The Lying Life of Adults

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of sexual content.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What strikes you most about Ferrante’s portrayal of adolescent identity formation? How does her approach to the bildungsroman compare to other coming-of-age stories you’ve encountered, such as her acclaimed My Brilliant Friend or Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street?

2. The novel’s title suggests that lying is fundamental to adult life. How do the various deceptions throughout the story—from Andrea’s affair to Giovanna’s own evolving relationship with truth—support or complicate this premise?

3. How effectively did the contrasting settings of Rione Alto and the Industrial Zone shape your understanding of the characters and their conflicts?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. How did Giovanna’s reaction to her father comparing her to Aunt Vittoria resonate with your own experiences of unexpected self-doubt? Have you ever experienced a moment when someone’s casual comment dramatically shifted how you saw yourself? 

2. Do you recognize the kind of identity shifting Giovanna experiences—being the obedient daughter at home and the rebellious Giannina with her aunt? What different versions of yourself emerge in different environments or relationships?

3. What object or heirloom in your own family carries complicated histories or conflicting stories about its significance? How did the bracelet’s multiple origin stories reflect the broader theme of competing narratives in families?

4. How do you think children should navigate learning difficult truths about their parents’ flaws and mistakes? What did you make of Giovanna’s journey from idealization to disillusionment to a more complex understanding of her father?

5. Roberto initially represents an idealized mentor figure for Giovanna, until she discovers his willingness to betray Giuliana. How has experiencing disillusionment with someone you looked up to changed your approach to finding role models or mentors?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. How does the geographic divide between Rione Alto and the Industrial Zone reflect broader social and economic inequalities that persist in many societies today? What parallels do you see to class divisions in other contexts you’re familiar with?

2. Do you see evidence of the sinners or saints categorization of women that Ferrante explores in contemporary culture? How have these rigid labels evolved or persisted since the novel’s 1990s setting?

3. Which aspects of Giovanna’s experience feel universal to you, and which seem specifically tied to her Italian cultural context? How does Ferrante balance the particular and the universal in her storytelling?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What do you think we gain and lose by experiencing the story entirely through Giovanna’s perspective? How does this limited narration serve the novel’s exploration of truth, deception, and coming-of-age?

2. How does the bracelet function as a plot device and symbol throughout the narrative? What does its journey from character to character reveal about the relationships and power dynamics in the story?

3. How does Ferrante avoid simple categorizations of good versus evil in her portrayal of Aunt Vittoria? What makes this character function as both a cautionary figure and a liberating influence for Giovanna?

4. What significance does the recurring motif of “looking closely” hold throughout the novel? How do different characters’ abilities to see truth versus deception drive plot and character development?

5. The novel opens with Giovanna’s crisis over resembling her aunt and ends with her traveling to Venice with Ida. How does this structure reflect Giovanna’s transformation and shifting relationships?

6. Roberto defines compunction as “a needle that had to pull the thread through the scattered fragments of our existence” (178).  How does this concept of moral vigilance work differently for the male and female characters in the story?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. What three objects would you choose to represent the novel’s exploration of truth and deception in a museum exhibit? How would you arrange them to capture the relationship between appearance, reality, and the stories we tell ourselves?

2. The novel ends with Giovanna and Ida beginning their journey to Venice together. What kind of mentor do you imagine Giovanna will become for her younger friend, and what challenges might test her newfound sense of self?

3. If Margherita could write a letter to Giovanna 10 years after the novel’s events, what wisdom about family, forgiveness, and growing up do you think this generous character would want to share?

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