My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As always, Elena Ferrante's is a fantastic writer and unafraid to present bleak tales.
She doesn't shy away from dark topics and even darker personalities, and you probably won't love the people you meet in this short book. But damn, you'll want to see where it goes and appreciate the character development along the way.
The Lost Daughter is a tale of imperfect motherhood, and also a story of what it is to be the daughter of an imperfect mother. The main mother here, Leda, simply wasn't into motherhood all that much. She can be selfish and unkind, and provides food for thought on how motherhood isn't the same experience for everyone.
The book also does a good job of depicting what it would feel like for someone raising a small child that wants so much of your time and attention that she practically consumes you. Who deals with that perfectly all the time? What about people who aren't suited to deal with it all?
Ferrante gives us a complicated, unapologetic main character. The idea we often see of the perfect mom who does no wrong and has no wants or desires of her own isn't realistic, and it's interesting to see an alternate angle in this story.
As an added bonus for Ferrante fans, a movie based on this book starring Olivia Colman is available on Netflix.
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If you love talking about books, please follow or friend me on Goodreads. Let's be book buddies!
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