The Lover by Marguerite Duras is a highly acclaimed novel, first published in French in 1984, then translated and published in English in 1985. It is a beautifully written and piercingly honest story of love and loss in pre-war French Indochina.
The novel follows the life of a teenage girl, who is never named, as she recounts her life in French Indochina in the 1930s. She and her family live in a poor Chinese neighborhood of Saigon. The girl's father, mother and brother all leave, leaving her with her three Chinese half-siblings; an aunt and an uncle, who reject her once her mother leaves.
The girl is then taken in by a wealthy Chinese family, the Nguyens, and she becomes close to their son, who she calls her “lover”. She grows up in their home and is a part of their family, learning about the culture, customs and etiquette of Saigon. At the same time, she is keeping a secret from the Nguyens; the relationship she has with her “lover”. They are both in love, but cannot express it or behave in any way that would bring shame upon his family.
Eventually, they grow apart and she moves away, taking up a job in a garment store, learning French and finishing her schooling. She meets a young French man, also unnamed, which leads her to Paris, where she lands a job as a typist. The narrator reflects upon how the relationship she shared with her “lover" parallels her relationship with France: both comfortable and safe, yet distant and untouchable.
The Lover is a profound and moving novel that explores the depths and consequences of forbidden love, as the adolescent romanticizes what cannot properly be expressed. Duras beautifully conveys the nuances of being a cultural “other” in a foreign land. But despite the differences, the story conveys a sense of familiarity – one of longing to belong and to be understood.
The realism of the story forces us to confront our own perceptions of culture, identity and love. Duras has crafted a timeless classic starring a vivid and compelling narrator who will remain with the reader long after they’ve finished the novel. Ultimately, The Lover demonstrates the power of love and how it can extend even beyond societal boundaries.
