欧宝娱乐

Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

丕賱丕亘賳丞 丕賱睾丕賲囟丞

Rate this book
鬲購毓賷丿 乇賵丕賷丞 "丕賱丕亘賳丞 丕賱睾丕賲囟丞" 丕賱賳馗乇 賮賷 賯丿爻賷丞 丕賱兀賲賵賲丞 毓賱賶 囟賵亍 兀丨丕爻賷爻 賯丕卅賲丞 鬲毓鬲乇賷 丕賱賲乇兀丞貙 睾丕賱亘丕賸 賲丕 鬲爻毓賶 賱賱鬲爻鬲乇 毓賱賷賴丕. 賰賲丕 賱丕 鬲鬲賵丕賳賶 毓賳 賲乇丕噩毓丞 丕賱毓丿賷丿 賲賳 丕賱賲爻賱賾賲丕鬲 亘卮兀賳 賲丐爻爻丞 丕賱兀爻乇丞 毓丕賲丞. 賲亘乇夭丞 毓賲賯 丕賱鬲丨賵賱丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賴夭 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 丕賱廿賷胤丕賱賷貙 亘毓丿 兀賳 賰丕賳鬲 丕賱兀爻乇丞 賮賷賴 乇賰賷夭丞 鬲賯賱賷丿賷丞 乇丕爻禺丞. 亘賴匕賴 丕賱毓亘丕乇丕鬲 鬲爻鬲賴賱 亘胤賱丞 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲賵氐賷賮賴丕 賱賴匕丕 丕賱鬲丨賵賱 丕賱丿丕賴賲: 毓賳丿賲丕 丕賳鬲賯賱鬲 丕亘賳鬲丕賷 賱賱廿賯丕賲丞 賮賷 鬲賵乇賳鬲賵 丨賷孬 賰丕賳 賵丕賱丿賴賲丕 賷賯胤賳 賵賷毓賲賱 賲賳匕 爻賳賵丕鬲 毓丿丞貙 丕賰鬲卮賮鬲 亘丿賴卮丞 賷禺丕賱胤賴丕 丕賱丨乇噩 兀賳賳賷 賱賲 兀賰賳 兀卮毓乇 亘兀賷 兀賱賲貙 賱丕 亘賱 賰賳鬲 兀卮毓乇 亘賳賮爻賷 禺賮賷賮丞 賰賲丕 賱賵 賰賳鬲 亘匕賱賰 賯丿 兀賳噩亘鬲賴賲丕 兀禺賷乇丕賸. 賱賱賲乇丞 丕賱兀賵賱賶 賲賳匕 禺賲爻 賵毓卮乇賷賳 毓丕賲丕賸 鬲賯乇賷亘丕賸 賱賲 鬲賱丨 毓賱賷 囟乇賵乇丞 丕賱丕賴鬲賲丕賲 亘賴賲丕貙 亘賯賷 丕賱亘賷鬲 賲乇鬲亘丕賸 賰賲丕 賱賵 兀賳 賱丕 兀丨丿 賷爻賰賳賴 賵賱賲 兀毓丿 兀賳賵亍 鬲丨鬲 囟睾胤 丕賱鬲爻賵賯 賵丕賱睾爻賷賱貙 賵丕賱賲乇兀丞 丕賱鬲賷 賰丕賳鬲 鬲毓賷賳賳賷 賲賳匕 爻賳賵丕鬲 毓丿丞 賮賷 鬲氐乇賷賮 丕賱兀毓賲丕賱 丕賱賲賳夭賱賷丞 毓孬乇鬲 毓賱賶 毓賲賱 亘賲賯丕亘賱 兀毓賱賶 賵賱賲 兀卮毓乇 亘丕賱丨丕噩丞 廿賱賶 賲賳 賷丨賱 賲丨賱賴丕.

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

2846 people are currently reading
45202 people want to read

About the author

Elena Ferrante

51books18.3kfollowers
Elena Ferrante is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of Neapolitan Novels are her most widely known works.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
12,196 (21%)
4 stars
23,359 (41%)
3 stars
15,281 (27%)
2 stars
4,164 (7%)
1 star
1,264 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,277 reviews
Profile Image for Jennifer.
791 reviews44 followers
April 14, 2009
This is going to sound strange -- I loved this book, but I didn't enjoy it. The story involves a mother of grown daughters who is dealing with her own ambivalence at what she gave up to assume that role. The author manages to take the flicker of lost independence that every mother feels and magnify it and state it in a brutal and unflinching way. I hated the narrator, but I couldn't look away.
Profile Image for emma.
2,431 reviews84.8k followers
June 5, 2024
in my ferrante era:

i'm spending my time reflecting on what it means to be a woman and mentally disintegrating because of it.

this is a book i really liked and a book i hated reading. it's precise in its observations and cruel and calculated in making you feel the embarrassment and anxiety and self-questioning of its characters.

it's ferrante!

bottom line: a tough read, intentionally.
Profile Image for s.penkevich.
1,522 reviews13.1k followers
July 31, 2024
鈥�A child, yes, is a vortex of anxieties.鈥�

A vacation at a blissful Italian beach under the sun seems an unlikely setting for a dark, psychological tale of familial abuse and wrestling with your inner demons, but Elena Ferrante excels in The Lost Daughter at pulling back the curtains on comforting ideas to expose a darkness lurking underneath. This is a gripping look at the dark side of motherhood, with a portent plot that builds such a tension you feel might tear you to pieces, not unlike the inner tensions that undid the narrator, middle aged Leda, when she was a young mother. Ferrante looks at the ways homelife and a career can tug someone in opposite directions and strain them emotionally, but more importantly she examines how giving oneself to the care of others might make you feel you are disappearing and suddenly want yourself all back. The Lost Daughter elusively twists through the timeline as it juxtaposes mothers and daughters and Ferrante delivers a dark, gritty, and very psychological exposition about struggling to live up to maternal norms and the abuse we can bestow upon one another.

鈥�When had Nina chosen me, on the beach. How had I entered her life. By pushes and shoves, certainly; chaotically.鈥�

The novella (it tops out at 140 pages) begins as Leda, her daughters grown and out of the house to live near their father, finds herself living her best life. Feeling rejuvenated and free, she takes a month-long vacation to spend time at the beach before she will return to her university position at the start of term (I was quite charmed to read she was planning to teach the Strachey鈥檚 Olivia). There she observes Nina, a young mother playing with her daughter Elena, and Elena鈥檚 doll, which sparks memories of her own children. After Elena briefly goes missing, Leda begins to spiral into assessing her transgressions and actions as a mother and in a moment bursting with psychological implications, steals Elena鈥檚 doll.

What works best about this book is how Ferrante manages to unpack a multitude of themes and ideas so succinctly, carefully balancing a minimum amount of examination to its maximum effect. Nothing feels excess and singular moments imply more than an isolated incident. As when Leda鈥檚 daughters criticize her behavior saying that 鈥�the unspoken says more than the spoken,鈥� Ferrante allows vagueness to enhance the tension and feelings of uneasiness. Nina鈥檚 husband and his family, for example, are described as hard and cold people with the only mention of their livelihoods coming from the beach attendant who says they are simply 鈥�bad people.鈥� While it is hinted there is a mafia angle, not knowing for sure has a stronger effect of unease than knowing, which would ultimately be unnecessary in this tightly-wound story. Ferrante has a very unique cadence to her writing (wonderfully translated here by ) that enhances the sense of unease.

鈥�I looked at her in terror, how far could I go, I frightened myself.鈥�

How often we re-examine our lives and see our actions differently when they aren鈥檛 drenched in the emotion of the moment. 鈥�The hardest things to talk about are the ones we ourselves can't understand,鈥� Ferrante writes in the opening pages, and even when questioned about motherhood, Leda finds she has 鈥�composed my answers to [Nina鈥檚] anxious questions as exercises in reticence.鈥� There is a sharp critique of the expectations of mothers in society, particularly with implications of self-sacrifice. 鈥�I suspected she was playing her role of beautiful young mother not for love of her daughter,鈥� Leda thinks watching Nina with her daughter, 鈥�but for us, the crowd on the beach.鈥� It is a performance, playing the role of a mother, much like the role Leda found she either couldn鈥檛, or was unwilling, to commit to and the shame imposed upon her because of it. 鈥�[O]ne wants a child with the animal opacity reinforced by popular beliefs,鈥� Leda thinks, and it is a role women are shoved into or assumed they must shoulder even if they do not think themselves right for the role or would rather retain themselves than give themself away to others as Leda felt.

