Destroy, she said [Unknown Binding]

Marguerite Duras (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1979

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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 133 pages
• Publisher: University Microfilms International (1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0835704483
• ISBN-13: 978-0835704489
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,660,472 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 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)   

This review is from: Destroy, She Said (Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 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

This review is from: Destroy, She Said (Paperback)

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.

3 of 4 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)   

This review is from: Destroy, She Said (Paperback)

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.