![]() But that is not the only autobiographical element. The story is set in Sa Dec on the Mekong Delta in French Indochina in the 1930s, where Duras lived as a girl. The book was adapted for film in 1992 as The Lover. The book was awarded the 1984 Prix Goncourt, (the most prestigious of French prizes and the one which is for “the best and most imaginative prose work of the year”). My edition was translated by Barbara Bray for the first English edition in 1985 so it didn’t take long for the novella to reach its international audience. Wikipedia tells me that it was first published in 1984 by Les Éditions de Minuit, and has since been translated into 43 languages. *chuckle* Call me cynical if you like, but perhaps the book was fêted as much for its provocative theme as for the brilliance of its style! It is the story of a transgressive love affair between a fifteen-year-old girl and a Chinese man ten years older. With its shifts between the first and third person, the use of flashbacks and its impressionistic disrupted style, Duras’ writing is very cinematic, influenced as she was by the French nouveau roman of the 1950s. ![]() Written when Marguerite Duras was 70 years old and superbly translated by Barbara Bray, The Lover is included in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die for good reason. An intense, provocative gaze, daring the reader… and how fascinating to discover that it’s an image of the author herself when she was a young woman! ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |