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| The Lover (Harper Perennial Modern Classc) | 
 enlarge | Author: Marguerite Duras
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £1.45
You Save: £5.54 (79%)
New (21) from £2.14
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 105435
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0007205007
EAN: 9780007205004
ASIN: 0007205007
Publication Date: January 16, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Is This An Erotic Novel? May 21, 2008
A translation, this dark self-absorbed short novel is classic Duras. Frequently referred to as an erotic novel, The Lover falls short of that. The novel is much more than the story of a young girl in French Indochina (Vietnam), and her first lover, an older wealthy local man. Duras tells a darker tale of emerging adolescent sexual power and selfishness, a mother-daughter relationship, and the taboos inherent in colonialism and foreignness.
The Lover was awarded the French Goncourt prize in 1984. The strength of the novel is in the underlying despair of the narrator's triangulated memories. The narrative voice the reader hears is of an older woman reflecting on her past. Duras, when writing the novel, drew upon certain aspects from her childhood in Saigon. She was also an experimental writer with an alcohol problem. Her writing style is pared to the bone.
In 1992 the film version of The Lover, was very successful. The eroticism in the film appears to have become a popular misconception in relation to the book. This particular publication has a reader introduction to Duras, her writing style, her early life in French Indochina. I highly recommend the film available on DVD.
 dull April 9, 2008
I agree with the title ghastly drivel. found it tedious and certainly not erotic. very disappointing
Ghastly drivel October 27, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was far and away the worst book I've read this year (if not ever). From a male perspective it was boring, confusing and stupid with a completely unsympathetic heroine. The only redeeming feature was that being so short (and yet so expensive??) the pain of reading this book came to an end with merciful speed.
Also, was I the only one that thought the idea of an affair between a rich Chinese man and a fifteen year old girl slightly dodgy even in those times?
I'm going to recycle my copy straight away so some good may come of the paper - never was there such a waste of trees as when this book was published.
 pure poetry February 12, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have read this book more than once and become transported every time to the exotic Indochina and the searing romance between the young girl and the chinese man of the title. Even more beguiling than this are the tales of festering colonialism as the girl rages at her brother and mother for making her endure the poverty and shame of being both white and poor. This is a very complex book which is easy to read thanks to the style of ms Duras' writing, that of flowing poetry.
One of the best books I've ever read November 30, 2004
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I chanced across this book when waiting for some female friends who went to see <> at the cinema. I finished book just as the film finished. I'm glad I read this book rather than saw that film. A flow of consciousness embedded in romantic fatalism. Very feminine writing. It took me on a journey of youthful experimentation, of not quite knowing but knowing, of cultural conflicts, of the exotic Indo-China in that colonial era of a faded dusty yellowness. Strongly recommended to all those who enjoy the writing of V Nabokov.
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