The Lover by Marguerite Duras Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Lover
Book Review: This one's artistic.
Summary: 5 Stars
After watching the movie, I just had to read the book. Some say, the book is always better than the movie, in this case though both book and movie are beautiful, but each in their own way.
The book draws so much more depth and power (which is of course only hinted in the movie). It is written with a foreign musicality to it. Sentences are structured in ways that communicate the main character's unusual background--a French girl living in prewar Indochina. The way it's structured takes the reader into the poetic, romantic and exotic mind of the narrator.
This is more literary, experimental (sure) and if you're looking for a romance novel, this ain't it. This one's artistic.
Book Review: Too Young and not in Love.
Summary: 2 Stars
This internationally acclaimed book, which was also made into a movie, is about a young white girl in Saigon who initially sells herself into prostitution. A Chinese man, whose father is a millionaire, is the only taker and loves her obsessively, though because of the race issues in the 1930's, marriage is impossible from the start. The book is written as a memoir of her disturbing and dysfunctional life amidst a family that you fail to grow attached to. There is minimal use of names, which keeps the characters distant to the reader. The mesmerizing prose invites you along in a haunting way, but the story leaves much to be desired. At times it goes off on tangents like a rambling mind and leaves you wondering where you have been taken.
I know Duras has been hailed as an award-winning author but I can honestly say it was a chore to finish this book. Perhaps this book is for a certain kind of reader, to be read when one is in the mood for something other than a good story.
Kelsana 6/14/01
Book Review: Twisted and perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw the movie which was based on this book. I absolutely adored the movie and I couldn't wait to read the book. This book is one of the best books I ever read (and I read a lot). It's absolutely amazing. The story is about a fifteen-year-old girl who falls in love with a wealthy twenty-nine-year-old China man in 1930's Indochina. But the greatness of this book doesn't come from the story line, it lays in the way Marguerite Duras tells the story. From the first page you can feel that this is her story. Her prose is so poetic and hauntig, somewhat obsessive. This book is so intimate and personal. It felt like Marguerite was sitting right across me and telling me the story of her first real love and sexual experience. But the relationship between her and China man is not like a normal relationship between two people in love. At one point her lover gives her the money for sleeping with him. There is also an interesting relationship between Marguerite and her best friend, a beautiful girl named Helen Lagonelle. There is even a passage when the two kiss and when Marguerite finds out she's going back to France, she offers her lover to take Helen so he could forget her easier. This book is unforgettable. It's fantastic, hauntig and somewhat dark. It explores the human passion. I had an opportunity to read this book in french (the original)and I never knew before that french can be so beautiful. In short, this book is more than perfect and I recommend it to everyone who is looking for some twisted and unforgettable true story.Book Review: Twisted and perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw the movie which was based on this book. I absolutely adored the movie and I couldn't wait to read the book. This book is one of the best books I ever read (and I read a lot). It's absolutely amazing. The story is about a fifteen-year-old girl who falls in love with a wealthy twenty-nine-year-old China man in 1930's Indochina. But the greatness of this book doesn't come from the story line, it lays in the way Marguerite Duras tells the story. From the first page you can feel that this is her story. Her prose is so poetic and hauntig, somewhat obsessive. This book is so intimate and personal. It felt like Marguerite was sitting right across me and telling me the story of her first real love and ... experience. But the relationship between her and China man is not like a normal relationship between two people in love. At one point her lover gives her the money for sleeping with him. There is also an interesting relationship between Marguerite and her best friend, a beautiful girl named Helen Lagonelle. There is even a passage when the two kiss and when Marguerite finds out she's going back to France, she offers her lover to take Helen so he could forget her easier. This book is unforgettable. It's fantastic, hauntig and somewhat dark. It explores the human passion. I had an opportunity to read this book in french (the original)and I never knew before that french can be so beautiful. In short, this book is more than perfect and I recommend it to everyone who is looking for some twisted and unforgettable true story.Book Review: Unique and moving style
Summary: 4 Stars
A beautiful and tersely written story of the love affair between a teenage French girl and a Chinese man in Indochina.