Destroy, She Said (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Translator) "An overcast sky. The bay windows shut..." (more)
Key Phrases: Max Thor, Elisabeth Alione, Bernard Alione (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In this classic novel by the best-selling author of The Lover, erotic intrigue masks a chillingly deceptive form of madness. Elisabeth Alione is convalescing in a hotel in rural France when she meets two men and another woman. The sophisticated dalliance among the four serves to obscure an underlying violence, which, when the curtain of civilization is drawn aside, reveals in her fellow guests a very contemporary, perhaps even new, form of insanity. Like many of Duras's novels, Destroy, She Said owes much to cinema, displaying a skillful interplay of dialogue and description. There are recurring moods and motifs from the Duras repertoire: eroticism, lassitude, stifled desire, a beautiful woman, a mysterious forest, a desolate provincial hotel. Included in this volume is an in-depth interview with Duras by Jacques Rivette and Jean Narboni.

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details Paperback: 144 pages Publisher: Grove Press; 1st edition (January 18, 1994) Language: English ISBN-10: 080215154X ISBN-13: 978-0802151544 Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #775,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #20 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Duras, Marguerite

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More About the Authors

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Barbara Bray

Marguerite Duras

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
An overcast sky. The bay windows shut. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Max Thor, Elisabeth Alione, Bernard Alione, Max T'hor, German Jews

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 5 books:

• Moderato Cantabile (Minuit "Double") (French Edition) by Marguerite Duras in Front Matter, and page 133
• Hiroshima Mon Amour by Marguerite Duras in Front Matter
• Four Novels by Marguerite Duras in Front Matter
• The Malady of Death by Marguerite Duras in Front Matter
• India Song by Marguerite Duras in Front Matter

 

2 books cite this book:

• Film Career of Alain Robbe-Grillet by W. F. Van Wert on page 10, page 130, and page 140
• Cinema 2: The Time-Image by Gilles Deleuze on page 257

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	43% buy the item featured on this page: Destroy, She Said 4.3 out of 5 stars (3) $9.35
	22% buy The Lover 4.5 out of 5 stars (59) $7.92
	14% buy The North China Lover: A Novel 4.9 out of 5 stars (12) $11.21
	12% buy Ravishing of Lol Stein 3.8 out of 5 stars (6) $10.40

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars nihilistic French minimalism, May 22, 2001 By  Jeremy P. Bushnell (imaginaryyear.com) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Two men and two women, all mentally ill, meet in a desolate French convalescent hotel and become their own tiny insular society. They spend much of the book engaging in conversations and semierotic acts which seem utterly pregnant with meaning despite lacking any sort of meaningful foundation whatsoever. This book is built around a whirling nihilistic emptiness which grows more and more pronounced as it proceeds. In the final pages the void roars in every word. Minimal, terrifying. The interview with Duras that constitutes the second half of the book ranges from the provocative to the opaque. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Love Duras., September 18, 2007 By  Emma K. Tsai (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I love, love, love this author. I like her style, her brevity, the characters, and the writing. But, she does have a particular voice and writes quite staccato, and it isn't everyone's taste. Still, I urge readers to try her. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Destroy (False Rules of Bourgeoisie), July 19, 2007 By  Guiness888 (Beverly Hills, California United States) - See all my reviews They certainly don't care that they are in an asylum. "Destroy, She Said" is all about not following The Rules laid out by society, but instead following the heart. That is why they are so freely loving with each other. And that is why they intentionally cheat at games in front of the 2nd woman (forgot her name). Their seduction begins with this simple idea that you do not have to follow the rules. Not at cards, or croquet, or in a false, loveless marriage. They like her and include her in their games, but she becomes very frightened because it contradicts everything she has been taught. They aren't trying to frighten her, or hurt her, but she needs to break her addiction to obedience before she can start to be herself, or start to share love with them. This simple idea of following the heart and natural desires instead of false construction of manners and behavior is so powerful that the idea is absolutely destructive to the bourgeois society. That is why things go in a whirlwind at the end - the simple idea of freedom destroys ALL boundaries - social, political, natural even ... maybe? And in destroying old boundaries it is revolutionary - and seems to share something with the communist/humanist ideal. -- At least, that's what I think.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; 1st edition (January 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080215154X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802151544
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #775,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #20 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( D ) > Duras, Marguerite

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nihilistic French minimalism, May 22, 2001

By	Jeremy P. Bushnell (imaginaryyear.com) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Two men and two women, all mentally ill, meet in a desolate French convalescent hotel and become their own tiny insular society. They spend much of the book engaging in conversations and semierotic acts which seem utterly pregnant with meaning despite lacking any sort of meaningful foundation whatsoever. This book is built around a whirling nihilistic emptiness which grows more and more pronounced as it proceeds. In the final pages the void roars in every word. Minimal, terrifying.

The interview with Duras that constitutes the second half of the book ranges from the provocative to the opaque.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love Duras., September 18, 2007

By	Emma K. Tsai (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love, love, love this author. I like her style, her brevity, the characters, and the writing. But, she does have a particular voice and writes quite staccato, and it isn't everyone's taste. Still, I urge readers to try her.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Destroy (False Rules of Bourgeoisie), July 19, 2007

By	Guiness888 (Beverly Hills, California United States) - See all my reviews

They certainly don't care that they are in an asylum. "Destroy, She Said" is all about not following The Rules laid out by society, but instead following the heart. That is why they are so freely loving with each other. And that is why they intentionally cheat at games in front of the 2nd woman (forgot her name). Their seduction begins with this simple idea that you do not have to follow the rules. Not at cards, or croquet, or in a false, loveless marriage. They like her and include her in their games, but she becomes very frightened because it contradicts everything she has been taught. They aren't trying to frighten her, or hurt her, but she needs to break her addiction to obedience before she can start to be herself, or start to share love with them. This simple idea of following the heart and natural desires instead of false construction of manners and behavior is so powerful that the idea is absolutely destructive to the bourgeois society. That is why things go in a whirlwind at the end - the simple idea of freedom destroys ALL boundaries - social, political, natural even ... maybe? And in destroying old boundaries it is revolutionary - and seems to share something with the communist/humanist ideal. -- At least, that's what I think.