The Lover by Marguerite Duras

The book takes place in the French Indochina. A young, French girl in the colonial class falls in love with a rich, Chinese man and it is the beginning of a romance, despite her mother’s fear of her destroying her chances to be married.

The story technique differ from many other novels with biographical elements. It is not written in chronological order, but takes leaps in time. The novel is consisting of many short sentences, mixed with longer ones.

It’s a dense book. The prose is spare and often objective, something that is appreciated by some, and not by others. It is difficult to really know the characters when not getting into their heads. The book is beautifully written, but leaves much for the reader to comprehend and read between the lines. Indochina was a part of the French Colonial Empire, and the girl and the man can be interpreted as symbols of power and the occupied. It’s an interesting book that takes time to digest.

Missing person by Patrick Modiano

Patrick Modiano received the Nobel Prize in literature in 2014, with the motivation "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation." Modiano seems to be a humble person with much integrity. He was thankful to be chosen and be a part of a group of authors that he himself has always admired.

Despite being a famous author in France, with 30 books, many people - readers, literature critiques and himself included - were surprised that he won the prize. Many Swedish readers were unacquainted with his authorship - which no doubt is the big publishers fault, not having translated his books lately, probably because they consider their commercial value too low. Only a smaller publisher has shown interest in his work and translated it. It's almost as if his books resembled the shadows they contain. Fortunately, Modiano's books now has the attention they deserve.

Modiano was born in 1945, in Paris. His parents had met during the occupation and his early life involved some dark experiences that made the foundation of his body of work. He has an interest in uncovering mysteries from the past and in "Missing person", "De dunkla butikernas gata", the main character, who has lost his memory, is searching for his identity. Clues lead back to the occupation in Paris. The core of the novel is identity and the meaning of the past. Without memories we don't know ourselves. We are only strangers, shadows without directions. The dark streets in the novel perfectly catches the main character's melancholy.

Time is an essential theme. It's a floating concept, and sometimes it's difficult to decide when something occurs. The impressions of the present and past is melting together and the character's understanding of his past alters from different people's stories. Sometimes they are not even his own memories. The prose is humble but effective. Modiano is clever at portraying the deceitful memory lane, with its delusive cul-de-sacs, and how easy the subjective mind can be influenced.

Authors that have received the Nobelprize are often perceived as heavy, even by people that haven't read their books, but Modiano's work is very accessible to the reader. The books are short and the prose is rather humble, though it has many levels. "Missing person" is exciting as well as accessible and should appeal to a broad group of readers.

The beast within by Émile Zola

The novel is dark and brutal with plenty of fights, sex and more murders than in any modern book. The story begins with a brutal scene between a married couple. Then, it just escalates into a crescendo of violence. ”The beast within” is such a contrast to the prudent writing of Victorian England.

Zola is examining the cause of violence. Jeaolusy, hatred and egoism are common factors, as well as the more unusually emphasized concept of atavism. Not one person is good. Every single one is very flawed and selfish, perhaps with the exception of the Cabuche, becoming a kind of martyr, carrying the burden of the defects of man. Zola doesn't portray women as particularly good creatures, but as guilty and evil as men, only that the conventions have made them think they need a man to do the deed, with Flore as an interesting exception. Of course, being a strong individual and able to make decisions and execute them, good or bad, Flore had to be very physically strong and big boned – described as manly, because a woman apparently can't be all that and still be feminine. On the other hand, Severine, a more timid woman - easier to like and identify with - made not so different decisions, which prove that Zola found women, regardless of their more or less modest or timid personality, as good or bad as men.

Despite all their flaws, the characters are easy to care for because they are portrayed as very human, perhaps more so than we might apprehend. They were not good nor exceptionally bad, just emotional and not very controlled, which, of course, brought disaster. Other factors are the occasion and surroundings. 

