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caroisreading's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is my first Elena Ferrante read, and now I understand the hype behind her beautiful way of writing, and how she's become the standard for complex inner monologue.
This is a short book that reads long. The writing is dense and intricate, wandering and conflicted.
Our narrator is a divorced mother of two daughters, and has a difficult history with motherhood. Arguably, she's a terrible person. Though the beauty of this first-person perspective is that we are in her darkest thoughts and memories, ones that we've likely had ourselves and try not to face. She is symbolic of common themes among women, the loss of identity, career and power once married and becoming a mother, jealousy of other women, tiredness of dealing with the advances of men, a focus on beauty and youth. It's so much packed in 140 pages.
The title "The Lost Daughter" very cleverly applies to so many dimensions of the story -- the lost doll, her own lost identity, losing her daughters to her husband, Nina almost losing her daughter.
This may not be enjoyable for you if you need storyline -- this is more like an essay, or running train of thought. This also has unlikeable characters, our protagonist included, which may feel like a drag to read.
Still, I'm looking forward to trying more of Elena's translated work.
This is a short book that reads long. The writing is dense and intricate, wandering and conflicted.
Our narrator is a divorced mother of two daughters, and has a difficult history with motherhood. Arguably, she's a terrible person. Though the beauty of this first-person perspective is that we are in her darkest thoughts and memories, ones that we've likely had ourselves and try not to face. She is symbolic of common themes among women, the loss of identity, career and power once married and becoming a mother, jealousy of other women, tiredness of dealing with the advances of men, a focus on beauty and youth. It's so much packed in 140 pages.
The title "The Lost Daughter" very cleverly applies to so many dimensions of the story -- the lost doll, her own lost identity, losing her daughters to her husband, Nina almost losing her daughter.
This may not be enjoyable for you if you need storyline -- this is more like an essay, or running train of thought. This also has unlikeable characters, our protagonist included, which may feel like a drag to read.
Still, I'm looking forward to trying more of Elena's translated work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Car accident
bii_newt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual content, Vomit, and Car accident
Moderate: Blood
twoheadedcalf_nev's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i enjoyed the structure and the writing style of the book but i did not particularly enjoy the main character -- or any of the characters, really -- nor the development of her thought process. maybe i'm simply not used to reading books in first person anymore, but i was unable to take anything she said at face-value: she sounded either delusional or self-serving.
the way she thinks and talks about her daughters, the way she goes back and forth on her opinions on them, was very upsetting. which i would like to think is the point of the book and that's why i rate it 3.5 stars.
however, if the intention was to make readers empathize with the complications of motherhood, it did not succeed for me -- it only made me think the main character is an abusive middle-aged woman going back and forth between a superiority complex and self-recrimination.
the way she thinks and talks about her daughters, the way she goes back and forth on her opinions on them, was very upsetting. which i would like to think is the point of the book and that's why i rate it 3.5 stars.
however, if the intention was to make readers empathize with the complications of motherhood, it did not succeed for me -- it only made me think the main character is an abusive middle-aged woman going back and forth between a superiority complex and self-recrimination.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Car accident
bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Abandonment
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