CDC Reports Alarming Spike in Ferrante Fever
Pandemic Takes on Novel Dimensions
Bad news for those with pandemic fatigue. A familiar literary affliction is resurging at alarming rates, say experts at the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization: Ferrante Fever.
First introduced to the U.S. population just over a decade ago with the English translation and publication of pseudonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend (L’amica geniale), the first in the bestselling Neapolitan Quartet, Ferrante Fever has resurfaced in recent weeks and shows no signs of letting up. Booksellers, librarians, and other professionals in the field have pointed to the release of the new Netflix adaptation of Ferrante’s latest novel, The Lying Life of Adults (La vita bugiarda degli adulti), as a possible contributing factor for the spike in exposure and infection rates — although they’re an intelligent cohort and admit that correlation does not imply causation.
The author was, of course, unavailable for comment.
Transmission primarily occurs through the passing of Ferrante’s books between female confidantes and colleagues ages 20 and up, but the fever can also spread through contaminated bookmarks, a kiss on both cheeks, and the sharing of vino rosso in an intimate book club setting. Donning a mask in the…
