The Ravishing of Lol Stein [Paperback]

The Ravishing of Lol Steinis a haunting early novel by the author ofThe Lover.Lol Stein is a beautiful young woman, securely married, settled in a comfortable life—and a voyeur. Returning with her husband and children to the town where, years before, her fiancé had abandoned her for another woman, she is drawn inexorably to recreate that long-past tragedy. She arranges a rendezvous for her friend Tatiana and Tatiana’s lover. She arranges to spy on them. And then, she goes one step further . . .

“Brilliant . . . shoots vertical shafts down into the dark morass of human love.”
—The New York Times Book Review
 
“InThe Ravishing of Lol Stein,Marguerite Duras writes brilliantly [and] strongly . . . The drama proceeds savagely, erotically, and . . . the Duras language and writing throughout the book shine like crystal.”
—Janet Flanner,The New Yorker

One of France's most important literary figures, MARGUERITE DURAS is best known in the United States for her novel The Lover, and for her brilliant film script Hiroshima, Mon Amour. She is also the author of many other acclaimed novels (The Ravishing of Lol Stein) and screenplays (Détruire, dit-elle). Born in Saigon in 1914 and died in Paris in 1996.

Lol stein was born here is South Tahla, and she spent a good part of her youth in this town. Her father was a professor at the university. Lol has a brother nine years older than she—I have never seen him—they say he lives in Paris. He parents are dead.
 
I have never heard anything especially noteworthy about Lol Stein’s childhood, even from Tatiana Karl, her best friend during the school years together.
 
On Thursday, which was a school holiday, they used to go out and dance in the empty playground. They had an aversion to marching in schló(