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…
Jon actually approached me at the start of the last class as I was reading this book. He asked me how I felt about it and honestly I did not have an answer for him. I kept flip flopping between who genuinely was the problem in this book and I think that’s what Duras wanted. …
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with addiction, class, coming of age, family, family dynamics, gender, girlhood, I hate men, pedophile, poverty, race, sexuality, youth
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
“The Lover” left me in a state of perplexity long after I had finished reading the novel not because of its plot, but because of its power dynamics between Duras and her lover, the Chinese man. I find the title “The Lover” intriguing because it seems to me that Duras refuses to be identified as […]
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with class, gender, memories, narration, race
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
“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
Despite this book’s uncomfortable age gap relationship, I really enjoyed reading it. The way Duras writes “The Lover” hooked me the entire time. Her descriptions of the environment, like Saigon, to each complex and rich character, I felt so immersed in this novel. My heart was in this one! I really loved the first sentence […]
Posted in Blogs | Tagged with age gap, colonies, depression, family, France, race, saigon, social class, The Lover
Okay, I admit that the relationship is indeed poignant, and Duras does have a different flavor in taking this memory and writing a book about it. But the purity of the relationship is worth reconsidering; after all, the beginning of the protagonist’s relationship is based on the mutual benefits of money and beauty. Another thing […]
Posted in Blogs, Duras | Tagged with barrier, lover, race, Relationship