鈥�Everything in those years seemed to me without remedy, I was without remedy.鈥�

Not that this forgives Leda for her actions, as we learn she treated her children with disdain and violence, often lashing out or striking them in ways that were 鈥�not a possibly educational act but real violence, contained but real,鈥� but Ferrante shows that it is still something important to examine. 鈥�What had I done that was so terrible, in the end,鈥� Leda thinks, and Ferrante keeps the reader cloistered in her head so we only view her memories through her rationalizations of them. 鈥�I was overwhelmed by myself. I, I, I: I am this, I can do this, I must do this,鈥� she thinks, fully admitting she was thinking of restoring herself to herself when she abandoned her children for 3 years and each confrontation with her past is met with her reasoning for it.
鈥�I had been a girl who felt lost, this was true. All the hopes of youth seemed to have been destroyed, I seemed to be falling backwards towards my mother, my grandmother, the chain of mute or angry women I came from. Missed opportunities.鈥�

This is mirrored in Nina, who confesses feeling similarly, which evokes sympathy and a desire to help in Leda.
鈥�I know nothing and I'm worth nothing. I got pregnant, I gave birth to a daughter, and I don't even know how I'm made inside. The only true thing I want is to escape.鈥�

Escape seems to be a major theme in this book, such as Leda wanting to escape the legacy of abusive mothers that she sees in looking back through family history (her daughters, too, wanting to be different than their mother for the same reason), wanting to escape the town of her childhood, Nina wanting to escape a sinister husband, and wanting to escape becoming merely a function of motherhood in place of a Self. Leda wants from her daughters 鈥�to be seen by them as a person and not as a function,鈥� only feeling herself again when they are away from her. When she cares for the stolen doll, she is able to perform a motherly function such as dressing it and cleaning it without having to actually give anything of herself.

Ferrante鈥檚 character analysis is quite brilliant here, relying on their juxtapositions to define multiple characters with the same brushstroke. Nina and Leda serve as excellent foil characters, though Leda also identifies with both Elena and the doll as well. 鈥�You keep your liquid darkness in your stomach,鈥� she thinks when pouring the dirty beach water from the doll, identifying with it as 鈥�I, too, was hiding many dark things, in silence.鈥� She observes that Elena has regressed due to the sadness over losing her doll, but finds she too is regressing both emotionally and physically when she measures and weighs herself: 鈥�Among my most dreaded fantasies was the idea that I could get smaller, go back to being adolescent, child, condemned to relive those phases of my life.鈥� And despite her hatred of her mother, she finds herself falling into the same patterns of abuse, except worrying she is worse since her mother 鈥�never left us, despite crying that she would; I, on the other hand, left my daughters almost without announcing it.鈥� Her own daughters, it seems, are likely to get trapped in a similar fate as Leda fixates on how much her daughter鈥檚 seem to wish to identify themselves apart from their mother and her actions.

The Lost Daughter is a dark, gritty and rather uncomfortable novel that is undeniably gripping and intelligent. It packs a lot for such a short book. Ferrante ends it with quite the shock, and the commentary on abuse seems to be one not of redemption but simply acknowledging it is a problem before it is too late. This was my first Ferrante and I am disappointed in myself for not reading her sooner because I was instantly hooked and plan on devouring book after book by her now. This hits hard and while it may leave you feeling ugly inside, you鈥檒l still want to thank Ferrante for it.

4/5

鈥�The moment arrives when your children say to you with unhappy rage, why did you give me life.鈥�
Profile Image for leah.
469 reviews3,170 followers
March 28, 2024
this little book is really all the proof needed to put those 鈥榚lena ferrante is really a man鈥� conspiracy theories to rest. simply no man could understand the restrictions of femininity or communicate the experience of motherhood/daughterhood like this!
Profile Image for Orsodimondo.
2,386 reviews2,343 followers
December 24, 2022
MADRE DI BAMBOLA


Olivia Colman 猫 Leda, la protagonista del film scritto (premio al Festival di Venezia 2021) e diretto da Maggie Gyllenhaal

Qualche giorno fa ho letto queste parole che mi hanno fatto pensare a Elena Ferrante.
In particolare a questo romanzo, che 猫 il suo libro che preferisco.

Il lavoro di uno scrittore 猫 quello di dire le cose che si suppone non si debbano dire, di aiutarci a tornare allo stato iniziale, alle emozioni pi霉 primitive e assolute che abbiamo vissuto da bambino. Uno scrittore deve scavare in quei sentimenti che vorremmo non avere. Abbiamo sentimenti diversi e uno scrittore deve restituirceli e restituirci a essi, in modo veritiero.


Jessie Buckley 猫 Leda da giovane.

In quale altro modo un lettore trover脿 ci貌 di cui ha bisogno, quando prende in mano un libro? E di cosa si ha bisogno quando si prende in mano un libro?
Si ha bisogno di qualcosa di sincero, di qualcosa che rammenti, che insegni di nuovo, cos矛 da tornare a sapere che cosa si prova davvero.
E oltre a ci貌, si ha bisogno di aiuto per comprendere che cosa si prova a essere un鈥檃ltra persona. Per noi sarebbe facile restare belli comodi all鈥檌nterno del nostro punto di vista individuale. Ci 猫 familiare. 脠 il nostro. 脠 noi. Ma questo significa non doversi assumere la responsabilit脿 degli altri, perch茅 gli altri non sono del tutti reali per noi. Senza questo, la nostra empatia si appiattirebbe, o non esisterebbe. Non 猫 necessario guardare lontano per rendersi conto di ci貌 che accade in questo mondo, quando la nostra capacit脿 di essere empatici scompare.


Dakota Johnson 猫 Nina, la madre della bimba che perde la bambola. O alla quale Leda ruba la bambola?.

Io voglio aiutare le persone a capire un po' meglio le loro madri e i loro padri o i loro vicini di casa o le persone dalla pelle di colore diverso o di religione diversa. Voglio dare al lettore 鈥� fosse pure per un istante 鈥� una prospettiva pi霉 ampia del mondo, cos矛 che possa sentirsi pi霉 grande e non pi霉 piccolo, come cos矛 tante persone tendono a fare.


Foto di scena, Maggie Gyllenhaal dirige una scena del film.

E a questo punto vorrei aggiungere che 鈥� per me 鈥� una delle gioie della scrittura 猫 che quando scrivo non giudico i miei personaggi. Altri li giudicheranno, forse, e sta bene. Ma i miei personaggi sono completamente liberi dal mio giudizio. Lascio che si comportino male quanto vogliono, e che siano ci貌 che sono. Lascio che si amino, in modo imperfetto, come noi tutti amiamo in modo imperfetto. A me interessa soltanto raccontare tutti i livelli diversi ai quali vivono le persone, perch茅 noi viviamo tutti a livelli diversi. Non mi interessa il bene o il male, materia del melodramma. Ci貌 che mi sta a cuore sono le innumerevoli grinze che abbiamo dentro, le pieghe della nostra anima. A me interessa far s矛 che capiamo chi siamo.
Cos矛 facendo, la mia speranza 猫 che, per tutto il tempo in cui il lettore si trova nel mondo dei miei libri, magari non si senta cos矛 solo.



Quando mia figlia era bambina, amava tantissimo i suoi pupazzi di peluche. Un giorno mi ha accompagnato in camera sua tenendomi per mano con la sua manina umida. Aveva allineato tutti i suoi peluche in fila. Mi ha guardato con orgoglio e mi ha detto: 芦Questi sono i miei amici 禄.
Ho ripensato spesso a quelle sue parole. Esprimono ci貌 che io sento nei confronti di tutti i personaggi inventati che mi hanno osservata nelle varie fasi della mia vita. Sono personaggi che ci perdonano mentre noi perdoniamo loro.
Questi sono i nostri amici. Noi abbiamo bisogno di loro, perch茅 la vita, in qualche caso, comporta grande solitudine.