The concept of good and evil is very much a matter of circumstances, but all characters have the ability to be both. Everything exists in man. Every human being has a violent nature. What makes certain people commit murder is just due to circumstances. Another theme is the repercussions of succumbing to one's instincts. ”The beast within” is a refreshing, experimental analyses of violence and its core, origin and consequences. The railroad with its passing, unknowing, uncaring trains is a colorful contrast to the emotions living inside the characters, and the modern ways contribute to hide and repress the violent human nature, the beast within, making them appear civilized. As well as today. Civilization, with the conception of man above beast, might just be an illusion.

The torture garden by Octave Mirbeau

The novel, published in 1899, examines an attitude to life without right and wrong, good and evil. Beauty and pain are constantly present, mentally or physically. They are melting together and eventually it's difficult to see the difference. Perhaps they were always the same.

The story follows a young man, a corrupt politician, on a journey where he meets his love interest, a sadistic woman. She brings him to a torture garden in China, where old forms of torture are practiced and where he learns that pain borders on pleasure, and love and suffering originate from the same source of brutal emotions. The contrast, or perhaps the collaboration, between sadistic expressions of love and sensual expressions of death makes it beautiful and fascinating. The fact that they are codependent, that one can't be appreciated without the other, is apparent. Since the torture garden is beyond good and evil, neither one is less important and dignified. The infinite amount of passion and the perverted nature of human beings that might be the true nature, not the norm, have no limits. There is a freedom of expression that couldn't be found Europe in the late 19th century.

In the torture garden the beautiful flowers feed on blood from the tortured prisoners to prosper, and people are, in a way, reborn in a limitless cycle of life. In this world, pleasure is pain, love is suffering, torture is a work of art, blood is the wine of love and beauty is murder. At the same time the portrayal is a critique of the European society. The pages of murder and blood are ironically dedicated to people like priests, soldiers and judges, people who kill or restrict others from freedom and beauty. The torture garden might be interpreted as an allegory, an intense, miniature Europe. Mirbeau claimed that "the law of murder" was inconsistent in the late 1800's and wanted to portray the European civilisation as not so civilized. The government allowed murder when it benefited from it, but not when it had a real purpose. According to one of the characters in the book, the accepted view of war and colonialism were necessary because the government was only legitimized by murder. As this might also be the belief of the author, much of the book deals with these forms of hypocrisy. Just as in real life, executioners in the torture garden kill people in the service of death, but not for a meaningless purpose but as a work of art. Since we don't question murder in the service of rulers, politicians and judges, why would we question expressions of freedom and the beauty of art? Wouldn't that prove that we haven't learned anything the last century, and make us the very same hypocrites that Mirbeau indicated we were?

The necrophiliac by Gabrielle Wittkop

The story centers around a necrophiliac and his lovers that he brings from the cemeteries. His love for them is uncompromising and inconsiderate. Naturally, the story is absurd, bizarre, repulsive and desecrating. But, at the same time, it's beautiful, describing a sublime element in something horrible. An expressive prose flows wonderfully and as a matter of fact the choice of description liberates it from being vulgar.

The author describes the necrophiliac as between two worlds. He would like to live and to die, but can neither live nor die. The way he looks at death might be described as liberating. He perceives living people as if on their way, waiting for them. All flesh carries the seed to it's own destruction, as mentioned in the book. But to never be able to have something everlasting is a void, never being filled, and makes it possible to sympathize with him, whose life centers around a struggle to satisfy his repugnant needs. One after the other he has to get rid of them, however carefully he tries to preserve them. But what is really everlasting?

Gabrielle Wittkop was an interesting author, known for her peculiar literary works. She vindicated a strong sexual indulgence and breach as the only way to give life meaning. Not surprisingly, she was a fan of Markis de Sade. Le nécrophile, published in 1972, was her debut novel.

Clarimonde by Théophile Gautier

This collection includes four horror stories with gothic elements. La Morte Amoureuse, Le Chevalier double, Le Pied de momie and Deux acteurs pour un rôle. La Morte Amoureuse – Clarimonde – is the first and the most interesting.

