This week I read the book “The Lover”. When I heard the name of the book, I was thinking if it was a happy ending, but actually not… But this is also very realistic, because life is often full of regrets, and regrets about love account for part of it…
This week I read the book “The Lover”. When I heard the name of the book, I was thinking if it was a happy ending, but actually not… But this is also very realistic, because life is often full of regrets, and regrets about love account for part of it…
“Everything flows towards the Pacific, no time for anything to sink, all is swept along by the deep and head-long storm of the inner current, suspended on the surface of the river’s strength” (Duras 22) To fully understand what is happening in this novel, one must observe the disturbing content embedded. The Lover is a […]
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with authenticity, coming of age, desire, Forbidden, identity, love, memory, taboo, war
A moving and powerful book, “The Lover” explores the intricate issues of colonialism, love, desire, and social expectations. The story, which takes place in 1920s French colonial Vietnam, centers on an extramarital relationship between a wealthy Chinese man known only as “the Chinaman” and a young French girl known as “the girl.” It was a […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with identity, love, poverty, race, rich, social expectation
In this novel, I encountered a similarly intense sensation as with “Combray,” though it left me somewhat puzzled. It doesn’t follow a linear narrative; instead, it intertwines various times and spaces. For instance, in the first forty pages or so, it doesn’t progress the plot but delves into the scenery along the Mekong River. It […]
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with class, contrast, love, Relationship, women
Marguerite Duras’ novel, “The Lover,” is a unique literature that explores the themes of love, family, and colonialism. At first, I was confused about the story’s setting as there seemed to be a diverse array of ethnicities and there were some city names (such as Mekong, Cholon, and Saigon) that I had never heard of […]
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with age, family, love, memory, poverty, race, relationships, social class
I was mentally preparing myself to experience extreme discomfort while reading “The Lover”, but I wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought I would be. Of course, we shouldn’t dismiss the fact that this relationship was illegal, involving a minor, and disturbing at some parts, like when the girl is described as “his own child [that] […]
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with age, love, memory, race, relationships
I like to say that I have read plenty of horrible romance stories in my lifetime, and have seen plenty of interesting (read: “disturbing”) tropes regarding relationships in the process. So when I received a content warning regarding this book, I simply brushed it aside thinking that it wouldn’t be too bad on my end. […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with love, lover, Marguerite Duras, The Lover
“Everyone says you were beautiful when you were young, but I want to tell you I think you’re more beautiful now than then (p. 3). “ This is the classic beginning of The Lover by Marguerite Duras, where the aged narrator when her looks are devastated, longs for a lover who expresses the love that […]
Posted in Blogs, Introduction | Tagged with love, poverty, race, sex, Vietnam
The novel ‘The Lover’ is an autobiographical account of a young girl’s affair with an old man. At first, I found this novel a little absurd as it is something different from what I have read before but then as I read further, it became a little clear as to what the author was trying […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with aging, gender, loss, love, poverty, RMST 202 201
