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pasc96's review against another edition
4.0
So much sadness in such a slim volume... Duras's fictionalized retelling of her long-ago love affair reflects on memory and loss, and shapeshifts as needed to convey her emotion. The story jumps in time, jumps in perspective (frequently shifting from first- to third-person narration), yet stays consistent in tone and mood. The primary loss here is one of culture -- both the narrator and her lover are foreigners in Vietnam, and foreigners in their families. They recognize the wanderer in the other, and make a connection based on their shared hollowness. As much a story of place as it is of people, The Lover shows how time, circumstance, and mores can shape a life. No wonder this first encounter stayed with Duras for her lifetime.
jpmatt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
chrissych's review against another edition
4.0
A sparse, haunting exploration of youth and mistakes and yearning. I would love to read this again, now that I'm a bit older and more experiences in some of its themes.
underdog30's review against another edition
2.0
I was expecting this book to evoke life in prewar Vietnam. It didn't really evoke much of anything.
amiewhittemore's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to read this after reading Jane Alison's craft book, *Meander, Spiral, Explode* and it is indeed a fascinating example of atypical narrative structure. Almost nothing happens. The POV shifts from first to third, or rather--is perhaps always in first, but sometimes the narrator remembers her past self in third person. Strange, poetic little novel. Will be sitting with it for awhile.
akring's review against another edition
2.0
The Narrator is a fifteen year old girl who doesn't belong in the life that her mother has molded for her. She's a different person that was is expected of her. Her mother finally sees that her daughter isn't the person she thought when she discovers that she is sleeping with a Chinese Immigrant in the Indochina region where they live. He is a wealthy man and much older than the girl.
Set in the location where the author was born, you can get a sense of how the Indochina was before it became Vietnam. Things are spread fast about the young girl and it forces the mother to send her away, away from the place that she has known her whole life and will never see again.
Overall, I thought the book was just okay. It was a clear representation of teenage angst and rebellion against ones parents however, I'm not sure that I would have put this one on the 1001 list. I didn't think that it was spectacular. I'm probably in the minority here but I at least I know what I don't like.
Set in the location where the author was born, you can get a sense of how the Indochina was before it became Vietnam. Things are spread fast about the young girl and it forces the mother to send her away, away from the place that she has known her whole life and will never see again.
Overall, I thought the book was just okay. It was a clear representation of teenage angst and rebellion against ones parents however, I'm not sure that I would have put this one on the 1001 list. I didn't think that it was spectacular. I'm probably in the minority here but I at least I know what I don't like.
sullengirlx's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sampsa_h's review against another edition
4.0
Kohti valtamerta valuva Mekong vuolaine, villeine haaroineen! Ohut tunnin kirja, mutta intensiivinen. Teknisesti nastaa kikkailua näkökulmanvaihdoksilla. Tulee tunnelma muisteloista.
Klassikko paitsi tuhmuuksien (heh heh), myös monitulkintaisuutensa vuoksi, ja miten kirja toimii traagisena perhetarinana, omaelämänkertana, julmana ajankuvana ja jopa Duras'n vihjailevana henkilökuvana. Mitä vain me haluamme siinä nähdä! "Huomaan, että Dô ja isoveli ovat aina olleet perillä hänen hulluudestaan." Mieleen tulee olisikohan tämä ollut mitään, jos Marguerite Duras ei olisi Marguerite Duras? No, kirjoittaja on toki vanha alkoholisoitunut 70-vuotias rouva tapahtumien jälkeen...
Jänskä myös peilata, kun luin tätä ennen Lucia Berlinin Siivoojan päiväkirjan.
Klassikko paitsi tuhmuuksien (heh heh), myös monitulkintaisuutensa vuoksi, ja miten kirja toimii traagisena perhetarinana, omaelämänkertana, julmana ajankuvana ja jopa Duras'n vihjailevana henkilökuvana. Mitä vain me haluamme siinä nähdä! "Huomaan, että Dô ja isoveli ovat aina olleet perillä hänen hulluudestaan." Mieleen tulee olisikohan tämä ollut mitään, jos Marguerite Duras ei olisi Marguerite Duras? No, kirjoittaja on toki vanha alkoholisoitunut 70-vuotias rouva tapahtumien jälkeen...
Jänskä myös peilata, kun luin tätä ennen Lucia Berlinin Siivoojan päiväkirjan.