The story centers around a priest, Romuald, and his meeting with a young, beautiful woman, Clarimonde. He is incapable of restraining himself and falls into a peculiar situation. The gothic segments are profound, and the story includes everything from death to vampires. Although, it's a rather nice vampire and a victim that prefers to be with her instead of living his chaste life.

The novel alternates between Romuald's two conditions and he is not aware of which is his real life. Is he dreaming when meeting Clarimonde, or when he is a priest? What is reality and what is illusion? Another question is whether it could all be a dream about seduction considering his newly taken wows?

Gautier was one of the initial French authors in the romantic period. According to Gautier, art is eternal, while everything else perishes. The phrase ”l’art pour l’art” - art for art's sake – is credited to him, even if not made up entirely by him. He claimed that art didn't need moral justification and was allowed to be neutral. Gautier was highly influential in the early romantic era.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Dumas tells the story of the adventurous D'Artagnan, leaving his home to join the King's musketeers in the 17th century France. Athos, Porthos and Aramis are the persons referred to by the title, and D'Artagnan soon challenges each of them to a duel, which leads to an initial friendship that grows through the novel. The story contains everything. It's exciting, hilarious, adventurous and thrilling. The only thing that might, in som way, be lacking is the profoundity that ”The Count of Monte Cristo” possess.

Unfortunately, the women were either helpless or deceiving, except from the modest but brave mercer's wife, Madame Bonacieux. The villain of the story, the ruthless, devious Milady de Winter, showed no fainting qualities, but played with what she had - her intellect and her beauty – to overcome obstacles. Never the less, even though there can be no comparison regarding the source of evil, the men weren't exactly honourable and innocent, either. Though they remained loyal to the King, they had other, less favourable qualities. The musketeers might be regarded as exploiting their position on certain occasions. Sometimes, they treated people around them badly, especially their lackeys. D'Artagnan, at times, seemed to have a difficult time deciding who would receive his love. According to the author, one of the customs of the 17th century France was for the musketeers to receive gifts from married, wealthy ladies that served as their mistresses. That's interesting. Only a century later, virtue and honour would rend it impossible. 

The contempt of death and constant duels show that some people wanted to preserve the earlier culture, and refuse to accept the prohibition of duels. Undoubtadly, there were different opinions of that. A hilarious thing the musketeers dedicated themselves to was breakfasting in the bastion in the middle of a war with England, refusing to stop before the repast was over. Then, Athos obstinately left the bastion, with the bullets flying around him, at a walking pace. The character of Athos is intriguing. It was clear from the beginning that he suffered from some great misfortune or disappointment of some kind, which turned out to be romantic. The way it was described, however, was in a unusual, funny kind of way. He seemed tired and didn't give much for words and he communicated with his lackey through signs which sometimes turned into a pantomime or a sign-language, and the latter eventually developed an impressive alertness.

The way in which the story is written is a clever mixture of admirable character development, pensive declarations, high-paced suspense and comedy. It's not, as mentioned, as thoroughly impressive as "The Count of Monte Cristo" but a comparison is unnecessary because of their differences. This one is comical, adventurous and full of intrigues, while the other one is sad, profound and much darker.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

This is not a book about a main character who meets difficulties in life and learns how to overcome them. It isn't about revenge, love, or injustice. It's about everything! But most of all, it's about miserable, unfortunate people struggling to maintain some dignity in life. Victor Hugo blamed the flawed society for the fall of men, the corruption, the wretchedness and greediness of men, which thrive in darkness and misery, and prevent insight and reconciliation.

There are loads of unfortunate people. There is Jean Valjean, who wants to be a good man, and repeatedly tries to be, but is constantly reminded of his past, by society. As soon as he has created a new life for himself, the past keeps catching up and destroys it. It's as if the rules of society imprison him and between the bars he can perceive freedom, but never reach it. All because he, as a former convict, has destiny written upon him. A few times he has been on his way back to darkness, but someone has showed him kindness and that's the only thing it takes to make him remain on the right path. The thing which makes this book political, is that Jean would be a saint, living a happy life, if it weren't for the rules, prejudices and judgements of society. That is the common denominator for several of the characters. The beautiful, modest character Fantine would be a happy mother if it weren't for the conventions of society. Her fatal destiny has to be one of the saddest stories ever written.

