Reviews - Destroy, She Said: Marguerite Duras

This is a short, strange and haunting novel that I have been thinking about and trying to fully understand for years. How many years? 10? I don’t remember. I bought it at a used bookstore and, like in a fantasy movie, I found it has magical powers. I’ve read many times and will probably read it again.

alimarashian's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

jmtsuruoka's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

obsessioncollector's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious reflective

4.0

"'You needn't listen to anyone,' Alissa
says gently. "You can do as you like.'

Elisabeth Alione smiles.

'I don't want to.'"

nickygra's review against another edition

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4.0

'I'm afraid [...] Afraid of being abandoned, afraid of the future, afraid of loving, of violence, of numbers, of the unknown, of hunger, of poverty, of the truth.’

Love how stripped back and cinematic Duras's writing is. A deeply visual novel that is deceptively simple and thematically rich.

naomi_cpnz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sagostund's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

2.5

gothkuriboh's review against another edition

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5.0

Time

The days go by, but people are always somewhere else.

Eroticism

Her lovers trades places. They're married but just met. They met here but already knew each other.

Place

Only one escapes. One enters, or was she already there?

Violence

Tearing her mind to pieces. Making her passive.

Madness

"You're insane."
"You didn't tell me Alissa was insane."
"I didn't know."

Passivity. Action. Reaction. Cinema. Montage. Editing. Bourgeoisie. Intellectualism. Fusion.

Three people become one, but also reliant on each other. Parasites.

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