"In this sad, cool, short novel, Duras tells the largely autobiographical story of a 15-year-old European girl's first affair with an older Chinese man in French Indochina during the 1930s. Stereotypes and expectations are inverted: she is poor, he wealthy; she seduces him, not vice versa; she controls the relationship, does not love him though he is hopelessly besotted with her, and she dictates all the terms, including how and when it ends. Duras uses cinematic techniques -- flashbacks and forwards, repetitions, incidents cut up and interrupted by seemingly unrelated descriptions -- and switches between first and third person to enrich what at first seems a fairly dry and unadorned narrative. A depressing yet eloquent work of art."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
" An impovished, adolescent French girl in colonial South East Asia has a forbidden love affair with a wealthy, Chinese man, twelve years her senior. An aloof, seemingly uncaring mother, a cruel, dominating older brother and a weak, helpless younger brother make up the family she is at once trying to escape and save. "
Meredith, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of The Lover
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- seduction (yum!)
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Poverty, surviving
Yes
Kind of living:
- general poverty story
Strong "rags to riches" component?
Yes
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Mother (or standin)
- Brother
Culture clash?
- visiting a culture in other country
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- Chinese
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- high school
Parents/lack of parents problem?
- rebelling against parent's expectations
Taboo sex story?
Yes
Lover is
- of a different social class
- of a different race (interracial loving!)
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- wild
Ethnicity/Nationality
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 (an average amount)
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Southeast Asia
City?
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of hetero sex
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- little dialog