The book is heavy at times and some parts are very detailed and long. Victor Hugo introduces new characters throughout the book, which can be a little exhausting at times. In the middle of the book we meet Marius, an unfortunate young man who would have become a "cold-hearted" royalist (Hugo's political opinions can be interpreted) if it weren't for a letter from his Bonapartist father. Marius grows up and is woven into the story and his struggle for love and the void which suddenly has to be filled in his heart is extraordinary. Marius inner political struggles can in fact be based on Hugo himself, because the author had a similar adolescence.

Another thing which is heavy and worth mentioning is Hugo's digressions. You would think that the book would become easier when you're well into it, but Hugo kept leaving the story to write some forty pages about a topic he found interesting. There are hundreds of pages about things from political views and the battle of Waterloo, to the the sewers of Paris. It seems like he put whatever he fancied into the book and you can't really understand the relevance of it, until the end of the chapter, when it turns out to be very relevant. All digressions are a bit too long, but always turn out to be necessary to understand the situations of the characters. Therefore, it's important to read the unabridged version, to really comprehend the content and context, because it shows Hugo's purpose with the book. Victor Hugo was an exceptional author. He could really understand the psyche of man, he could portray a man's reflections and ethical dilemmas such as choices between saving a man's life or one's own, and struggles between saving a man's life or obeying someone's last wish, with so much emotion that it truly captures the reader.

The part where Jean meets Cosette is beautifully written. The father-daughter relationship between them is powerful and they complement each other perfectly. Without each other, they would have been at the bottom, but with each other, they become something extraordinary, able to provide a life for themselves in the shadows. The void in Jean's heart has been filled, and when Cosette is growing up into a beautiful young woman, he begins to worry about eventual suitors, partly because of her mother's destiny, and partly because of egotism. Jean Valjean is probably one of the most complex characters in the history of literature, due to his flaws, endeavoring and battle with himself. The most beautiful part of the book is doubtless the relationship between him and Cosette. Hugo had a very fine perception of paternal feelings. 
Few authors ever come close to so utterly revealing descriptions of the deep, unfathomable, incomprehensible, natural fatherly love. Probably may readers get a new perspective and understanding of the father perspective. Here are a few lines that reveals Jean's feelings for Cosette:

"This man who had passed through every distress, who was still all bleeding from the lacerations of his destiny, who had been almost evil, and who had become almost holy, who, after having dragged the chain of the galleys, now the invisible but heavy chain of indefinite infamy, this man whom the law had not released, and who might be at any instant retaken, and led back from the obscurity of his virtue to the broad light of public shame, this man accepted all, excused all, pardoned all, blessed all, wished well to all, and only asked of Providence, of men, of the laws, of society, of nature, of the world, this one thing, that Cosette should love him!"

Hugo wrote in this exceptional way, as if he had been inside the characters heads and fully understood them. He had a unique ability to, very insightful and comprehensible, portray people's inner nature, 

The unabridged version gives a thorough picture of a society during a critical time, about what deprives people of their freedom. Probably it would have been more difficult to understand the thoughts and motives of people such as the Thénardiers if it weren't for the really profound parts that the quantity of pages allow. The story benefits from it. It takes time and demands a lot, but then again, these parts give so much more in return! This book is one of a kind, and makes you succumb to reverie and want to be a better person.

Ten-Thirty on a Summer Night by Marguerite Duras

A couple, Maria and Pierre, their daughter and a friend are heading for Madrid, but a storm forces them to stop by in a small town. As soon as they arrive, they're told that a murderer named Rodrigo Paestra - a man that has killed his wife and her lover - is hiding somewhere nearby and the police are looking for him. Maria can't get the man out of her mind, and she develops a kind of contempt for the wife's lover, Toni Perez, while she's not judging Paestra. Eventually, as her own life is shattering before her eyes when her husband and friend find each other, she, in her drunken state, tries to understand and survive, through the story of the murderer. She seems to find a way to breathe through his revenge, and finally decides to help him.

