The Lost Daughter
Elena Ferrante 
Europa
<p><span>Leda is a middle-aged divorcée devoted to her work as an English teacher and to her two children. When her daughters leave home to be with their father in Canada, Leda anticipates a period of loneliness and longing. Instead, slightly embarrassed by the sensation, she feels liberated, as if her life has become lighter, easier. She decides to take a holiday by the sea, in a small coastal town in southern Italy. But after a few days of calm and quiet, things begin to take a menacing turn. Leda encounters a family whose brash presence proves unsettling, at times even threatening. When a small, seemingly meaningless, event occurs, Leda is overwhelmed by memories of the difficult and unconventional choices she made as a mother and their consequences for herself and her family. The seemingly serene tale of a woman’s pleasant rediscovery of herself soon becomes the story of a ferocious confrontation with an unsettled past.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Following the extraordinary success of</span><span>&nbsp;</span><span>The Days of Abandonment</span><span>, Elena Ferrante’s new novel explores the conflicting emotions that tie us to our children. This candid fiction represents her most compelling and perceptive meditation on womanhood and motherhood thus far.</span></p>