Moderato Cantabile (Minuit "Double") (French Edition)
by Marguerite Duras
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Book Summary Information
Author: Marguerite DurasEdition: Paperback
Audio: French (Unknown); French (Original Language); French (Published)
Published: 1970-01
ISBN: 2707303143
Number of pages: 164
Publisher: Editions De Minuit
Book Reviews of Moderato Cantabile (Minuit "Double") (French Edition)
Book Review: Technically brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
This novelette (~58 pages) is one of the most technically perfect pieces of fiction I have ever encountered. The "plot" is fairly conventional (but in many ways is inconsequential to the textual developments). The amount of detail hidden away in the narrative structure is incredible and the construction and crafting are about as perfect as could be desired. The story is interesting on so many levels that repetitive readings continue to illuminate and expand understanding.
Consider how Duras plays with objectivity in the first central theme of the novel. After the first reading you'll conclude that a man murdered a woman in a cafe--presumably by shooting her through the heart upon her own request. And yet a closer reading reveals the problems with this assumption: a scream is heard, but no gunshot; blood comes from the victim's mouth, but not her heart; nobody (notably including the primary characters) actually witnessed anything; the man's behavior is unindicative of definitive guilt--perhaps he's simply distraught; the woman was the man's wife (we are told as one of the only "omniscient" acts of the unknown narrator)--but later an acquaintance notes that the woman "was married". In short, even the objective "murder" presented is anything but objective.
Instead of reading a story you will end up inventing a plausible reality--just as Anne and Chauvin (the primary characters) invent a plausible reality to explain their unsatisfied (and unsatisfiable) desire.
Ever wonder why Anne ignores the closest end-of-work-day siren but pays attention to the farthest-away end-of-work-day siren? Remember that her husband manages a factory. Remember that her husband's factory is the furthest away from the cafe, on the opposite side of town of her house. Remember that she has to beat her husband home from work. Details like this abound, but of course are left to a careful reader to pick them out and assemble them into a larger understanding.
Such a beautiful novelette--so well crafted, so enjoyable to read and re-read. Thoroughly recommended. Fiction as it was meant to be.
Summary of Moderato Cantabile (Minuit "Double") (French Edition)
« Qu''est-ce que ça veut dire, moderato cantabile ?- Je ne sais pas. »Une leçon de piano, un enfant obstiné, une mère aimante, pas de plus simple expression de la vie tranquille d''une ville de province. Mais un cri soudain vient déchirer la trame, révélant sous la retenue de ce récit d''apparence classique une tension qui va croissant dans le silence jusqu''au paroxysme final.« Quand même, dit Anne Desbarèdes, tu pourrais t''en souvenir une fois pour toutes. Moderato, ça veut dire modéré, et cantabile, ça veut dire chantant, c''est facile. »Paru en 1958, ce roman de Marguerite Duras a été traduit dans le monde entier.Literature & Fiction Books
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