Customer Reviews

Moderato Cantabile

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Considered a "musical novel" and better than Virgina Wolf's "The Waves" (though "The Waves" is quite incredible in its own right and should not be over looked). If you are not famillar with the genuis of a musical novel the idea is incredible. It brings upon an interesting form for exploring the duality of human experience. "Moderato Cantabile", follows the form of the first movement of a sonata, presenting and developing in two contrasting themes in different keys. "Moderato" the word it self indicating a measure of control taken with the time signaure of a sonata being a square four-four outlines the meter the book follows. Anne's (the main character) life in the first theme starts out structured and boring. In the second chapter she begins her strange affair with Chauvin. Chauvin, or the the second theme is Ann's quest for the "cantabile" (the lyrical impulse, or exit from the first theme of boredom). They meet again and again, at the same bar and always at the same time of day, unitl the eighth chapter. Then, just as the eighth note of a musical scale is the same as the first (but an octave higher) the final resolution comes in the form of a symbolic reenactment of the murder that occurs at the end of the first chapter: Chauvin: "I wish you were dead." Anne: "I already am." --And Anne returns permanently to her boring life.

Brillantly written and a must have in any book collection.

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.

Similar in some ways to "10:30 on a Summer Night," this book is about an alcoholic woman taking her son to piano lessons and on the way home she develops an odd relationship with a stranger in a café where a man has just killed his lover. As with many of Duras' books, one shouldn't expect to the affair to culminate in physical love or if it does, it probably won't be particulary pleasant or satisfying. For those looking for a realistic story where things don't necessarily go right, I recommend this book along with "10:30 on a Summer Night," also written by Duras.

When I began reading this book (without the aid of a blurb) I expected a brilliant work concerning a puerile musical prodigy and his doting mother. Then, out of the blue, (the blue of the sea incidentally) it happens (no i'm not going to tell what). My first idea (which happened also to be the IDEAL) was completely rejected. It is not until later in the book that one recognizes the brilliance of Duras--that same drop from the ideal is the one experienced daily by her heroine. Anne Desbaresdes, the beautiful, rich, self doubting First Lady of a blue collar sea town will break your heart as easily as she tips a pint of porter.

In this story, seeing the aftermath of a murder sends a respectable matron spiralling into the darkness within herself. Married, though curiously husbandless, Anne Debardes engages in brutally sexualized conversation with a stranger whom she can't bear to touch. They love each other, but cannot live with that knowledge.

I sent in a review relating this book to music but not sure if i did it under my account name or not?