THE RAVISHING OF LOL STEIN

by Marguerite Duras ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 28, 1966

Marguerite Duras is one of the established writers of the New Realism; while less difficult than some of the better known exponents (Sarraute, for instance) she writes almost exclusively in dialogue, dialogue which in itself has a very simple elegance, and in slow-motion sequences which seem--only seem--to convey the surface of experience. Actually this is deceptive since much of it is essentially and paradoxically opaque. Throughout Lol Stein, Lola Valerie Stein, drifts--a disembodied presence, indifferent, incomplete, an ""upright, sleeping beauty"" (a little like Monica Vitti listlessly wandering across an Antonioni landscape). She is first seen abandoned by the man she is to marry which causes her collapse; later, ten years later, established in a loveless marriage from which she escapes, every afternoon, to walk alone, to remember, and eventually to watch the activities in a hotel bedroom involving an old friend, Tatiana, and her lover, Jack Hold (the narrator). Ultimately this leads to her attempt to recover the initial experience of love and loss and to the ravishment of the title.... Disconcerting, to an extent dissatisfying, an extended reverie for which Mme. Duras' supple style is actually a most accomplished and precise instrument.

Pub Date: Nov. 28, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Grove

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1966

Categories: FICTION