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Two by Duras: The Slut of the Normandy Coast / The Atlantic Man
Contains two novellas:
The slut of the Normandy Coast
The Atlantic man
and
An interview with Marguerite Duras by Ana Maria Moix --
An afterword by Alberto Manguel.
The slut of the Normandy Coast
The Atlantic man
and
An interview with Marguerite Duras by Ana Maria Moix --
An afterword by Alberto Manguel.
92 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Marguerite Duras
347Ìýbooks3,035ÌýfollowersMarguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu , known as Marguerite Duras, was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film Hiroshima mon amour (1959) earned her a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 9, 2020
Duras spent her entire life honing herself into a perfect conduit of her writing (écriture over littérature here). By the last 15 years or so of her life her manner of speaking (in interviews, in dictated works) was nearly identical, often in content as much as in form and style, to her written words. The oblique themes and images, the repetitions. Perhaps this is why so many later publications of her work seem to attach bits of interviews or to hybridize themselves entirely, as here, where two short essay-novellas nestle comfortably alongside an unconventional interview that feels like a series of prompted monologue-recitations. All flawless, perfect late Duras, deeply of her essence. And the inextricable nature of it all adds to the fascination. Her work gains power through repetition, through experiencing more and more of it. This written universe of her own devising, hermetic yet vitally connected to all that lies without it.
Despite this perfection of herself, she notes, in refuting the possibility she should ever be granted a Nobel prize, that she has not lived what might be deemed a correct literary establishment life.
Seeing the holism of her work, and her vast output in film and print, it's hard to imagine having had time to consider anything else, but of course her experiences give teeth to her words.
Maybe it was nothing more than my need to free myself, to free myself at last from literature through literature. To simply attain the writing.
Despite this perfection of herself, she notes, in refuting the possibility she should ever be granted a Nobel prize, that she has not lived what might be deemed a correct literary establishment life.
I fought in the French resistance, I belonged to the Communist party, I've done things like that all my life. I've been arrested by the police, I've been accused of conspiring against the State, I've been an alcoholic, who knows how many more things like that.
Seeing the holism of her work, and her vast output in film and print, it's hard to imagine having had time to consider anything else, but of course her experiences give teeth to her words.
April 8, 2021
Four stars for the novellas, six for the interview. It balances out.
April 6, 2021
While both stories aren't tremendously memorable especially after considering The Lover, they are both stories with interesting perspectives and immaculate prose that add depth to Marguerite's artistic presence and voice. More than anything, this little book (with a nice interview included) has motivated me to seek out her name in every bookstore I enter and grab anything I don't have already.
January 29, 2022
From The Slut of the Normandy Coast...
From The Atlantic Man...
He wanted everything at once, he wanted to destroy the book and he feared for the book's survival. For weeks he had typed two hours a day for me. Drafts, different stages of the book. He knew that the book was already in existence. He would say, 'What the fuck are you doing writing all the time all day long? You've been abandoned by everyone. You're crazy, you're the slut of Normandy coast, a fool, you're embarrassing.' He was afraid I'd die before the book was completed, maybe, or rather, that I'd throw the book away, once again.- pg. 21-22
From The Atlantic Man...
You will think the miracle is not in the apparent similarity between each of the particles that make up those millions of men in their continuous hurling, but in the irreductible difference that separates them from each other, that separates men from dogs, dogs from film, sand from the sea, God from the dog or from that tenacious gull struggling against the wind, from the liquid crystal of your eyes, from the sharp crystal of the sands, from the unbreathable foul air in the hall of that hotel after the dazzling light of the beach, from each word, from each sentence, from each line in each book, from each day and each century and each eternity past or future, and from you and from me.- pg. 35-36
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December 28, 2022loved the writing in The Atlantic Man
December 25, 2024
the Atlantic Man is one of her best
June 2, 2020
Duras's The Slut I liked better than the Atlantic Man, but they are both good-great. Also contains an interview, which is wonderful.
