Alain Vircondelet

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.… (mere)