The Ravishing of Lol Stein, Marguerite Duras
The Ravishing of Lol Stein by Marguerite Duras is greater than a moving love story. Lol would go to a ball, there, the man she is engaged to falls madly deeply in love with a mature lady. They leave the ballroom together. Lol sees everything. The knowledge is fascinating it doesn’t kill her however it comes close. She will get very sick, marries another person, after which meets a lady, Tatiana, who also observed her earlier abandonment in the ball. In some way, they relive that scene of fascination and loss with Jacques, Tatiana’s husband. You see clearly, and also you don’t quite have it. You like it, and also you keep wondering: can you really love someone a lot? Marguerite Duras’s love tales feel otherworldly, and her somewhat imaginary metropolitan areas are ideal for literary dreamers and readers who believe that “life outdoors books” isn’t complete.