Ancora Maggie Gyllenhaal regista al lavoro.

Sono parole di un鈥檃ltra scrittrice.
Una scrittrice che ammira e apprezza molto le opere di Elena Ferrante.
Sono parole di Elizabeth Strout.

Maggie Gyllenhaal ha preso questo libro e realizzato un magnifico film, il suo esordio alla regia e alla scrittura per il grande schermo. Anche se probabilmente, visti i tempi, di grandi schermi questo bel film ne vedr脿 pochi, solo quelli dei festival, e perlopi霉 si vedr脿 a casa su schermo di formato minore. Maggie ha messo insieme un cast magnifico e fatto brillare tre performance sopra tutte le altre: quella di Olivia Colman/Leda, quella di Jessie Buckley/Leda da giovane e quella di Dakota Johnson/Nina, madre della ragazzina che smarrisce la bambola. Accanto a queste tre magnifiche attrici ci sono Ed Harris, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Mescal, perfino Alba Rohrwacher, ecc. La storia 猫 trasferita dal sud Italia su un鈥檌sola greca, e la delizia dello spettatore + assicurata da una regia e una scrittura in stato di grazia.


Maggie Gyllenhaal in una sua pi霉 che notevole interpretazione nel bel film 鈥淭he Kindergarten Teacher 鈥� Lontano da qui鈥� remake dell'omonimo film israeliano.
Profile Image for Antonia.
282 reviews87 followers
November 10, 2014
After four read books, I can conclude that I experience an unconditional devotion to Ferrante's novels and emphatically place her amongst my favorite authors. I simply admire the frankness and the brutality of her thoughts and celebrate eagerly the woman's manifest in each sentence. Ferrante's struggle is to shatter the assumed, especially in conservative societies, image of the woman - the mother, the wife, the housekeeper. This is the similarity I find in each novel - the endeavor to redeem past presumption for the sake of the womanhood. Elena Ferrante possesses one of the most elegant and precise literary styles I have encountered in contemporary literature.
Profile Image for Nayra.Hassan.
1,259 reviews6,474 followers
Read
December 19, 2022
丕賳賴 丕賱乇丕亘胤 丕賱丨鬲賲賶 丕賱匕賷 賷賳丿賲 毓賱賷賴 丕賱噩賲賷毓
賲毓馗賲 賳爻丕亍 丕賱毓丕賱賲 賯丕丿乇丕鬲 毓賱賶 丕賱丨賲賱 賵 丕賱賵賱丕丿丞
賵 乇亘毓 賳爻丕亍 丕賱毓丕賱賲 賮賯胤 賴賳 丕賱賯丕丿乇丕鬲 毓賱賶 丕賱丕賲賵賲丞
賰賱 丕賳孬賶 毓亘乇 丕賱鬲丕乇賷禺 賵賱丿鬲 賵 賴賷 乇丕睾亘丞 賲賴賷兀丞 賱賱丨賲賱 丕賱兀賵賱..賵 鬲鬲噩賱賶 乇睾亘鬲賴丕 睾乇賷夭賷丕 賮賷 丕賱賱毓亘 丕賱胤賯爻賷 亘丕賱丿賲賶

賵 賱賰賳 丕賱氐丿賲丞 丕賳 丕胤賮丕賱賳丕 賱賷爻賵丕 亘丿賲賶 氐丕賲鬲丞. .賷噩賱亘賵賳 賲毓賴賲 賮乇丨丞 毓丕乇賲丞 賲氐丨賵亘丞 亘丌賱丕賲 氐丕丿賲丞 鬲爻鬲賲乇 丨鬲賶 丕賱賲賵鬲

賱丕 丕賳氐丨 亘賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱賱乇噩丕賱 賲胤賱賯丕
賱丕 丕賳氐丨 亘賴丕 賱賮鬲賷丕鬲 賲丕 賯亘賱 丕賱夭賵丕噩 亘丕賱賲乇丞
賱丕 丕賳氐丨 亘賴丕 賱夭賵噩丕鬲 賷賰丕賮丨賳 賱丕噩賱 丕賱丕賳噩丕亘
賱丕 丕賳氐丨 亘賴丕 賱賲賳 賱賲 賷賯乇兀 乇亘丕毓賷丞 賳丕亘賵賱賷

丕賳賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 賳賮爻賷丞 賲爻鬲賮夭丞 毓賳 丕賱噩乇丕卅賲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲乇鬲賰亘 亘丕爻賲 丕賱丕賲賵賲丞 禺賱賮 丕賱丕亘賵丕亘 丕賱賲睾賱賯丞 賵 鬲賲乇 丿賵賲丕 ..鬲賲 賰鬲丕亘鬲賴丕 賱賮卅丞 賯賱賷賱丞 賵 賱賳 賷賮賴賲賴丕 丨賯丕 爻賵賶 賮卅丞 丕賯賱 賵 賴賳: 丕賱丕賲賴丕鬲 賮賵賯 45 賲賳 丕賱毓賲乇 賲賲賳 賮丕乇賯賴賳 丕賱丕亘賳丕亍..賵 亘丕賱鬲丕賱賷 賴賷 賳夭賵丞 賱賮賷乇丕賳鬲賷 賱賷爻 丕賰孬乇

賱賷丿丕 丕賰丕丿賷賲賷丞 丕賷胤丕賱賷丞 賮賷 兀賵丕禺乇 丕賱丕乇亘毓賷賳丕鬲 鬲匕賴亘 賱賲氐賷賮 賲胤賵賱 賵丨丿賴丕 貨賵 毓賱賶 丕賱卮丕胤賷亍 鬲賳丿賲噩 賷賵賲賷丕 賮賷 賲乇丕賯亘丞 丕爻乇丞 賳丕亘賵賱鬲賷賳賷丞..禺丕氐丞 丕賲 噩賲賷賱丞 賮賷 丕賱孬丕賳賷丞賵 丕賱毓卮乇賷賳 賵 丕亘賳鬲賴丕 賮賷 丕賱孬丕賱孬丞 賵 丿賲賷鬲賴賲丕 丕賱賲丨亘亘丞

賵 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱賲乇丕賯亘丞 鬲鬲匕賰乇 賱賷丿丕 丕賷丕賲 賲禺夭賷丞 賲賳 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賲毓 亘賳丕鬲賴丕 賰兀賲 賵 丕賷囟丕 賮賯乇丕鬲 賲賳 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 賰丕亘賳丞 ..賲毓 鬲毓賱賷賯丕鬲 亘賰賱 賲丕 賴賵 賲爻賰賵鬲 毓賳賴 賲賳 鬲賵賯毓丕鬲 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓 賲賳 丕賱兀賲 賵 丕賱賮丕乇賯 亘賷賳 賲丕 賴賵 賵丕賯毓 賵 賲丕 賴賵 賲賮鬲乇囟 賮賷 毓賱丕賯丕鬲 丕賱亘賳賵丞 賵 丕賱丕賲賵賲丞
賰賱 賴匕丕 亘丕爻賱賵亘賴丕 丕賱賮賷乇丕賳鬲賷 丕賱卮賷胤丕賳賷 丕賱丕爻乇 丕賱匕賷 賷賲爻賰 亘鬲賱丕亘賷亘賰 乇睾賲丕 毓賳賰

丕" 孬賯賱 丕賱賲爻丐賱賷丞 丕賱爻丕丨賯 ..丕賱乇丕亘胤 丕賱禺丕賳賯 ..賰賳鬲 丕卮毓乇 丕賳 賯賷賵丿賶 賳夭毓鬲 亘丕毓噩賵亘丞 ..賰賲丕 賱賵 丕賳 賲賴賲丞 毓馗賷賲丞 亘賱睾鬲 禺賵丕鬲賷賲賴丕 賵 賱賲 鬲毓丿 鬲孬賯賱 賰丕賴賱賶"丕

