Synopsis Traces the life of the French novelist and screenwriter, and discussses the influence of her life on her writings. From the Back Cover This is the first full-length biography of one of the best-known and most influential French writers of our time, as celebrated for her films (Hiroshima Mon Amour) as for her novels (The Ravishing of Lol Stein, The Lover). It takes Duras from colonial Indochina (where she was born in 1914) to wartime France, through the intellectual skirmishes of the 1950s and leftist movements of the 1960s, up to the present time. An autobiographical writer by nature, Duras has poured her exotic life into her books, and Vircondelet is the first to separate fact from fiction, leading us to a greater appreciation of her inimitable fiction. Although it gives a full, chronological account of Duras's life and work, Duras is not a conventional biography. "In order to give an exact account of her life, her inner workings", Vircondelet explains in his preface, "one needs to acquire and rediscover a secret, a kind of alchemy, the nature of her 'fluent writing, ' as she calls it". Employing a kind of "fluent writing" himself, Vircondelet brings a rare empathy to his task, allowing him to discover secret connections between the life and work. Both a mesmerizing biography and an innovative work of literary criticism, Duras is a bold and unforgettable achievement. First published in France in 1991, the book has been updated by the author for this English translation. It is illustrated with 37 photographs. About the Author Alain Vircondelet teaches modern literature at the Institut Catholique in Paris.
C**M
A good starting point
Vircondelet knows her well. Look out for the chapter called "Durasia" which describes her increasingly imagined birth country - very clever.
J**N
Not a real biography
I wish I had read the other review before I bought this book. The other review is correct: he tries to write like Duras and the factual info is thin. I did not enjoy the author's flowery, overblown writing style, so he gets a low rating.
I**E
A Biography in Duras' Voice
Recommended! Alain Vircondelet's biography of the enigmatic Marguerite Duras will satisfy fans of her literature while leaving them with another mystery to solve: her life. Those seeking a fact-filled chronology of her life will be disappointed. Vircondolet does not write a traditional biography. In a way, this is refreshing; we do not need to yawn over endless dates or read lengthy, dry histories of her family members. Yet, at the same time, we miss this. Anyone who has read Duras wants to know MORE of her. Beginning Vircondelet's biography is exciting at first as the keys to Duras' life and personality seem about to be revealed. Upon reading on, it is discovered that there is little to be revealed here other than what we already know from reading her literature into which, of course, she has wound her life. Duras once told a French magazine that she wanted someone to write about her in the style of her own writing. The astonishing part of this biography is that Vircondolet has succeeded in doing this, sounding very much like Marguerite Duras. His sentences roll like waves as hers do, and the reader is lost in a blend of visions, sensuality, and philosophy. DURAS would be a five-star book if the author had managed to ferret out some unknown facts about this amazing writer. But he played his writing on the safe side, and it is not possible to rank this book higher than a four on the rating scale. But Duras' fans should definitely read the biography as it is a bit like having Duras alive again.
