The new Elena Ferrante novel, up through p.138 (no spoilers)

Some surprises have come, and I am liking it more.  Is it fair to judge it against the Neapolitan quadrology?  This book has only one major character rather than two, so is it doomed to be only half as good?  Can any current book manage to be half as good?  Can we read this one fresh at all?  (Is it better to view the Mona Lisa “fresh,” or not?)  Should we be trying to discard prior expectations, or not be trying to discard expectations for a book such as this?

You’ll be getting another report soon, please note I am deliberately not reading the book too quickly.  Here is my previous post on the book.  I agree with the commentator who described the male characters as mostly flat.