The Days of Abandonment
Elena Ferrante
Europa Editions
188 pages
As a wife, it has always been one of my worst nightmares. To be abandoned, your husband declaring that he is no longer in love with you. That he has found another woman. That nightmare is Olga’s reality. Olga and Mario have been married for 15 years and have two children together. They have had bumps in the road before, but it quickly becomes apparent to Olga that Mario is serious this time, and that their marriage is over.
Olga is devastated and is unable to process the situation. She begins to neglect her children and she turns in on herself. She becomes obsessed with Mario and his new girlfriend, to the point that it consumes her. It all escalates until one fateful day when Olga completely loses the plot.
My heart ached for Olga at first, but as the book wore on, she started to irritate me. I am all for wallowing in self pity, but at some point you have to brush yourself off and get on with life. The neglect of her children was distressing, especially once her son got sick. I really started to question whether the children were in danger with their mother. At one point, Olga’s seven year old daughter is acting like more of an adult than Olga herself.
I wish that I had not read this for Dewey’s readathon. Although it is a short book, it deserves to be savored. There is a lot to take in and I think I would have had a more fulfilling experience had I been able to take my time with this one. Instead, I was a little too rushed and I am only now getting a chance to dissect The Days of Abandonment as I am writing this review. Despite that, I still enjoyed the novel and thought it was disturbing in a good way.
Other Review:
I received a copy of this book from the ever generous Care at Care’s Online Book Club. Thank you Care!