賵 丕禺賷乇丕
賱賲丕匕丕 賱丌 賳毓鬲亘乇 丕賳 賳賷賳丕 賴賶 丕賱丕亘賳丞 丕賱囟丕卅毓丞 賱賱賷賱丕 責
賵 丕賳 賴匕賴 丕賱丕爻乇丞 丕賱賲賳鬲賲賷丞 賱賱賲丕賮賷丕 賴賷 丕賱鬲賷 丕爻鬲丨賵匕鬲 毓賱賷賴丕 賲賳匕 賮賯丿丕賳賴丕 賮賷 丕賱乇丕亘毓丞賲賳 丕賱毓賲乇 貨賵 賰丕賳 賴匕丕 賲氐賷乇賴丕 丕賱匕賷 胤丕賱賲丕 鬲爻兀賱賳丕 毓賳賴責
丕賱賳 賳乇鬲丕丨 噩賲賷毓丕 賴賰匕丕 鬲噩丕賴 賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 丕睾囟亘鬲 丕賱丕睾賱亘賷丞 賵 丕賱鬲賷 賷爻鬲丨賷賱 毓賱賶 鬲賯賷賷賲賴丕責
Profile Image for Elyse Walters.
4,010 reviews11.8k followers
August 24, 2019
It鈥檚 been awhile since I read - and 鈥榦bsessively鈥� enjoyed Elena Ferrante鈥檚 Neapolitan series. ( especially loved book 2 and 3).....
I went into this book completely blind!!
It鈥檚 a 鈥榯hin-slim鈥�......鈥檛hick-thought鈥�-provoking novella.

I was immediately pulled in from the 鈥榞et-go鈥� with these words:
鈥淲hen my daughters moved to Toronto, where their father had lived and worked for years, I was embarrassed and amazed to discover that I wasn鈥檛 upset; rather, I felt light, as if only then had I definitely brought them into the world. For the first time in almost twenty-five years I was not aware of the anxiety of having to take care of them. The house was neat, as if no one lived there, I no longer had the constant bother of shopping and doing laundry, the woman who for years had helped with the household chores found a better paying job, and I felt no need to replace her鈥�.

We meet divorced 47 year old Leda. She鈥檚 an English Professor.
Summer vacation is just beginning.
Leda feels lighter being completely alone without her two young adult daughters living with her. She calls her daughters on the phone once a day - but is surprisingly ecstatic to be alone.
Leda quickly
becomes physically lighter, eating only one meal a day.
She rents a summer beach house for a six week summer vacation near Naples.... bringing her school books to prepare assignments for when the fall term begins.
Ok.. sounds good - a nice summer-break- beach vacation....鉀�...
not so fast...,,
Things become odd - puzzling- mysterious- haunting- and down right creepy!

Leda meets a young family also vacationing at the same beach.
She is fixated with another young mother (Nina), her child ( Elena) and Elena鈥檚 doll.
From Leda鈥檚 observations - judgements - projections and evaluations of the mother/daughter relationship between Nina & Elena....
Leda鈥檚 behavior becomes disturbing. Her choices mysteriously disturbing!
Leda鈥檚 inner reflective voice...dialogue with herself is intriguing....and unsettling.

Leda鈥檚 memories surface from her own younger days: as a daughter, wife, mother, and lover.
Regrets are heightened.... and an almost Stream of consciousness unfolds.

What emerges is quite dark ...
seriously haunting!

The self-assessment Leda has with herself is conflicting- sad - and psychologically complex.

A very unsettling novel... hard to feel sympathetic for Leda.....yet Elena Ferrante鈥檚 writing is gripping.

Rather than leaving this novel with the satisfaction of an insightful resolution-
I鈥檓 left with the bare-bone-reality of how devastating and brutally life-altering loss is.




















Profile Image for Dem.
1,245 reviews1,378 followers
April 13, 2016
The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante was out bookclub end of season read.

In this Novella The narrator, a forty-seven-year-old divorc茅e summering alone on the Ionian coast, becomes obsessed with a beautiful young mother who seems ill at ease with her husband鈥檚 rowdy, slightly menacing Neapolitan clan. When this woman鈥檚 daughter loses her doll, the older woman commits a small crime that she can鈥檛 explain even to herself.

I have to admit I totally struggled with the characters and the plot of this novel. I could not identify with Leda or any of her ideas on motherhood. I found the novel bizarre and while the writing in places was strong the plot and the characters were just too bizarre for my liking.

It didn't generate the discussion as a group we had hoped for.


The book has received great reviews online and once again I am in the minority in my dislike of this one.
Profile Image for Michael Finocchiaro.
Author听3 books6,132 followers
March 6, 2020
I loved this short novel from the ever incredible Elena Ferrante. The twisted story of the protagonist who steals a doll on a beach is both captivating and heartbreaking. In typical Ferrante fashion, the narration wanders between the primary narrative of the protagonist's seaside vacation and her memories of her now-moved away daughters. It is a poignant portrait of motherhood and dealing with getting old. A must-read for fans of the Naples tetralogy - for me perhaps her strongest standalone novella.
Profile Image for James.
109 reviews125 followers
March 17, 2022
Full disclosure: I know next to nothing about being a parent, unless you count taking care of a cat. And honestly I'm not even very good at that.

I've always been the gay Uncle (or "Guncle" as a recent popular novel coins it) who gets to do all the "cool" stuff like playing fun games, taking them to movies, going on trips, etc., without the actual hard work or thankless responsibility of enforcing discipline and restrictions and structure. It's always been the perfect arrangement, as far as I'm concerned.

All that's to say I don't think I'm really the ideal or intended reader for this moody psychological thriller about the anguish and ambivalence of being a mother. Yet it's a testament to the exceptional quality of Elena Ferrante's writing that I still found this to be a complex and captivating read.

It helps that I've always had a weakness for unreliable first-person narrators, and here we have one of the best I've read in awhile. Leda is a middle-aged Italian professor whose two daughters, now semi-independent young adults, have recently left her to go live with their father in Canada. To celebrate her newfound freedom, she treats herself to a leisurely summer vacation, where she notices a young mother and her three-year-old daughter playing together on the beach. This triggers a stream-of-consciousness-style series of memories, projections, and deeply conflicted reflections about motherhood.

At a slight 140 pages, this reads more like a gripping short story than a traditional novel. I hope it's not too much of a spoiler to reveal that there's not much of an actual plot. If you go into this expecting a suspenseful mystery or action-packed melodrama, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you're like me and appreciate a more poetic, meditative read every now and then, I think you'll enjoy this dark, deep dive into one woman's turbulent and tormented state of mind as she reflects on her roles as a woman, wife, daughter, professor, and most importantly, as a mother.

Ferrante explores these themes with a remarkable clarity, candor, and compassion. I can only imagine that anyone reading this as a mother will find it almost unbearably relatable and unsettling, perhaps a little reassuring and comforting, possibly all of the above?

Looking very much forward to checking out the recent Oscar-nominated film adaptation written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Coleman.
Profile Image for Bianca (Back, catching up).
1,244 reviews1,103 followers
January 4, 2022
Those who read Ferrante's marvellous Neapolitan novels will recognise the style and some of the themes: the rejection of one's roots and birthplace, being an intelligent and ambitious woman who has to deal with the society's constraints and the self-imposed ones; the ambivalence of motherhood with its highs and lows, the drudgery and the occasional exultations; the hot and cold of marital relations, the resentments and so on.

This is brutal and exquisitely complex, while also very simple.

Ferrante slays me like no other writer I've come across.

I shall watch the Netflix adaptation, hopefully, it won't disappoint.