The parallels between Maria and Paestra are obvious. Her determination to help him is an interesting way of describing her view of her own life. Similar experiences can awake a great deal of sympathy for someone you normally wouldn't understand. The concept is interesting, and the novel has received praise of immense proportions. It's subtle and reduced to the essence of the theme of smothering emotions of tearing sorrow, guilt, abandonment and despair. It also deals with the feeling of entrapment and the relative freedom - or imprisonment - of revenge. The things going on beneath the surface resemble Kafka's writing somewhat, but, still, something is missing to awake the outmost impression.

Avundsjuka och girighet fördärvar Emond Dantès och skapar en hämndlysten, oresonlig Greve

The Count of Monte Cristo av Alexandre Dumas

Den nästan femtonhundra sidor långa storyn utspelar sig mellan 1814 och 1838 i kölvattnet av franska revolutionen. Ludvig XVIII innehar tronen men rykten viskar om en planerad återerövring av Napoleon som vid tiden befinner sig på Saint Helena. Bonapartistanhängare är utstötta men finns fortfarande i folkmassorna och utgör största hotet mot kungamakten. Detta kommer tre gamla vänner väl till pass. Handelssjömannen Edmond Dantès blir falskt anklagad för att konspirera med Napoleon och arresteras mitt i förberedelserna för sitt eget bröllop med sin tilltänkta Mercedes. Han nekas rättegång och skickas till fängelset If, där han tillbringar fjorton år av despera

tion och förtvivlan.

Vid ett tillfälle får Edmond, av en ren tillfällighet, möjlighet att rymma från If. Han kommer för alltid stå i skuld till sin vän under fängelsetiden, Abbè Faria, som gjort honom till en intelligent man, en rik man, men framför allt en fri man. Dantès använder sig av sin nyförvärvade kunskap och förmögenhet och bestämmer sig för att söka upp de skyldiga.

Dantès strategiskt uppbyggda karaktär Greven av Monte Cristo är en viktig del i hans hämndlystna plan att infiltrera de högre kretsarna i samhället, där hans före detta vänner befinner sig. Han använder sig av olika identiteter såsom Lord Wilmore, Simbad the sailor och Abbè Busoni beroende på vilken situation han befinner sig i. Detta ger honom en bra inblick i den högre samhällsklassen. De övriga karaktärerna är mycket väl utformade och Dumas ser till att läsaren hinner bekanta sig väl med samtliga innan de kommer till användning i händelseförloppet. De som gör starkast intryck är den intelligenta Abbè Faria, den godhjärtade Valentine de Villefort, den fritänkande Eugénie Danglars och den tappra Maximillian Morrell. Naturligtvis är Dantès tilltänkta fru Mercedes en fascinerande kvinna och det ofrånkomliga mötet dem emellan är minnesvärt.

Författaren skildrar känslor som avundsjuka, missunnsamhet, girighet och väl efterlängtad hämnd med brilliant begåvning. Dumas åsikter lyser igenom och den politiska vinklingen går inte obemärkt förbi då alla Bonapartist-sympatisörer framställs som ödmjuka och moraliska, medan royalisterna står för trångsynthet och förutfattade meningar. Det är dock ingenting som påverkar händelseförloppet alltför mycket. Dumas har fångat sin tids samhällsskikt och värderingar och med detta som bakgrund ger han sina karaktärer liv.

The Count of Monte Cristo är mer än bara fiction. En man vid namn Jacques Peuchet blev 1807 anklagad för att vara engelsk spion och fängslad i sju år varefter han genomförde sin hämnd. Det faktum att Dumas baserat sin roman på en verklig händelse framstår inte som någon stor överaskning utan bekräftar bara den trovärdiga storyn. The Count of Monte Cristo är efter tvåhundra år fortfarande en klassiker och ett äventyr av största kvalitét.

Betyg 9/10