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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
With 'Lolita' the pov is from the pederast. Here it's from the child herself, in the form of the protagonist looking back from adulthood on those times. Does that make it any more palatable to read? I think it does, as this is very squarely about the family dynamics between daughter protag, her mother and two brothers, one older, one younger. It is through those dynamics you see the shape of the girl's psychological make up that an older lover fits like a key to a lock. The mother is mad, they live in ridiculous penury in colonial French Indochina, the older brother is predatory, the younger a perpetual victim. The daughter flees all this into the arms of her lover. But it is a love by emotional contract rather than a pure love. For his part, the lover, an ethnic Chinese, he too is alienated from himself; sating his desires through his 'little white girl' on a physical level, but forever out of reach lies true fulfillment, because his family will never allow him to marry someone white. So desire is ratcheted up because he can never attain it, even though unlike Tantalus, he can put his hand on the fruit.
A study in deracination, colonialism, race and family dynamics, this was well closer to 4.5 stars than 4.
A study in deracination, colonialism, race and family dynamics, this was well closer to 4.5 stars than 4.
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read in one siting over an avocado toast (still questioning why I wanted the avocado toast, but here we are). Obsessed with youth and secrets and death and madness- right up my alley. Incongruent timeline, unclear and nonlinear thinking, shocking in an emotionless way.
Will probably read again in some other year.
Will probably read again in some other year.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was both an easy and fast read, but also quite intense and uncomfortable. The writing style is quite unique, with short and snappy sentences. Paired with the quick shifts in time and space it creates an interesting reading experience. I feel like it could have been a 5 star for me if it just went a bit deeper? Not sure, but would still recommend.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
a lot of the experience of reading this hangs in what she doesn't explicitly spell out, which is a skill in writing that I don't really understand. there's so much to think about and analyze in this little sparsely written book: family dynamics, racism, class disparity, colonialism, freedom, etc this was very disturbing but it's drenched in nostalgia and the writing is insanely beautiful. i finished it and immediately wanted to start over and read it again. it's stunning. I understand why it took Duras until she was 70 to write this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Racism, Colonisation
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Sexism, Death of parent