NB: The adaptation is pretty close to the novel. I would have preferred to have Italian actors etc. but Maggie Gyllenhaal did a good job. Colman was excellent.
Profile Image for Dalia Nourelden.
678 reviews1,087 followers
April 18, 2023
丨賷賳 亘丿兀鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰丕賳鬲 丕賱鬲毓賱賷賯丕鬲 毓賳 爻賵亍 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵丕爻鬲賮夭丕夭賴丕 賱賱丕賲賵賲丞 賵 賱賱兀賲賴丕鬲 賮丕亘賱鬲丕賱賶 賯乇兀鬲賴丕 賵賴賳丕賰 丕丨賰丕賲 賲爻亘賯丞 毓賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵卮毓賵乇 亘丕賱鬲囟丕賲賳 賲毓 丕賱兀賲賴丕鬲 丕賱賲爻鬲賮夭丞 賱賰賳 賴賱 丕爻鬲賮夭丕夭 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 爻亘亘 賱丕賳 賳賯賱賱 賲賳 鬲賯賷賲賴丕 責 乇兀賷 丕賱卮禺氐賶 賱兀 .

亘丿丕賷丞 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰賲丕 賯丕賱 睾賱丕賮賴丕 鬲毓賷丿 丕賱賳馗乇 賮賷 賯丿爻賷丞 丕賱丕賲賵賲丞 毓賱賶 囟賵亍 丕丨丕爻賷爻 賯丕卅賲丞 鬲毓鬲乇賶 丕賱賲乇兀丞 睾丕賱亘丕 賲丕鬲爻毓賶 賱賱鬲爻鬲乇 毓賱賷賴丕 賱匕丕 賮兀賳丕 丕噩丿 兀賳 賰賵賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕爻鬲賮夭鬲賰賲 賱賴匕丞 丕賱丿乇噩丞 賲毓賳丕賴 賳噩丕丨 丕賱賰丕鬲亘丞 賮賶 廿賷氐丕賱 兀賮賰丕乇 賵賲卮丕毓乇 卮禺氐賷鬲賴丕 亘胤乇賷賯丞 賯賵賷丞 賱丿乇噩丞 丕賳賴丕 丕爻鬲賮夭鬲 賲卮丕毓乇 丕賱兀賲賵賲丞 亘丿丕禺賱賰賲 賮匕賱賰 爻亘亘 賱丕毓胤丕亍 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 丕賱賳噩賵賲 賰丕賲賱丞 賵賱賷爻 爻丨亘 賰賱 丕賱賳噩賵賲 賲賳賴丕馃槈馃榿 賮賲丕 丕爻鬲賮夭賰賲 賴賶 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱丕賲 賮賶 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵賱賷爻 丕爻賱賵亘 丕賱賰丕鬲亘丞 .賵乇亘賲丕 賲丕 丕爻鬲賮夭 丕賱亘毓囟 賷毓亘乇 毓賲丕 亘丿丕禺賱 丕賱亘毓囟 丕賱丕禺乇 賵賱丕 賷爻鬲胤賷毓 丕賱鬲毓亘賷乇 毓賳賴.

賴賳丕賰 賲賵賯賮 丨丿孬 噩毓賱賳賶 丕鬲禺賱賶 毓賳 丨賰賲賶 丕賱賲爻亘賯 賵丕亘丿兀 賮賶 丕賱賳馗乇 賱賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賳 賲賳胤賯 賵賲賳馗賵乇 賲禺鬲賱賮 賵兀賳馗乇 賱賱卮禺氐賷丞 賲賳 夭丕賵賷丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賲賳 乇丐賷丞 丕賱亘胤賱丞 . 賰丕賳 賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵賯賮 賮賷 丨丿賷孬賴丕 賲毓 丕亘賳鬲賴丕 毓賱賶 丕賱賴丕鬲賮 賮賴丕 賴賶 丕亘賳鬲賴丕 鬲鬲丨丿孬 賵鬲爻鬲乇爻賱 賮 丕賱丨丿賷孬 丿賵賳 丕賳 鬲爻兀賱 毓賳 兀丨賵丕賱 丕賲賴丕 賵賰賲丕 賯丕賱鬲 丕賵 乇亘賲丕 爻兀賱鬲 賱賰賳賴丕 賱賲 鬲賳鬲馗乇 賱爻賲丕毓 丕丨賵丕賱 丕賲賴丕 貙 賴匕丕 丕賱丨丿孬 亘丕賱匕丕鬲 丕爻鬲賵賯賮賳賶 貙 賱爻鬲 兀賲 賱賰賳賶 丕毓賱賲 噩賷丿丕 卮毓賵乇 丕賳 鬲丨鬲丕噩 賱賱丨丿賷孬 賵賱丕 鬲噩丿 賲賳 賷爻賲毓賰 賵丕賳 賷爻鬲賲乇 賲賳 丕賲丕賲賰 賮 丕賱丨丿賷孬 丿賵賳 丕賳 賷鬲賵賯賮 賱丨馗丞 賱賷爻鬲賲毓 賱丕丨賵丕賱賰 賵 賰丕賳賰 賱爻鬲 賲賴賲丕 賱賷爻鬲賲毓 丕賱賷賰 貙 賰兀賳賰 賲賵噩賵丿 賮賯胤 賱賱丕爻鬲賲丕毓 賱卮賰賵賶 丕賱丌禺乇賷賳.

賵丕爻鬲賵賯賮鬲賳賶 賰孬賷乇丕 噩賲賱鬲賴丕
銆� 兀賳丕 賲賷鬲丞 賵賱賰賳賷 亘禺賷乇 銆�


賮賱賳鬲丨丿孬 毓賳 亘毓囟 賲丕賮毓賱鬲賴

賴賱 賲賳 丕賱胤亘賷毓賶 兀賳 鬲鬲乇賰 兀賲 亘賳丕鬲賴丕 孬賱丕孬 爻賳賵丕鬲 丿賵賳 丕賳 鬲丨丕丿孬賴賲 丕賵 鬲乇丕賴賲 責
亘丕賱胤亘毓 賱兀 .
賵兀賰乇賴賴丕 賱賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵賯賮 賵 廿賳 賰賳鬲 賲賳 賲賰丕賳 夭賵噩賴丕 賰賳鬲 兀禺匕鬲 丕賵賱丕丿賶 賵賱丕 兀毓賷丿賴賲 賱賴丕 馃槨馃槨 賱賰賳賴 賴賵 丕賷囟丕 亘毓丿 賮鬲乇丞 鬲乇賰賴賲 賱賵丕賱丿鬲賴丕 .
賵賰丕賳 賴匕丕 禺胤兀賴丕 丕賱孬丕賳賶 丨賷賳 鬲乇賰鬲 亘賳丕鬲賴丕 賱丕賲賴丕 賱鬲乇毓丕賴賲 賵賴賶 丕賱鬲賶 鬲乇賰鬲 毓丕卅賱鬲賴丕 丨賷賳 丕賵賱 賮乇氐丞 爻賳丨鬲 賱賴丕 賮賰賷賮 鬲鬲乇賰賴賲 亘毓丿 匕賱賰 責

賯爻賵鬲賴丕 鬲噩丕賴 丕亘賳鬲賴丕 賵囟乇亘賴丕 賱賴丕 賮賶 丕丨丿 丕賱賲賵丕賯賮 貙 丕賳丕 囟丿 賴匕丕 丕賱毓賳賮 亘丕賱鬲兀賰賷丿 賱賰賳 賴賳丕賰 噩夭亍 丿丕禺賱賶 卮毓乇 亘賴丕 賵丕賳賴丕 賮賯丿鬲 丕毓氐丕亘賴丕 賵賳丿賲鬲 亘丕賱鬲丕賰賷丿 毓賲丕 賮毓賱鬲賴 貙 丕賳丕 賱爻鬲 兀賲 賱賰賳 賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵賯賮 亘卮賰賱 賲丕 丕卮毓乇 亘賴 乇亘賲丕 賱丕賳賶 毓氐亘賷丞 噩丿丕 賵丕噩丿 丕賳賶 乇亘賲丕 爻兀賮賯丿 丕毓氐丕亘賶 亘賴匕丕 丕賱卮賰賱 丕匕丕 賰賳鬲 兀賲 ( 丕賱賱賶 亘賷鬲賴 賲賳 夭噩丕噩 ) 賱匕丕 爻兀氐賲鬲 毓賳 賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵賯賮 賱丕賳賶 丕毓賱賲 丕賳賶 乇亘賲丕 爻兀鬲氐乇賮 亘賳賮爻 丕賱卮賰賱 馃馃

