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The Lover by Marguerite Duras

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Not sure what the big fuss is about this book. I guess it comes off as particularly emotional, as lugubrious as the environs in which a colonial 15 1/2 year old finds herself in a love affair with a man almost twice her age. I found the writing choppy and disconnected, unsure of why we should empathize with the main character or characters. The narrator discuss also at length her difficult relationship with her mother especially, and also her older brother. I wish the narration were a bit more grounded, the storytelling less dreamy and more realistic. Perhaps I would prefer a longer work of Duras.



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To be released at local Bookcrossing meeting.