March 10, 2016
I'm on a Duras bender-and everything I read keeps leading like a chain to her other work since she's so awfully fond of referencing her writing process in works like _Practicalities_ . This was no exception since these two itty bitty bits of writing- let's not dignify the publisher's fiction that this napkin-thin collection of pages of text with 2 inch borders and triple wide spacing are "novellas"-about you guessed it: writing. These two stories did zero for me. One is kind of about her relationship with Yann Andrea, her 11 year junior gay male partner, yelling at her while she's writing. At the end she acknowledges that you the reader might question her judgement for writing the piece and that alone is almost worth the ticket (that and the title "The Slut of the Normandy Coast" is funny enough- I imagine an American equivalent would be the Hussie of Vermont's Maple Syrup Festival). Duras must have mentioned "The Atlantic Man" several times in _Practicalities_ which is what made me impulse-Amazon order this, but ack. It was this bald spare description of the filming of a man she's clearly crushing on as he walks on the beach as if her gaze was a film camera. Again *love* that she's 70ish at the time of writing and still a commited sex enthusiast, but I can't stand banality masquerading as "enigma".
What is worth the time is the interview at the back in which she describes the writing of _The Lover_ and explains it as an initial act of documenting photographs for her son. That explains its fresh and honest writing, and how dramatically different it is from her early conventional work. Better get this from the library - you can read it in the time you spend in line waiting to be checked out. Duras has such bravura though- I have however had to switch to the library to source her because I'm not spending any more Emperor's Clothes money on teeny books with no content. These two piece would have just been 4 pages of passages in _Practicalities_. Harumpf I say.
What is worth the time is the interview at the back in which she describes the writing of _The Lover_ and explains it as an initial act of documenting photographs for her son. That explains its fresh and honest writing, and how dramatically different it is from her early conventional work. Better get this from the library - you can read it in the time you spend in line waiting to be checked out. Duras has such bravura though- I have however had to switch to the library to source her because I'm not spending any more Emperor's Clothes money on teeny books with no content. These two piece would have just been 4 pages of passages in _Practicalities_. Harumpf I say.
December 18, 2015
3 for the first novella (read The Malady of Death for context). 4 for the second. 5 for the interview.
3 + 4 + 5 = 12 ÷ 3 = 4
(Fact: Duras studied mathematics before turning to writing.)
August 13, 2024
The interview transcribed at the end of this little collection makes this worth the read � comprised of two related short stories, the text did not make much logical sense to me until after reading the interview with Duras. The way she speaks about herself and her writing really brought context and clarity to these stories. There is not much more to say about this slim book other than I thoroughly enjoy Duras� voice, her ideas, and I am looking forward to reading her novels.
September 14, 2022
It was interesting to read this so soon after finishing Elizabeth Smart's By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept. Both are long, prose poems on heartbreak, and both are quite beautiful. Duras's book was published close to 40 years after Smart's, but heartache doesn't change that much. A brief and beautiful text.
September 24, 2018
The Slut of Normandy didn't leave the biggest impression on me, but The Atlantic Man is hands down one of the most beautiful pieces of poetic prose I've ever encountered. I'm a huge Duras fan but rarely see this piece mentioned. I can't recommend it enough.
May 13, 2020
Inconsequential in terms of Duras' corpus. Hate to say it, but I'm elected to be honest. Could be both sluttier and saltier (as in 'oceanic'). Still, if you're going for full immersion that means you gotta get wet. No pun intended. Honestly.
November 23, 2019
Two stories that could practically be poems, very personal and stark.
December 6, 2019
Savor it, the savior of it.
June 5, 2023
Short, and beautifully written, I was left wanting more.
July 5, 2024
Rhythmic
October 15, 2024
Two very, very interesting stories
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January 29, 2025tight little book with two novellas and a great interview & afterword that tied it all together
May 4, 2016
The second in my consumption of Duras. "The Slut of the Normandy Coast" was quite entertaining and felt like a glimpse into the author's real life (though certainly shouldn't be taken at that face value). "The Atlantic Man" killed me. Yes, it just carved out a chunk and inserted itself into my core. It was at this point I realized I adore her style. I could compare it to others who hold stead in my soul (Paul Bowles, Wm Burroughs, Chuck Bukowski, Franz Kafka, Al Camus, etc), but those would only be important for someone I was futilely trying to explain it to. Duras is her own thing and deserves no comparison.
December 17, 2015
i love marguerite duras. where mallarmé writes with smoke, she writes with 150 proof vapour. this is my first time reading late duras, i don't really know what i can write on two novellas about the impossibility of writing. she pulls it off beautifully. appreciated the inclusion of a short interview with the author.
February 26, 2016
"The Atlantic Man", is undoubtedly the most beautiful piece of writing I've had the pleasure of reading.
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