---
product_id: 6020829
title: "The Lost Daughter"
price: "€ 19.69"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.ie/products/6020829-the-lost-daughter
store_origin: IE
region: Ireland
---

# The Lost Daughter

**Price:** € 19.69
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** The Lost Daughter
- **How much does it cost?** € 19.69 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ie](https://www.desertcart.ie/products/6020829-the-lost-daughter)

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## Description

desertcart.com: The Lost Daughter: 8601417720868: Ferrante, Elena, Goldstein, Ann: Books

Review: Makes me swallow hard, a bit scared to turn the page - Compelling, immediate and very different from other stories. Translation from Italian helps to keep the action close to the page with very little unnecessary detail and description. The centeral character in this book, and the two others Days of Abandonment and Troubling Love, are women who you can relate to, but they are terrifying as well. You are scared you might become them but you're also sympathetic to the great horrors that befall them. This could be me, you think, but would I do what she's doing? You sometimes want to reach into the pages and stop the main character from doing what she's planning. Ferrante is letting her characters, who must be her on some level, go into places that we shouldn't go, but sometimes secretly want to. These books scare me and thrill me at the same time, and feel as if they are unleashing the part of me that wants to write about my secret desires, feelings and opinions — the most damaging of all. Remarkable, set in beautiful locations but not for anyone looking for travelogue romance. Stays with you a long time, and perhaps, changes you to some degree. All writers should read and study her style. Excellent plot progression with expertly developed back stories that help you understand the context of the present moment.
Review: 4.5/5 stars - the dark side of motherhood - Leda is a 47 year-old divorced woman, and mother to daughters, Bianca and Marta, now 22 and 24. The girls have recently moved from Italy to Toronto, Canada to live with their father. Leda is well educated and teaches at the university in Florence, Italy. Leda was not upset when her daughters moved away, in fact it was quite the opposite: "When my daughters moved to Toronto, where their father had lived and worked for years, I was embarrassed and amazed to discover that I wasn't upset; rather, I felt light, as if only then had I definitively 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 the 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." It's summer and since she is feeling happy about her new freedom, Leda decides to rent a beach house for six weeks, on the Ionian coast, near Naples. She packs her books and lesson plans for the coming school year and is planning to relax by lounging on the beach by day. Early on she becomes fascinated by the interactions of an attractive young mother named Nina, and her young daughter, Elena. She also intently watches little Elena's interactions with her doll, which the girl calls by several different names. Several other family members visit the family on the beach as well. One day Leda notices the child by the waters edge, so she returns her to her mother who was lying on the beach blanket and hadn't noticed the child had wandered to the water. Another day when the family leaves the beach for the day, Leda notices that Elena's beloved doll was left buried in the sand. This incident upsets Leda, and suddenly this event, along with the interactions of mother and child, opens a floodgate of memories for Leda of her own days as a young mother. Some of the incidents which she recalls of things she did, and ways she reacted to her own daughters --were cringe-worthy. This brief novella, just 124 pages, is sure to evoke emotions among readers, especially mothers. Narrated in the first person, this deep journey into a mother's psyche, gives the reader plenty to think about. Marriage, motherhood, personal freedom, sacrifice and career fulfillment are some of the conflicting issues that surface in this work. Initially, I thought I might have a problem with the flow of the story due to the translation, but that was not the case. Once I got into the rhythm and into what was going on in Leda's head, I was hooked. I liked this one a lot, and would definitely recommend it.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #997,362 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #889 in Psychological Fiction (Books) #1,545 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction #3,398 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars (5,298) |
| Dimensions  | 5.2 x 0.44 x 8.2 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 1933372427 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1933372426 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 204 pages |
| Publication date  | April 1, 2008 |
| Publisher  | Europa Editions |

## Images

![The Lost Daughter - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81lCiDr8c7L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Makes me swallow hard, a bit scared to turn the page
*by H***H on August 13, 2013*

Compelling, immediate and very different from other stories. Translation from Italian helps to keep the action close to the page with very little unnecessary detail and description. The centeral character in this book, and the two others Days of Abandonment and Troubling Love, are women who you can relate to, but they are terrifying as well. You are scared you might become them but you're also sympathetic to the great horrors that befall them. This could be me, you think, but would I do what she's doing? You sometimes want to reach into the pages and stop the main character from doing what she's planning. Ferrante is letting her characters, who must be her on some level, go into places that we shouldn't go, but sometimes secretly want to. These books scare me and thrill me at the same time, and feel as if they are unleashing the part of me that wants to write about my secret desires, feelings and opinions — the most damaging of all. Remarkable, set in beautiful locations but not for anyone looking for travelogue romance. Stays with you a long time, and perhaps, changes you to some degree. All writers should read and study her style. Excellent plot progression with expertly developed back stories that help you understand the context of the present moment.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5/5 stars - the dark side of motherhood
*by M***S on August 21, 2011*

Leda is a 47 year-old divorced woman, and mother to daughters, Bianca and Marta, now 22 and 24. The girls have recently moved from Italy to Toronto, Canada to live with their father. Leda is well educated and teaches at the university in Florence, Italy. Leda was not upset when her daughters moved away, in fact it was quite the opposite: "When my daughters moved to Toronto, where their father had lived and worked for years, I was embarrassed and amazed to discover that I wasn't upset; rather, I felt light, as if only then had I definitively 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 the 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." It's summer and since she is feeling happy about her new freedom, Leda decides to rent a beach house for six weeks, on the Ionian coast, near Naples. She packs her books and lesson plans for the coming school year and is planning to relax by lounging on the beach by day. Early on she becomes fascinated by the interactions of an attractive young mother named Nina, and her young daughter, Elena. She also intently watches little Elena's interactions with her doll, which the girl calls by several different names. Several other family members visit the family on the beach as well. One day Leda notices the child by the waters edge, so she returns her to her mother who was lying on the beach blanket and hadn't noticed the child had wandered to the water. Another day when the family leaves the beach for the day, Leda notices that Elena's beloved doll was left buried in the sand. This incident upsets Leda, and suddenly this event, along with the interactions of mother and child, opens a floodgate of memories for Leda of her own days as a young mother. Some of the incidents which she recalls of things she did, and ways she reacted to her own daughters --were cringe-worthy. This brief novella, just 124 pages, is sure to evoke emotions among readers, especially mothers. Narrated in the first person, this deep journey into a mother's psyche, gives the reader plenty to think about. Marriage, motherhood, personal freedom, sacrifice and career fulfillment are some of the conflicting issues that surface in this work. Initially, I thought I might have a problem with the flow of the story due to the translation, but that was not the case. Once I got into the rhythm and into what was going on in Leda's head, I was hooked. I liked this one a lot, and would definitely recommend it.

### ⭐⭐⭐ Anti-climactic
*by A***. on May 22, 2022*

I read this book specifically because I was intrigued at the idea of a story about a mother who sort of lacked the expected bond with her children. I went in with an open mind wanting o understand her more. Maybe it’s me but I don’t understand what the author wants the reader to take away from the story. This protagonist was generally unlikable and the main conflict of the story actually had nothing to do with her family itself. She did something really selfish and pointless. The end left a lot to be desired. Overall an interesting read, but don’t expect to walk away with anything.

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*Store origin: IE*
*Last updated: 2026-02-06*