An audiobook about the breakdown of a marriage Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante, the famous Italian author of the Genius Girlfriend series
"One afternoon in April, barely a few minutes after lunch, my husband told me he was leaving me." With these words begins the novel Days of Abandonment (I giorni dell' abbandono) by the well-known Italian author writing under the pseudonym Elena Ferrante. The writer, who became world famous for her tetralogy The Genius Girlfriend (L'amica geniale), tells the story of a woman whose life is turned upside down in an instant. Until then, the thirty-eight-year-old Olga, mother of two children, had lived the quiet life of a housewife who subordinates everything to the needs of her husband and family. At first she cannot believe that the change could be irreversible, that her husband would never come home again. The moment it is forced to accept this as fact, its defence mechanisms kick in.
The reaction is surprising even for her: The previously calm, kind and understanding Olga suddenly reveals dark, repulsive aspects of herself that she had no idea about until then and that she cannot suppress despite her best efforts. She is going through a sarcastic period, behaving obscenely, despising herself, her intellect and her own body. Vulgarity is then replaced by apathy, Olga falls into a state of inertia, even the most ordinary acts present to her insurmountable barriers, unsolvable situations. It is not until the unexpected death of her dog and her desire to protect her children from painful, traumatic experiences that Olga is forced to pick herself up again, find her footing and face her fate with pride and determination.