廿丨爻丕爻賴丕 鬲噩丕賴 亘賳丕鬲賴丕 貙 賴賶 鬲丨亘賴賲 亘丕賱鬲丕賰賷丿 賱賰賳 兀賮賰丕乇賴丕 丕賱丿丕禺賱賷丞 乇亘賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 氐丕丿賲丞 賱丕 丕毓賱賲 賱賰賳 兀賱賲 鬲賮賰乇 兀賶 兀賲 賰賲丕 賮賰乇鬲 賴賶 責責
丕賱賲 鬲卮毓乇 賵賱賵 賱亘毓囟 丕賱賵賯鬲 賵賱賵 賱賱丨馗丞 丕賳 丕亘賳丕卅賴丕 賯丿 爻乇賯賵丕 丨賷丕鬲賴丕 丕賵 丕爻鬲賳夭賮賵賴丕 責 賵丕賳賴丕 賲鬲毓亘丞 賵鬲乇睾亘 賮賶 丕賱乇丕丨丞 賲賳 賲爻丐賱賷鬲賴賲 賵賲賳 禺賵賮賴丕 毓賱賷賴賲 !

賱賷爻 噩賲賷毓 丕賱丕賲賴丕鬲 鬲賮賰乇 賲孬賱賴丕 賱賰賳 賴賳丕賰 丕賱亘毓囟 賲孬賱賴丕 貙 賵賴匕丕 賱丕 賷毓賳賶 丕賳賴賲 爻賷卅賷賳 賱賰賳賴賲 賮賯胤 賲乇賴賯賷賳 賵賲鬲毓亘賷賳 賵賱賴賲 賰賱 丕賱丨賯 賮賷 匕賱賰 貙 賮丕賱兀賲賴丕鬲 賮賶 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 亘卮乇 . 爻賲毓鬲 毓賳 丕賲賴丕鬲 賷鬲乇賰賳 兀亘賳丕卅賴賳 賲賳 賮鬲乇丞 賱丕禺乇賶 貙 丕賲賴丕鬲 丨賷賳 賷鬲賵丕噩丿賵丕 賰兀賳賴賲 賱賷爻賵丕 賲賵噩賵丿賷賳 貙 丨丕囟乇賷賳 亘丕噩爻丕丿賴賲 睾丕卅亘賷賳 亘丕賲賵賲鬲賴賲 .

丨爻賳丕 賱賳 鬲兀禺匕 噩丕卅夭丞 丕賱丕賲 丕賱賲孬丕賱賷丞 賵賱賷爻鬲 賲孬賱 賷丨鬲匕賶 亘賴 賱賰賳 乇亘賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 爻亘亘 賱鬲鬲賱丕賮賶 丕賱丕賲賴丕鬲 兀禺胤丕卅賴丕 賵 乇亘賲丕 賱鬲禺亘乇 賲賳 賷卮毓乇 賲孬賱賴丕 丕賳 賴匕丕 丕賱卮毓賵乇 賲賲賰賳 賵賱賷爻 賲毓賳丕賴 兀賳 氐丕丨亘鬲賴 賵丨卮 賷爻鬲丨賯 丕賱賯鬲賱 貙 賱賰賳 鬲賱丕賮賷 丕禺胤丕亍 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵丨丕賵賱賶 丕賰孬乇 兀賱賷爻 賴匕丕 丕丨丿 兀賴丿丕賮 丕賱兀丿亘 賵丕賱賮賳賵賳 貙 賲丨丕賵賱丞 丕馗賴丕乇 丕賱丕禺胤丕亍 賵丕賱鬲噩丕乇亘 賱賷爻鬲胤賷毓 丕賱丌禺乇賵賳 丕賱丕爻鬲賮丕丿丞 賲賳賴丕 .

丕賱賰丕鬲亘丞 丕馗賴乇鬲 賰賱 賲丕賷爻鬲賮夭 賵 睾賷乇 賲鬲毓丕乇賮 賵睾乇賷亘 賵賲丕賴賵 賲爻賰賵鬲 毓賳賴 貙 賵賲丕 賷丿賵乇 賱賷爻 賮賯胤 禺賱賮 丕賱丕亘賵丕亘 丕賱賲睾賱賯丞 賱賰賳 丕卮丿 丕賱丕賮賰丕乇 毓賲賯丕 賵 丕賱鬲賶 乇亘賲丕 賷卮毓乇 亘賴丕 丕賱亘毓囟 賱賰賳 賷賰乇賴 丕賵 賷禺卮賷 丕賱丕毓鬲乇丕賮 亘賴丕 .

賲丕 丕爻鬲賮夭賳賶 丕賰孬乇 賰丕賳 賲丕賮毓賱鬲賴 賲毓 丿賲賷丞 丕賱胤賮賱丞 責 亘兀賶 丨賯 鬲兀禺匕賷賴丕 賵鬲鬲乇賰賶 丕賱胤賮賱丞 鬲亘賰賶 賵鬲賲乇囟 亘爻亘亘 睾賷丕亘 丿賲賷鬲賴丕 丕噩丿 賴匕丕 丕賱賲賵賯賮 賯爻賵丞 卮丿賷丿丞 賲賳賴丕 丕賰孬乇 賲賳 丕賶 賯爻賵丞 毓賱賶 亘賳丕鬲賴丕 賵賴賶 鬲乇賶 亘賰丕亍 丕賱胤賮賱丞 賵亘丨孬 丕賱噩賲賷毓 毓賳 丕賱丿賲賷丞 賲賴賲丕 賰丕賳 丕賮賰丕乇賴丕 丕賵 卮毓賵乇賴丕 .


賳毓賲 賰乇賴鬲 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 賵鬲毓丕胤賮鬲 賲毓賴丕 賮賶 匕丕鬲 丕賱賵賯鬲 賵鬲毓丕胤賮鬲 賲毓 賰乇賴 丕賱賯乇丕亍 賱賴丕 銆� 丨爻賳丕 賴賳丕賰 囟毓賮 丿丕禺賱賶 卮禺氐賷丕 鬲噩丕賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱賲賳亘賵匕丞 銆�

佗侃 / 佟 / 佗贍佗贍
Profile Image for Vanessa.
472 reviews321 followers
October 12, 2019
This is signature Elena Ferrante, there is no mistaking her writing. She captures the torment of motherhood beautifully. The internal conflict of remaining an individual woman versus the constraints of motherhood. The regrets and remorse that constantly weigh a woman down, that juxtaposition really defines her books. This novel is weird in a good way. The conflicted nature of the main character suffering what I believe to be classic empty nest syndrome tinged with terrible regrets, she encounters a family she becomes slightly obsessed with while holidaying alone, this obsession makes her act in some strange and objectionable ways. It鈥檚 weird and wonderful in true Ferrante style. A truly intriguing read.
Profile Image for Paul Fulcher.
Author听3 books1,809 followers
January 16, 2022
Elena Ferrante's 3rd novel and the novel she has cited as her most daring. It's slim 130 pages prepared the ground for the epic and magnificent 1700 page My Beautiful Friend.

The set-up is simple: a divorced middle-aged woman with two grown up children is on holiday and becomes intrigued by a young girl and her mid-20s mother she sees on the beach. She initially sees their relationship as an ideal she failed to achieve, before, as she gets to know them better, realising that their issues mirror her own troubled past. For reasons she herself doesn't understand she steals the young girl's precious doll, which the girl treats as her own child.

But the prose and the exploration of the themes, particularly what would drive a mother to abandon her own children, have significant depth.

And as her friendship develops with the young mother she sees her family, with echoes of her own Camorran kin, the very cast that will form the background to Lenu and Lila's friendship in the Neopolitan quarter:

Those people annoyed me. I had been born in a not dissimilar environment, my uncles, my cousins, my father were like that, of a domineering cordiality. They were ceremonious, usually very sociable, very question sounded on their lips like an order barely disguised by a flaw good humour, and if necessary they could be vulgarly insulting and violent.

