Marguerite Duras: Rakastaja

L'amant (1984)
Marguerite Duras
suom.?
Otava 2006, Otavan kirjasto
121 sivua

Prix Goncourt 1984
Kirjastosta
GR: 4/5 tähteä
★★★★


I am surprised that the top shelf for this is "erotica". I suspect that people who choose this based on that "recommendation" will be disappointed. I'm not sure if this is even about a romance but I guess it is, albeit it is a sad one. For me this was a story about a dysfunctional family, fueled in part by mental illness and possible domestic abuse, and the effect of growing up in a family like that can have to a girl.

This wasn't an easy book to read, it wasn't the light story about a forbidden love that I thought it would be. With her long sentences the author created an intense atmosphere making me sometimes to want to take a break and other times to keep reading. The details of the family life made me wonder just how much was based on reality. Also I couldn't figure out some of the passages: where they about the mother, the girl or just some other, nameless character. I wonder where there any hints that I might have missed. All in all, an interesting reading experience, next maybe something lighter and easier...