Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels are the best book series of the decade

Elena Ferrante’s majestic Neapolitan quartet begins in 2010.

Elderly Elena receives word that her lifelong friend Lila has gone missing.

Lenu comes off more passive and thoughtful there’s a reason she’s writing this story, maybe.

Lord, it’s fun.

The books were translated into English by Ann Goldstein and became an understandable sensation around the world.

(A very good TV series, titledMy Brilliant Friend,adapted the first novel last year.)

The author renders the central neighborhood with meticulous wonder.

Lila and Lenu separate and reunite, finding each other in dire circumstances or delirious joy.

The 2010s turned into another radical period, transformative and destructive in equal measure.

So reading Ferrante can be a tantalizingly escapist experience, too.

But don’t be fooled by the period setting, or the lush vacation-baiting tour of major Italian cityscapes.

Lucky we are to have Ferrante, a brilliant friend to all us lost children.