I was finally convinced to start this yesterday. Let it never be said that I can always resist peer pressure. 
 My Brilliant Friend is the first novel in a series, a 'coming-of-age' story of two friends in Naples. It avoids the confines of a set narrative and progresses as life does, with the steady accumulation of details and experiences. There are some dramatic scenes or telling details, but they are the result of the slow building of tension. This is most apparent at the very beginning and very end of the book, with details and scenes that only make sense from paying attention, and revealing the gulf widening between the two friends. 
 I have little else to say here that has not already been said. On to volume 2.