This book has received a lot of comparisons to Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend and the other works in that series. Let me clarify: I’ve tried to read Ferrante multiple times and just can’t land with her writing. I don’t know what it is. It’s got nothing to do with my months-long slump; I can’t connect with it.
So I’ve heard a lot of people dismiss The Family because it’s a comparison that doesn’t measure up for them. If you’re a big Ferrante fan, you should know that going in.
But I hope it doesn’t prohibit you from reading this because it’s really good. No doubt one of the best things I’ve read in 2023.
On a micro level, Naomi Krupitsky gets female relationships down cold. I was engrossed in the Antonia-Sofia dynamic as their small families try to operate within the confines of the Family. For such a short book, Krupitsky plays the long game and while there’s a plot, it’s far more interesting to see these two and those in their orbit interact with one another, figuring out how the world works, trying to get by.
Also, as David Chase once said: The Sopranos is a family show and the mob is the tickle for why you watch. That’s the case with this one. I love mob stories and this one is a mob story, if not a conventional crime novel. But it’s more focused on family.
I wasn’t a big fan of the end, mostly because I’m not sure a book like this could have an acceptable ending. It’s really a hangout novel that ends in a needlessly explosive climax. Nevertheless, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. It’s quite good.
