Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014) is the third book in pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante’s world-acclaimed adult fiction series The Neapolitan Novels. The four-novel series chronicles the friendship between first-person narrator Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo from childhood to old age in an impoverished neighborhood in Naples, Italy. Translated by Ann Goldstein, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay documents the beginning of middle age, wherein the two women grapple with success, marriage, motherhood, and the harsh realities of a rapidly changing world.

Please note that Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay depicts sexual assault, domestic violence, and substance abuse.

Plot Summary

In 2010, an elderly Elena Greco recalls the last time she saw Lila Cerullo, five years ago in the neighborhood on the edge of Naples, Italy that they grew up in. The two women walked in companionable silence on the stradone (main road), when they suddenly discovered the dead body of Gigliola Spagnuolo, their childhood friend, in the church gardens. This incident prompts Elena to reflect on the violent ends so many of the women she grew up with came to, and on the growing unrest in the world at large.

Elena resumes narration where the events of The Story of a New Name, the second book in the series, left off in the early 1970s. Elena is shocked to find Nino Sarratore, with whom she has been in love since childhood, among the audience at a bookstore event for her recently published debut novel. After the event, Elena goes out to dinner with her mother-in-law Adele, Adele’s friend Tarratano, and Nino. Elena’s fiancé, Pietro, whom she met while attending college in Pisa, surprises her at the restaurant. He has good news for her: He’s been awarded a tenured professorship at the university in Florence, and thanks to the income he and Elena can be married sooner than anticipated. Nino exits abruptly after this announcement; it will be several years before Elena hears from him again.

Elena returns to Naples to prepare for her marriage, relieved to escape the poverty and violence of the neighborhood at last. Her book continues to sell well, but it also draws criticism due to a semi-autobiographical sex scene. Elena has had no contact with Lila for some time, but one night, Elena receives word that Lila is ill and goes to her right away in San Giovanni a Teduccio, where Lila now lives with her young son, Gennaro, and Enzo, Elena and Lila’s mutual childhood friend. Lila recounts the events of her life since she last saw Elena, detailing the sexual harassment and unsafe conditions she’s been subjected to at the salami factory where she works, her attempts to start a worker’s union there, and the fragile state of her mind and body. Elena arranges Lila’s affairs for her and helps her recover from her illness. Lila quits her job at the factory and, once she’s well, moves back to the neighborhood in Naples with Gennaro and Enzo. Elena goes to Florence to be married.

Elena’s marriage to Pietro proves deeply dissatisfying. Pietro is a distant husband and offers Elena no support once their two children, Dede and Elsa, are born. In addition, he is threatened by Elena’s intelligence and stifles her intellectual pursuits. Elena feels trapped in her role as wife and mother, and is jealous of Lila, who has achieved success of her own back in the neighborhood: She is head of computer operations at a factory and is free to live her life as she chooses.

Nino, now married with a young son, unexpectedly reappears in Elena’s life when he begins travelling frequently to Florence on business. Nino and Pietro strike up a quick friendship, and Nino spends a lot of time with Elena and her family. He praises Elena’s intelligence and encourages her writing, a stark contrast to Pietro. Nino abruptly sabotages his friendship with Pietro, and Nino and Elena soon begin an affair. Nino invites Elena to attend an upcoming conference in Montpellier with him, but Elena refuses unless they both agree to commit to their relationship and leave their marriages. Nino is reluctant at first, leading Elena to end the relationship briefly, but eventually, the two confess to their respective spouses. At the end of the novel, Elena leaves Pietro and her daughters and boards the plane for Montpellier with Nino.