous Italian author who goes by the pen name Elena Ferrante. The book chronicles the complex and sometimes troubled friendship between two girls, Elena and Lila, who are growing up in a working-class neighborhood of Naples in the 1950s.

Here's an overview from Wikipedia:

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My Brilliant Friend is the first of four volumes in Ferrante's critically acclaimed Neapolitan Novels series. [...] The novel opens in 2010 with Elena, now in her sixties, learning of Lila's disappearance. This prompts Elena to begin writing their shared history from childhood.

The narrative follows Elena and Lila from age six to sixteen, detailing their intellectual rivalry, navigating the neighborhood's complex social dynamics, and diverging paths as they approach adulthood.

My Brilliant Friend received widespread acclaim upon its release, with critics praising Ferrante's vivid portrayal of female friendship and post-war Italian society. The novel's critical success has been matched by its popular appeal. In 2019, The Guardian ranked My Brilliant Friend as the 11th best book of the 21st century. In a 2024 survey conducted by The New York Times Book Review, the novel was named the best book of the 21st century, solidifying its place in contemporary literature.

The novel's success led to a television adaptation, produced as a joint venture between HBO, RAI, and TIMvision. The series... premiered in 2018 to critical acclaim.

Ferrante has kept her identity secret since her 1992 debut, stating that anonymity is key to her writing process and that "books, once they are written, have no need of their authors." Speculation and several theories as to her true identity, based on information Ferrante has given in interviews as well as analysis drawn from the content of her novels, have been put forth and routinely denied.

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