Walter Benjamin’s take on Naples includes ideas about the “banal tourist” (164). The tourist visits the city to observe much of the other topics of Benjamin’s essay such as the crime, poverty, Camorra, and the gray working-class rione. Benjamin writes that the tourist “fares no better” in Naples (164). I interpreted this as the idea that the tourists who may visit the city with all clichéd purposes and stereotypes in mind may not end up as satisfied once they authentically experience real Naples.

One could argue, as many Italians probably do, that Ferrante’s novel is crowded with these same clichés of Naples recovering from WWII. While corruption, violence, poverty, and strife were certainly prevalent, as they were in many Europeans cities post-war, Ferrante’s book advocates the usual stereotypes that enthrall the foreign reader and tourist into Naples.

The foundations of Ferrante’s plot consist of two poor girls navigating their way through a difficult life. The version of Naples full of the Camorra, disorder, and discomfort is attractive to readers outside of Italy because it is how the city is constantly depicted for the international eye. It is difficult for me to fully decide my take on this novel because it seems rather challenging to write about this period of time in Naples without including the clichés, of which many hold truths to them.