Recommended - particularly as a taster of Ferrante before immersing in My Beautiful Friend.

Ferrante's own view from :

Lenu says: "The most difficult things to tell are those which we ourselves cannot understand. "It's the motto - can I call it that - which is at the heart of all my books.

In the book that made me feel most guilty, The Lost Daughter, I pushed the protagonist much farther than I thought I myself, writing, could bear.

The Lost Daughter left me with a feeling the way you do when you swim until you're exhausted and then realise you're too far from the shore.

I still think that the most daring, the most risk-taking book is The Lost Daughter. If I hadn't gone through with that, with great anxiety, I wouldn't have written My Brilliant Friend.

It's no coincidence that when I came to the Neopolitan Quartet I started off again with two dolls and an intense female friendship captured at its beginning.
Profile Image for Chantal.
890 reviews927 followers
December 20, 2022
Not a big favorite but an alright story. It was extremely boring at some points and felt like a dragged out memoir type story.
Profile Image for Teresa.
Author听9 books1,007 followers
September 16, 2021
. . . Throw these titles up in the air and whichever lands on whichever book, it would fit. (Not the covers, though: each is uniquely apt.) Ferrante's first-person female narrators could almost be the same woman at different stages of life, except for the three being too close in age and possessing different voices. They are creative women with similar Neapolitan mothers, though with different family ties: single, childless Delia, a cartoonist whose job is barely spoken of, comes from an abusive home; writer Olga, deserted by her husband, has two young children; and here it's a slightly older Leda, a divorced English literature professor with two adult daughters.

Maybe I'm getting used to Ferrante, or more likely it's Leda's dispassionate tone, because I didn't find this one as unsettling as the previous two, though its themes (especially the one at its core) are arguably even more provocative. I admired the novel's circularity and its repetition of lost daughters, including a reference to a story called Olivia if I'm correct in believing it's the that collected under the title of Olive.*

****
* Please see Heath's comment in message 5 for an Olivia.
Profile Image for William2.
820 reviews3,843 followers
October 18, 2020
This novella starts off reminding me鈥� in terms of the setting only鈥攙ery much of the longish story 鈥淭he Beach鈥� in Cesare Pavese鈥榮 , translated by R.W. Flint.

As in the Neapolitan novels, Ferrante again shows in harrowing detail the absolute misery of child rearing. The annoyances, the resentments, the hatreds, to and from both parent and child. It鈥檚 like a trap for all involved, a prison. It seems the Italians don鈥檛 go in much for psychoanalysis, at least not the characters in Ferrante鈥檚 books. But Ferrante knows her characters鈥� minds, and the truly bizarre scenes they produce. The narrator says:

"For a while I made no distinctions between public areas and private ones, I didn鈥檛 care if people heard me and judged me, I felt a strong desire to act out my rage as if in the theater." (p.77)

She is a middle aged woman, a college teacher of English Literature, who begins her story by talking about how liberating it has been for her personally to send her two teenage daughters off to live in Canada with their father, from whom she is bitterly divorced. With regard to another, younger mother whose little girl is throwing a fit at the moment, she says:

"She had tried to see herself in the mirror as she had been before bringing that organism into the world, before condemning herself forever to adding it on to hers. Soon she鈥檒l start yelling, I thought, soon she鈥檒l hit her, trying to break that bond. Instead, the bond will become more twisted, will strengthen in remorse, in the humiliation of having shown herself in public to be an unaffectionate mother, not the mother of church or the Sunday supplements." (p.67)

There鈥檚 more.
Profile Image for Jeanette.
3,895 reviews813 followers
August 5, 2022
Ewww! This is certainly not a 4 star for enjoyment, but in writing ability and emotive core character layered, nearly a 5. Elena Ferrante is absolutely able to conceptualize, feel, display and express dichotomy of want/repulse, love/hate, scattered self-identity and in other general minutia, the Italian culture's brand of personality disordered woman. This one is vilely unlikable. She was to me. She self-describes as "the unnatural Mother".

It's a state of hurt from both generational directions here in full detail of aftermath. Harsh, loud and blunt. Honestly I would only rec this book if you have high interest in extremely unhappy women within the classic dichotomies of psychological self-identity dislike coupled with perpetual dissatisfaction in life and particularly their role fulfillment. Not just in Motherhood, either.

As excellent a writer as Elena Ferrante is, and she IS genius, she tends to write the same type of woman over and over again. Basically that woman (and they are various ages)- spiteful, vengeful and trouble seeking, apt to cheat and intimidate arising from their own dissatisfaction of both mood and insecurities in work and role. Southern Italian culture and the extended familial patterns of male patriarchy with matriarchal role ideals for intense and long patterned nurturing; those are often the stage for her unhappy women. It's what she knows and she can slice the layers to single cell thinness.

This one was a short novella length that exposed this woman's soul, what she believes about herself and her general self-defeating, quite automatic to me, response. It's one that assuredly earns her more separation and "freedom". But the "freedom" tastes like water from her own solitary poisoned well.
Profile Image for Kristina Dauksiene.
254 reviews38 followers
November 7, 2024
LT/ENG
...Tarsi atidar臈 mane pa膷i膮, esamus ir buvusius veiksmus ir atoveiksmius, reakcijas, jausmus, 啪od啪ius ar nutyl臈jimus. I拧operavo ir paliko neu啪si奴t膮.
Tokia jau toji pirmoji pa啪intis su Ferrante.
馃枊锔廗aip paika galvoti, kad gali vaikams i拧sipasakoti, 拧iems nesulaukus bent penkiasde拧imties. Tik臈tis, kad jie pa啪velgs 寞 tave kaip 寞 啪mog懦, o ne kaip 寞 funkcij膮.Sakyti: a拧 esu j奴s懦 istorija, atsispirkite nuo man臋s, i拧klausykite, tai gali jums praversti.
*
As if it opened me up, current and past actions and reactions, feelings, said words or unspoken things. As if had a surgery and wound left open.
Thats what is my first acquaintance with Ferrante.
Profile Image for Marc.
3,358 reviews1,780 followers
November 15, 2021
Even in small novels, little more than a short story actually, Elena Ferrante really excels. It strikes me that her main characters always are very 'complexed': always women who struggle with their self esteem, and so also with what others and society in general expects of them, and who particularly are seized by the relationship to their mothers or to their children. In this story Leda absolutely not is a sympathetic character; she bluntly calls herself a bad woman and she has done things that by mainstream standards are really wrong. But Ferrante never condemns her protagonists, on the contrary, she demands respect for them, for their complexity and smallness, and their negative sides. A grand little story this is, beautifully set in a hot summer Italian beach resort. I read this in Italian and it is striking that both in style and in the use of precise words Ferrante really succeeds in going to the heart of the matter.
Profile Image for Lubinka Dimitrova.
263 reviews172 followers
January 23, 2016
The best feature of this book was its size. It was small. That much I can say about it. Beyond this, I found the characters utterly annoying, the plot borderline nauseating, and the writing... well, tolerable. I strongly considered creating a "heroine I'd gladly slap" shelf, but it's not worth it. I truly hope that I never become such a person, and even more, that I never meet such a person. Sadly, I'll remain in the dark when it comes to the reason everybody is so delighted with this fictional miss Ferrante.
Profile Image for Gabriel.
627 reviews1,058 followers
September 5, 2024
La hija oscura es una representaci贸n directa de la maternidad y las relaciones entre madres e hijas. Y es buen铆simo. Tard茅 demasiado para leer a Elena Ferrante pero qu茅 gusto da hacerlo.

Es maravilloso como todo el punto de inflexi贸n en la historia del que se puede sacar mucho jugo sea una mu帽eca, porque precisamente se hacen reflexiones que van desde el refugio y apoyo emocional, el embarazo, la maternidad y la compleja y ambivalente relaci贸n de madres e hijas. Hay mucha met谩fora y alegor铆a escondida detr谩s de un objeto y me parece brutal que a raz贸n de una mu帽eca hayan las suficientes simbolog铆as punzantes. Eso me gusta demasiado porque demuestra el nivel en el que juega esta autora.

