Being a movie buff, I often like to beat the filmmaker's to the punch and read the book before the movie opens at the box office. This doesn’t always bode well for the movie as it’s virtually impossible to make a movie as rich as literature.  However, loving the actresses Olivia Coleman and Dakota Johnson makes me optimistic about the film rendition of Elena Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter.

The Lost Daughter is perfect for all mothers, but especially those with more than one daughter as offspring. While most boys are transparent, female relationships can be fraught with murky emotions and long held grudges.  Much like my description, Ferrante captures an independent woman who faces extreme psychological difficulties during her child rearing years. 

Most already know Ferrante from her brilliant Neopolitan series. I highly encourage all fiction fans to seek out this earlier 2008 novel for its intriguing psychological family dynamics.