The Lover? I Hardly Know Her! A Reflection on Duras' "The Lover"

A narrative so confusing it leaves you wanting more.

“I loved him, it seemed, forever, and nothing new could happen to that love. I’d forgotten about death.”

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. March has graced us and so does the promise of spring. I hope you all are making the most of the little winter we have left. Today I’ll be reflecting on Duras’ “The Lover”, so let us jump right in.

Friends, I am not sure where to begin with this book. I cannot say I enjoyed it. I was quite uncomfortable for the majority of its duration and even the “nice” parts were shadowed by a feeling of impending doom and/or sorrow. Yet, I cannot say I detested it either. Those of you who read my reflection last week will know I am no stranger to sharing my negative thoughts on the readings, so this isn’t me being shy. Perhaps it is the fact that I was never bored reading it, and the plot being quite engaging that’s preventing me from ragging on it. Whatever it may be, it was a curious read and that is for certain.

What interested me the most about this book was its structure. At first, I was a bit confused and thrown off guard by how the story was going, but eventually, it slowly started to make sense. The narrative was sporadic and jumping all over the place. In some ways, this could have been annoying, but I thought it was unique and kept the story engaging.

I also want to touch on the way the book addresses its characters. There are only a handful of main characters in this novel, however, they are all incredibly interesting and very multifaceted. At times I felt like the narrator was actually describing multiple characters when she was only describing one, simply because of how varied the descriptions sometimes were. The dynamics between these characters were also fascinating and ever-changing; another aspect of the story-telling I thought was compelling.

“The Lover” is not my favorite read of the term, nor does it come close, but I must admit to appreicating the narrative it conveys and the way it conveys it. My question for you this week is how did you feel about the structure of this book? Did you think it made the book more engaging to read or did it lose you in its complexity? In the meantime, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Bye for now.

B.B.