Dear Great Book Guru, My friends and I would like to start a film/book discussion group and wondered if you had some suggestions as to where we could start.   Film/Book Buffs

 Dear Film/Book Buffs, What a great idea and I do have a pairing your group might want to begin with: THE LOST DAUGHTER. The novel was written by Elena Ferrante and the movie was just recently released to theaters and TV.   The novel opens with Leda, a middle-aged college professor vacationing in an Italian resort where she encounters a large, boisterous Neapolitan family.  Mother of two grown daughters, Leda is fascinated by Nina and her young child, Elena.  As Leda learns more and more about the family, we learn about Leda and her struggles as a young mother. Much of the time we are inside her mind, listening to her voice and observations, so we have to ask ourselves how reliable are these “facts.”   There is a prevailing sense of dread throughout as Leda struggles with her feelings about the past and the present.  While definitely a psychological mystery, the story is also a study of what it means to be a parent, particularly a mother.  The novel and movie follow one another closely but there are enough differences to spark lots of great discussion.