​You loved Elena Ferrante’s quartet My Brilliant Friend, and devoured each volume, but you haven’t had the chance to explore her first— and outstanding— works.

​Here is the chance to read Ferrante’s debut novel, Troubling Love (1992, trans. by Ann Goldstein, Europa Editions), for an Italian Book Club night at The Ruby.

​Also set in Naples, Ferrante’s first novel is a visceral journey into a mother-daughter relationship, which cannot be separated from the city’s patriarchal culture and violence. It is also a story about love and identity, and what it means to return to a place you fled.

​Please note that the book includes references to sexual molestation, domestic violence, and portrays some disturbing scenes. If you’ve read any of Ferrante’s books, you know that she can be unsparing and interested in investigating precisely what can trouble us.

​There will also be Neapolitan music and a Neapolitan pasta dish.

*This is an intimate gathering for Ruby members only.