The Lying Life of Adults is a novel written by Italian author Elena Ferrante, which was first published in Italian in 2019 and later translated into English in a novel published in 2020. The book tells the story of Giovanna, a young girl from Naples who becomes disillusioned with her parents and their social circle as she navigates adolescence. Specifically, as Giovanna has gotten older, her face has significantly changed. Because of this, her father starts to poke fun at her, telling her that she is beginning to remind him of his sister, whom he hates. This profoundly upsets Giovanna, who decides to go on a journey through Naples to discover who she truly is and if she is like her aunt. In the end, she discovers that she isn't like her aunt and that she is a good person who is beautiful and capable.
A television series based on Ferrante's novel was released by Netflix in 2022. Like the novel on which it was based, the television series was top-rated on the streaming giant and received popular reviews, showing Ferrante's novel's enduring popularity.
Merve Emre of The Atlantic thoroughly enjoyed the novel, which he said "frames lying as a creative act." The New York Times felt similarly, calling the novel both "suspenseful" and "propulsive." Finally, Sophia Gatzionis Harvard Review called The Lying Life of Adults "Both the hardest book to read and the easiest, The Lying Life of Adults is a cruel and deeply compelling novel."
