YMMV / The Neapolitan Novels

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • The title "My Brilliant Friend". Who is the real "brilliant friend"? Multitalented prodigy Lila or the much more successful and well-educated overachiever Elena? Or is it a Double-Meaning Title in that both see each other this way?
  • Is Lila as brilliant and exceptionally talented as she's seen by Elena? Or Elena is simply an Unreliable Narrator who idealizes Lila too much due to her own inferiority complex?
  • Elena's husband Pietro. While everyone agrees he's a better person than Nino, he can be seen in two different ways, depending on the interpretation. To some, he's a well-meaning Nice Guy who was simply unable to understand his wife, to others he's a jerk who only wanted Elena as the pretty Trophy Wife and never cared about her in the first place. It helps that Pietro in the TV show, while still having some questionable moments, is more sympathetic than his book counterpart.
• Base-Breaking Character: Lila is either an interesting and complex Anti-Hero with a hard life, or way too obnoxious to be sympathetic.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Lila's abusive husband Stefano. Many fans blame Lila because she was being a bitchy and unreasonable wife to him, and try to justify all of Stefano's violence and physical abuse with "he's just a product of his time" since the books are set in a poor neighborhood in The '50s.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Enzo is probably the character who is universally loved by fans for being genuinely wholesome and the only Nice Guy in a series full of criminals and assholes.
  • Gigliola in the third book and, consequently, the third season of the TV series. She remains a side character, but she has two notable appearances: in one she's revealed to be The Woobie and a Broken Bird, while in the other she's a quite funny Alpha Bitch when she interacts with other characters at a dinner (especially since her bitchiness was much more understandable at that point of the story).
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Enzo and Lila. Enzo is the nicest guy in the story, and the only one of Lila's suitors who truly loves and respects her. Even if their couple is in the background in the TV series (especially compared to Elena/Nino, Lila/Nino, Elena/Pietro, etc.), they probably have the biggest amount of shipping videos. It helps that they manage to have a healthy relationship for a long time. Sadly, they don't end up together, due to a tragedy that happens to their daughter, causing their life to fall apart.
  • Elena and Lila, due to their heavy Pseudo-Romantic Friendship combined with Friendly Rivalry. Many fanfictions like to pair them together.
• Jerkass Woobie: Lila is harsh, spiteful, and sometimes even cruel, but her life is dreadful. She grew up in a poor and abusive family, never had a chance to continue her studies after primary school despite being a Child Prodigy, was literally thrown out of a window by her father when she was a child, was forced into a marriage as a teenager to a guy who raped her and beat her up since the start of the marriage... And that's just a few of the things that happened to her.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains:
  • Nino is a manipulative, hypocritical Jerkass and a liar who has no problem cheating on and abandoning his girlfriends/wives, and readers hate him to the point of considering him the most despicable character in the series. Even worse than the Solara brothers, who are gangsters in a dangerous mafia family.
  • Lila, due to being a Base-Breaking Character. When Pietro (Elena's new husband) meets some of her old friends and neighbors at dinner, he tells Elena that the Solaras are clearly bad people but, in his opinion, Lila is the most evil of them all. Many fans agree with Pietro's statement about Lila. The Solara's worst crimes? Murder, rape, gang violence, extortion, and terrorizing an entire city. Lila's worst crimes? Being mean, unpleasant, and a bad friend.
• Les Yay: Elena and Lila's Pseudo-Romantic Friendship. In her narration, Elena seems to have an odd infatuation with Lila, gushing over Lila's talents and physical appearance. When Lila is trying on her wedding dress, she's excited because she has the "privilege" of seeing Lila's body even before Lila's future husband.