Ahora, no solo es la compleja relaci贸n de una madre y sus hijas, de los problemas, las situaciones estresantes y asfixiantes, de lo ajeno y lo parecido o de la incomunicaci贸n entre ellas, sino que tambi茅n habla sobre el ser una buena o una mala madre, de las consideraciones de los dem谩s (y las propias) sobre la maternidad, de las expectativas que trae forjar una o dos vidas en camino y tambi茅n sobre buscar un propio rumbo, un deseo de tener una existencia desligada del ser madre, y para ello se ve necesario abandonar el matrimonio y a sus hijas por un tiempo para poder encontrarse a s铆 misma y sobre todo comprenderse.

Y quiz谩s la agridulce conclusi贸n es descubrir que eso que dejaste abandonado era lo que te hac铆a m谩s feliz de lo que imaginabas. Al final eso explica un poco tambi茅n el hecho de que la maternidad necesita de mucho tiempo y libertad invertida que no puedes tener para ti, es un sacrificio enorme el que se hace. Sin embargo, cuando las hijas crecen y se est谩 sola viene el proceso de pasar por un duelo y una serie de incomodidades, asimilar el hecho de que le hacen falta, que las extra帽a y que las necesita a su lado. O de que en su ilusi贸n las hijas la van a necesitar a ella despu茅s de tantos a帽os que les dedic贸.
Profile Image for Cl谩udia Azevedo.
365 reviews193 followers
March 1, 2022
Se n茫o viram o filme, leiam primeiro o livro. Se j谩 viram o filme, esperem ler quase exatamente o que viram, o que retira 脿 leitura de Elena Ferrante toda a surpresa.
Ainda assim, senti que o livro levantou quest玫es que o filme n茫o quis ou n茫o soube evidenciar, sobretudo em rela莽茫o 脿 boneca, o objeto simb贸lico da maternidade e da vida gerada, mas tamb茅m em rela莽茫o 脿s sexualidade da protagonista, presa entre o passado e o futuro.
Diz-se que, quando uma pessoa est谩 confusa ou perdida, que parece um tolo no meio da ponte. Nunca percebi porque n茫o era no fim ou no princ铆pio, mas sim no meio. Talvez tenha a ver com a confus茫o que se sente no meio de algo, como na meia idade (o meu caso). Estamos partidos a meio e n茫o sabemos bem se somos ainda o que fomos no passado ou se devemos passar para o n铆vel seguinte, onde n茫o nos encaixamos de todo e n茫o nos revemos.
Pelo contr谩rio, o filme conseguiu retratar melhor a pris茫o que a maternidade pode ser e o dific铆limo equil铆brio entre ser mulher, m茫e e ter uma carreira. E como pode ser dif铆cil enfrentar uma crian莽a!
"Uma crian莽a nunca quer somente aquilo que pede; pelo contr谩rio, um pedido satisfeito torna ainda mais insuport谩vel a falta n茫o confessada."
Pela hist贸ria e pelo modo como 茅 contada, tenho de dar 5 estrelas.
Profile Image for Maxwell.
1,369 reviews11.6k followers
November 12, 2016
As all of Ferrante's novels do, The Lost Daughter looks intimately at the complicated nature of motherhood and femininity. Leda, a 47-year old divorcee, is on vacation after her two daughters, now adults, move to live with their father in Canada. She spends her summer by the beach where she meets Nina, a young mother, and her daughter, Lenuccia, who is obsessed with her doll that eventually goes missing. Leda's interactions with this Neapolitan family gets her tied up in something bigger than herself and also forces her to confront her role as mother and the choices she's made in the past. It's a tightly written novel, expertly crafted but lacks the insight and power that Ferrante's other novels have. Overall, an interesting read but not one that will blow you away.
Profile Image for Alejandra Ar茅valo.
Author听2 books1,767 followers
August 30, 2022
Qu茅 incre铆ble es esta autora. Siempre logra sacar lo peor de los personajes femeninos, lo digo en el mejor de los sentidos, las maternidad no es para todas y una se obsesiona con las cosas m谩s rid铆culas con tal de hacer miserables a otras personas si es que t煤 lo eres. Por ah铆 va esta historia. Me encantaron los mon贸logos 馃
Profile Image for Jill.
Author听2 books1,963 followers
July 6, 2016
Here鈥檚 what we know about Elena Ferrante鈥檚 narrator, Leda: she鈥檚 the middle-aged mother of two grown daughters. Her daughters are living overseas with their father. She is a renowned English Literature scholar. And she is, by her own words, an unnatural mother.

In this searing book, Elena Ferrante courageously confronts one of our social taboos: what happens if, despite all our expectations, we feel diminished by motherhood? What if we choose to abandon our roles? What does that say about us?

Leda reflects, 鈥淲hen my daughters had moved to Toronto, where their father had lived and worked for years, I was embarrassed and amazed to discover that I wasn鈥檛 upset; rather, I felt light, as if only then I had definitively brought them in the world.鈥�

During her vacation off the Ionian coast, Leda happens across a boisterous and possibly menacing large family, and fixates on the young dissatisfied mother Nina and her cranky young daughter (..there was something off about the little girl; I don鈥檛 know what.鈥�) The first-person narration makes us feel almost like complicit voyeurs as Leda studies the family, ultimately committing a simple act that will be a catalyst for self-examination.

There is a raw and uncompromising honesty as Leda reveals this about her abandonment of her girls, 鈥淚 was like someone who is taking possession of her own life, and feels a host of things at the same time, among them an unbearable absence.鈥� Yet this cannot be read as a feminist parable, because she quickly follows with this, when asled why she went back, 鈥淏ecause I realized that I wasn鈥檛 capable of creating anything of my own that could truly equal them.鈥�

As with Days of Abandonment, another masterful work by Ms. Ferrante, there is ferociously good writing here, laced with a great sense of immediacy and a shockingly honest sense of authenticity. It鈥檚 hard to turn away as the narrative propels us to its organic ending.
Profile Image for Iloveplacebo.
384 reviews260 followers
August 5, 2022
Historia inc贸moda sobre Leda, una mujer que tiene un trabajo, que est谩 divorciada, que tiene dos hijas, y que tiene emociones dif铆ciles de contar.

La historia de Leda empieza cuando sus hijas se van de casa para irse a vivir con su padre a Canad谩. Las hijas ya son mayores (22 y 24 a帽os) y Leda siente que es libre para ser ella misma por fin.
Es verano y alquila un apartamento cerca de la playa.
Ah铆, en la playa, se encuentra con una familia que le llamar谩 la atenci贸n, en especial Nina y Elena, una madre joven y su hija de 3 a帽os. La ni帽a tiene una mu帽eca. La pierde. Leda la encuentra. 驴Se la devuelve?
Aqu铆 empiezan las asfixiantes vacaciones de una mujer que entrelaza la narraci贸n de su presente con el de su pasado, de su historia familiar, pero sobre todo de su maternidad.

Hablar de cosas "tab煤" nunca es f谩cil.
驴Qu茅 hacer cuando no te caen bien tus propias hijas? 驴Qu茅 hacer cuando te arrepientes de ser madre? 驴C贸mo hacer frente a los sentimientos de culpa?

Creo que es una novela para reflexionar, que no se hace pesada, y que nunca te intenta posicionar.


Chascarrillo:
Tengo que decir que la mu帽eca me ha dado mal rollo durante la lectura. No soy muy fan de ellas, y cuanto m谩s mayor me hago menos me gustan 馃槅.
Profile Image for emma.
316 reviews307 followers
April 18, 2023
a reflection on motherhood and daughterhood that exemplifies the beauty of elena ferrante鈥檚 prose.

as women, we are all daughters. we are not all mothers - by choice or by circumstance. this explores what a woman gains and loses as she assumes the role of a mother, and what a daughter is saddled with for life as a result. it is an exploration of torment and of the things that weigh us down when pondering on what could have been and what is.

just impeccable from start to finish.

"sometimes you have to escape in order not to die.鈥�
Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,277 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.