My Brilliant Friend Characters

The protagonist and narrator of My Brilliant Friend, Elena Greco is a woman in her sixties looking back on her 1950s childhood and early adolescence in an impoverished neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples… read analysis of Elena “Lenù” Greco

Lila Cerullo is Fernando and Nunzia Cerullo’s daughter and Rino Cerullo’s sister. She’s known to her family as Rafaella and to most of her friends as Lina—but to her lifelong friend Elena Greco… read analysis of Rafaella “Lila” Cerullo

Nino is Donato and Lidia Sarratore’s son and Marisa Sarratore’s brother. He is the aloof, unattainable object of Lenù’s affection from her elementary school days onward. From the time Lenù is small… read analysis of Nino Sarratore

Stefano is the eldest son of Don Achille and Donna Maria. Several years older than Lila and Lenù, when readers first meet Stefano, he is a fearsome bully who threatens Lila after she… read analysis of Stefano Carracci

Rino is Fernando and Nunzia Cerullo’s son and Lila Cerullo’s older brother. Rino is just as ambitious as his younger sister, and he, too, hates the way their neighborhood is run by violence… read analysis of Rino Cerullo

Fernando is Lila and Rino’s father and Nunzia’s husband. He owns a cobbler shop in the neighborhood where he mends and makes shoes, a trade he learned as a young man. Fernando… read analysis of Fernando Cerullo

Antonio is the eldest son of Melina Cappuccio. Antonio works as a mechanic and is a part of Lenù’s extended friend group in the neighborhood, though he is a couple of years older… read analysis of Antonio Cappuccio

Maestra Oliviero is Lila and Lenù’s elementary school teacher. A stern but kind woman, Oliviero has a soft spot for Lenù—and especially for Lila, once Oliviero realizes that Lila has taught herself to read… read analysis of Maestra Oliviero

As the neighborhood loan shark and the “ogre of fairy tales,” Don Achille is a terrifying man who moves in the shadows of Lila and Lenù’s neighborhood throughout their childhood. Don Achille is a… read analysis of Don Achille Carracci

Pasquale is Alfredo and Giuseppina’s son and Carmela’s older brother. He’s a construction worker and a Communist who develops a crush on Lila when she and Lenù are in middle school. Pasquale is… read analysis of Pasquale Peluso

Carmela is Alfredo and Giuseppina’s daughter and Pasquale’s sister. She’s a classmate and neighbor of Lila and Lenù. Carmela is a sweet and fun-loving girl who works hard to put the pain… read analysis of Carmela Peluso

Nunzia is Lila and Rino’s mother and Fernando’s wife. She is often bewildered by reports of Lila’s brilliance in school and baffled by her daughter’s abilities to teach herself to read and write… read analysis of Nunzia Cerullo

Elena’s mother is never given a name in the novel, yet she is a defining presence in her daughter’s life. A strict, humorless woman with a wandering eye and a pronounced limp, the young… read analysis of Elena’s Mother

Elena’s father, a porter who works at city hall, is a simple, honest man who wants the best for his family. Lenù’s father is supportive of his daughter obtaining an education, yet he is… read analysis of Elena’s Father

Donato is Nino’s father, Lidia’s husband, and Melina’s lover. He’s a railroad worker who moonlights as a poet and journalist. Donato and his family leave the neighborhood when Lila and Lenù are… read analysis of Donato Sarratore

Alfonso is Don Achille and Donna Maria’s son and Stefano and Pinuccia’s brother. He’s a classmate of Lila and Lenù, and when the three of them are young (when Don Achille is… read analysis of Alfonso Carracci

Alfredo is a disgraced carpenter who loses his tools, his shop, and his dignity to the loan shark Don Achille. The narrative implies that Alfredo’s gambling problem is behind his fall from grace, yet… read analysis of Alfredo Peluso

Melina is a desperately poor woman who lives in Lenù’s apartment building. She’s Antonio and Ada’s mother, and she’s a distant relative of Lila on Nunzia’s side of the family. Melina has… read analysis of Melina Cappuccio

Silvio is the owner of Bar Solara, a neighborhood bar and pastry shop where gambling, fights, moneylending, and Camorrist activities take place in shadowy rooms. As a Camorrist himself, Silvio seizes financial control of the… read analysis of Silvio Solara

Donna Maria is Don Achille’s wife and Stefano, Pinuccia, and Alfonso’s mother. She runs the grocery store and works alongside Stefano and Pinuccia, and sometimes Alfonso when school is out. Maria… read analysis of Donna Maria Carracci

Pinuccia is Don Achille and Donna Maria’s daughter and Stefano and Alfonso’s sister. Spoiled and jealous, Pinuccia is indignant about Lila’s carelessness with Stefano’s money after their engagement. Together with her mother… read analysis of Pinuccia Carracci

Enzo is one of Lenù and Lila’s classmates and neighbors. The class dunce, Enzo has a big crush on Lila yet has trouble expressing his feelings for her—one moment he gives her a bouquet… read analysis of Enzo Scanno

Gino is the son of the local pharmacist. Gino has a big crush on Lenù and pays careful attention to her developing body. He even gives her a share of his winnings in a bet… read analysis of Gino

Maestro Ferraro is a teacher at Lila and Lenù’s elementary school as well as the school librarian. He teaches classes of boys, but as the librarian, he holds a soft spot for Lila, the… read analysis of Maestro Ferraro

Ada is Melina’s daughter and Antonio’s younger sister. Ada has a rebellious streak and often spends time out on the town with the Solara brothers, which earns her a scandalous reputation in the… read analysis of Ada Cappuccio

Marisa is Donato and Lidia’s daughter and Nino’s younger sister. After Donato is outed for having an affair with Melina Cappuccio, Marisa publicly denounces Melina as a “whore.” However, later on, Marisa… read analysis of Marisa Sarratore

Lila’s son is named after Lila’s older brother, Rino. The younger Rino is a “small-time crook and spendthrift” who, in the prologue, alerts the now-middle-aged Elena to the fact that his mother has… read analysis of Lila’s Son / Rino