The North China Lover - by Marguerite Duras (Paperback)

About the Book

This fascinating retelling of the dramatic experiences of Duras' adolescence emphasizes the tough realities of her youth in Indochina and reveals much that her earlier works concealed. An instant #1 bestseller in France, this daring work will both shock and entrance readers.

Book Synopsis

For fans of Duras's enduring bestseller The Lover, an evocative and intimate exploration of the drama and power of adolescence, in a remarkable blend of fiction and memoir

Far more daring and truthful than any of her other novels, The North China Lover is a fascinating retelling of the dramatic experiences of Duras's adolescence that shaped her most famous work. Initially conceived as notes toward a screenplay for The Lover, this later novel, written toward the end of her life, emphasizes the tougher aspects of her youth in Indochina and possesses the intimate feel of a documentary.

Both shocking and enthralling, the story Duras tells is "so powerfully imagined (or remembered) that it . . . lingers like a strong perfume" (Publishers Weekly). Hailed by the French critics as a return to "the Duras of the great books and the great days," it is a mature and complex rendering of a formative period in the author's life.

About the Author

Marguerite Duras (1914-1996) was one of France's most important literary figures. She is the author of such acclaimed novels as The Lover, The Ravishing of Lol Stein, and The Sailor from Gibraltar and wrote the screenplay for Hiroshima Mon Amour. The New Press has published translations of her books The North China Lover, The War, and Wartime Writings.