A review by faintgirl
The Lover by Marguerite Duras

3.0

I'm not sure where I stand on this one, whether it's a three or a four. It's difficult to put together this collection of memories into a straight narrative. It's driven by fleeting emotions, memories from a past filled with pain and stolen moments of pleasure. The author, a french schoolgirl living in Indochina, has a somewhat illicit affair with a Chinese businessman. Her tumultuous relationship with her family at home intensify this relationship and she is sent away to boarding school, where she grows up way too fast.

Despite the fact that this novel is rife with emotional rollercoasters, it left me a little detached, whilst still being a page turner. I never really felt for the school girl or the grown woman she became, which leaves this book hovering somewhere around a 3.5.