The Lying Life of Adults, the 6-episode series produced by Fandango and based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante, published by Europa Editions in UK and US, will debut globally on Netflix on 4th January 2023.
The Lying Life of Adults TV Series + Book
Netflix released the teaser key art, which offers an intriguing glimpse into the series directed by Edoardo De Angelis and starring Valeria Golino in the role of Vittoria, and newcomer Giordana Marengo in that of Giovanna. Alessandro Preziosi (“Medici”) plays Giovanna's father, Andrea, while Pina Turco (“Gomorrah”, the series) plays her mother, Nella.
The book The lying life of adults is written by Elena Ferrante, Laura Paolucci, Francesco Piccolo and Edoardo De Angelis.
The series is a powerful and unique portrait of the young protagonist’s transition from childhood to adolescence during the 1990s.
Giovanna’s pretty face has changed: it’s turning into the face of an ugly, spiteful adolescent. But is she seeing things as they really are? Where must she look to find her true reflection and a life she can claim as her own?
Giovanna’s search leads her to two kindred cities that fear and detest one another: the Naples of the heights, which assumes a mask of refinement, and the Naples of the depths,a place of excess and vulgarity.
Adrift, she vacillates between these two cities, falling into one then climbing back to the other.
The novel, translated by Ann Goldstein, was published by by Edizioni E/O in Italy on 7 November 2019 and by Europa Editions on 1 September 2020. It has been published in 37 countries so far.
Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), and the four novels known as the Neapolitan Quartet (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) which were published by Europa Editions between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. Ferrante is also the author of Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey (Europa, 2016), a children’s picture book illustrated by Mara Cerri, The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016), and a collection of personal essays illustrated by Andrea Ucini entitled Incidental Inventions (Europa, 2019). The Lost Daughter was made into a feature film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman. Her most recent novel is The Lying Life of Adults (Europa, 2020). In the Margins, a collection of original essays on reading and writing, was published by Europa in 2022.
Ann Goldstein is one of the most accomplished translators from the Italian working today. Best known for her translations of Elena Ferrante’s oeuvre, she has also translated novels by Primo Levi, Pierpaolo Pasolini, Alessandro Baricco and other classic and contemporary Italian writers.
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