Join us

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Newsletter

Elena Ferrante

The Days of Abandonment

Cover: The Days of Abandonment - Elena Ferrante

Elena Ferrante

The Days of Abandonment

2005, pp. 192, Paperback
ISBN: 9781933372006
Translated by: Ann Goldstein
Region: Italy
Available as ebook Available as ebook Available as ebook
$ 17.00
READ NOW READ NOW READ NOW
Sample chapter Sample chapter Sample chapter
Reading group guide Reading group guide Reading group guide

The book

A BEST BOOK OF THE CENTURY - NEW YORK TIMES

From the New York Times–bestselling author of My Brilliant Friend, this novel of a deserted wife’s descent into despair—and rage—is “a masterpiece” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

The Days of Abandonment is the gripping story of an Italian woman’s experiences after being suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage. With two young children to care for, Olga finds it more and more difficult to do the things she used to: keep a spotless house, cook meals with creativity and passion, refrain from using obscenities. After running into her husband with his much-younger new lover in public, she cannot even refrain from assaulting him physically.

In a “raging, torrential voice” (The New York Times), Olga conveys her journey from denial to devastating emptiness—and when she finds herself literally trapped within the four walls of their high-rise apartment, she is forced to confront her ghosts, the potential loss of her own identity, and the possibility that life may never return to normal.

“Intelligent and darkly comic.”—Publishers Weekly

“Remarkable, lucid, austerely honest.”—The New Yorker

The author

Elena Ferrante
Elena Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), and The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), now a film directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley. She is also the author of Incidental Inventions (Europa, 2019), illustrated by Andrea Ucini; Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey (Europa, 2016); and a children’s picture book illustrated by Mara Cerri, The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016). The four volumes known as the “Neapolitan novels” (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) were published by Europa Editions in English between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. The adaptation of Ferrante’s most recent novel, The Lying Life of Adults (Europa, 2020), debuted on Netflix in 2023.

Press

From the same country

  • Cover: The Malcontents - Sacha Naspini

    Sacha Naspini

    The Malcontents

    2025, pp. 480, $ 25.00
    There is a village carved into the rock of the Maremma hinterland in Tuscany and its name is Le Case. A dying country. A provincial trap. A microcosm...
  • Cover: The Other Profile - Irene Graziosi

    Irene Graziosi

    The Other Profile

    2025, pp. 208, $ 17.95
    A story of a conflicted friendship and its unraveling, told against the background of an ever-present, mind-twisting social media-verse
  • Cover: The Bishop’s Villa - Sacha Naspini

    Sacha Naspini

    The Bishop’s Villa

    2024, pp. 192, $ 28.00
    From the best-selling author of Nives, a story of love, redemption, and resistance set in Italy during WWII
  • Cover: The Passenger: Naples - AA.VV.

    AA.VV.

    The Passenger: Naples

    2024, pp. 192, $ 22.00
    Fully-illustrated, The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world.    IN THIS VOLUME:...
  • Cover: The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan - Domenico Starnone

    Domenico Starnone

    The Mortal and Immortal Life of the Girl from Milan

    2024, pp. 144, $ 18.00
    Children can be cruel, and children can love as passionately as adults, more so at times. When these two facts combine and ignite the imagination...
  • Cover: Moving the Moon: A Night at the Acropolis Museum - Andrea Marcolongo

    Andrea Marcolongo

    Moving the Moon: A Night at the Acropolis Museum

    2024, pp. 144, $ 22.00
    From one of Europe’s most original and brilliant classicists, an inspiring and deeply personal reflection on loss, memory, and what we owe the past...

More suggestions

  • Cover: The Colony - Annika Norlin

    Annika Norlin

    The Colony

    2025, pp. 464, $ 19.00
    A mega best-seller in Sweden, with rights sold to over a dozen countries and a TV adaptation underway, Annika Norlin’s debut novel The Colony...
  • Cover: The Tokyo Suite - Giovana Madalosso

    Giovana Madalosso

    The Tokyo Suite

    2025, pp. 208, $ 17.00
    The English-language debut of one of the most exciting voices in contemporary Brazilian literature, The   Tokyo Suite is a gripping exploration...
  • Cover: The Café with No Name - Robert Seethaler

    Robert Seethaler

    The Café with No Name

    2025, pp. 208, $ 25.00
    From one of Austria’s most beloved and best-selling authors, comes this vibrant tale of love, companionship, and renewal set against the transformations...
  • Cover: The Malcontents - Sacha Naspini

    Sacha Naspini

    The Malcontents

    2025, pp. 480, $ 25.00
    There is a village carved into the rock of the Maremma hinterland in Tuscany and its name is Le Case. A dying country. A provincial trap. A microcosm...
  • Cover: A Calamity of Noble Houses - Amira Ghenim

    Amira Ghenim

    A Calamity of Noble Houses

    2025, pp. 432, $ 28.00
    A finalist for the 2021 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, a compelling saga of two families that illuminates the lives of women in modern...
  • Cover: The Other Profile - Irene Graziosi

    Irene Graziosi

    The Other Profile

    2025, pp. 208, $ 17.95
    A story of a conflicted friendship and its unraveling, told against the background of an ever-present, mind-twisting social media-verse

Join Our Newsletter and receive a FREE eBook!

Stay updated on Europa’s forthcoming releases, author tours and major news.

Are you a bookseller? Click here!

Are you a librarian? Click here!

X