My Brilliant Friend: Adolescence: Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

Over the summer, Lila is not the only one who is changing—Rino, too, is becoming more confident and more outspoken. He boasts about becoming richer than the Solaras, but he reels himself in around Lila. One evening, Rino, Pasquale, and Antonio take Lila and Lenù out into the city. Lila is clearly excited to be in Naples, and she spends a lot of time observing every person, every shop, and every small scene she encounters.

At a pizzeria, Antonio flirts with Lenù, and Pasquale flirts with Lila. At one point in the night, Rino says he believes that the pizza maker is making eyes at Lila. Pasquale becomes enraged. He walks behind the counter and begins assaulting the pizza maker. After leaving the restaurant, Lenù feels that the people are less glamorous, the glittering lights less inviting, and the streets less exciting. She is disheartened to realize that things are the same everywhere else as they are in her neighborhood.

Over the course of the summer, Lila continues attracting attention from men. One day toward the end of August, while out with in a group, Lenù, Carmela, Pasquale, Rino, and Antonio notice a man staring at Lila. He comes over to their table and explains that he was just telling his wife and sons that Lila will grow up to be as beautiful as “a Botticelli Venus.” Lila begins laughing, but Rino grabs the man by the collar, drags him back to his wife and children, and screams at them all.

At a party for Gigliola’s name day, a religious celebration tied to the festivals of the saints, all of Lila and Lenù’s friends from the neighborhood are present. There is lots of dancing, both to traditional music and rock and roll songs. Enzo pulls Lila onto the dance floor, and she is so excited to dance that she barely seems to notice her partner as he moves. Lenù notices that Stefano, who once threatened to prick Lila’s tongue, stares at Lila as if she is a “movie star.” While she’s still dancing, the Solaras arrive. They, too, are captivated by Lila.

As the music continues, Lila dances with Pasquale. The Solaras taunt Stefano for letting Lila dance with a lowly construction worker. Lenù gets nervous, sensing the possibility of a brawl. Michele continues trying to stir up trouble while Marcello heads for the dance floor to steal a dance with Lila. Lenù’s anxiety increases, and she is shocked when Lila grabs Marcello’s hand and begins dancing with him. Pasquale, offended, goes to whisper to Michele, who himself is whispering to Stefano. The music stops and Lenù tries to pull a reluctant Lila off the dance floor. Lila insists on dancing with Marcello. As Lenù senses tensions in the room continuing to mount, she begs Lila to leave with her. Lila at last agrees. When Marcello stops her and begs her for another dance, she looks at him strangely, as if she didn’t even realize who she was dancing with all along.

Outside, Lila and Lenù find Pasquale raving to Antonio, Carmela, Ada, and anyone else who will listen. He rails against the Solaras and their establishment, a place for “loan sharks from the Camorra.” He accuses Don Achille of being a “Nazi Fascist” and claims Stefano runs the grocery using money from the black market. He shouts that his father was “right” to kill Don Achille and threatens to kill Stefano and the Solaras himself. When he rounds on Lila, Antonio defends her. Enzo tries to urge everyone to go home. Lenù, Lila, and the other girls burst into tears. At last, at the sight of Lila crying, Pasquale agrees to go home. As they walk down the street together, Lila asks Pasquale what Nazi Fascists are and what the black market is.