Me & Other Writing

by Marguerite Duras, Olivia Baes (Translator), Emma Ramadan (Translator)

In her nonfiction as well as her fiction, Marguerite Duras’s curiosity was endless, her intellect voracious. Within a single essay she might roam from Flaubert to the “scattering of desire” to the Holocaust; within the body of her essays overall, style is always evolving, subject matter shifting, as her mind pushes beyond the obvious toward ever-original ground.

Me & Other Writing is a guidebook to the extraordinary breadth of Duras’s nonfiction. From the stunning one-page “Me” to the sprawling 70-page “Summer 80,” there is not a piece in this collection that can be easily categorized. These are essayistic works written for their times but too virtuosic to be relegated to history, works of commentary or recollection or reportage that are also, unmistakably, works of art.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, France, Writing, Literature

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2019

About the author

Marguerite 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.

Reviews

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marguerite Duras wrote with a distinctive voice. This is obvious even through the lens of translation. Her prose, particularly in her novels, tends to mesmerize me. I found her nonfiction collection Writing to offer a fascinating look into her craft. Given that, I thought perhaps I would enjoy her writing on any topic at all. Alas, such was not the case. The essays in this new collection from the Dorothy Project cover a wide range of topics, often addressing political matters or other news of the time in which they were written. In all of them Duras’ voice is clear, but that wasn’t always enough for me. The centerpiece of the collection is ‘Summer 80’, which was originally published as a series of columns in the Libération newspaper, and then later compiled into book form. In it Duras constructs the first example of what would become a trademark style for her, where she interweaves a compelling fictional narrative with personal commentary on current events. This new collection is worth reading for ‘Summer 80’ alone, although certainly there are other gems to be found here, as well. And which gems gleam the brightest will no doubt differ from one reader to the next.

[Nate D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Key for its publishing (at last!) of the diaristic Spring 1980 which captures Duras' first meetings with Yann and precedes her novel Yann Andréa Steiner, and all Duras essays add to her life/work, but the most gripping gems here are the couple true crime reporting pieces in the middle. Duras is never very concerned with the surface what-happened details of a murder, but instead probes for some deeper experiential truth and affect which is probably the last part that legal systems want to deal with. These bits, unexpectedly, resonate closely with L'Amante anglaise, which on some days could be my favorite thing she's ever written.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

The publisher’s note just after a wonderful introduction by Dan Gunn states the goal of this collection “was to demonstrate the breadth and virtuosity of Duras’s nonfiction (or near-fiction) and the originality of her vision when applied to conventional prose forms” and the translators’ (Olivia Baes and Emma Ramadan) afterword details the challenge of putting into English her “intensity” and Duras’s “incantatory rhythm that distracts you from any literal meaning, carrying you into the deep flow of her text, that inner current of genius.” This sounds like an impossible task to me and yet publisher (Dorothy) and translators pull it off. They speak of her prose as passing through a “legible layer” into a readerly experience of the “unreadable,” one might say, the mysterious---a “deeper, more immediate state of existence.” Whether it be by tangent and rhythm, flow or depth of insight, there is something rather mesmerizing about her prose and she leverages an amazing range of experience, wisdom, references, and emotion.

I don't know if Duras had a dry sense of humor, but certain sections certainly rang funny to me:

"Germany has birthed generations of people sick with Germany. I am one of them."

"What I write makes me want to die, it’s only natural that it makes others want to die too."

There is a melancholic aspect to much of this writing and a wonderful political honesty (she seems unafraid to take sides in the midst of current events, political upheavals, etc.).

Her "I Thought Often" piece feels like a pinball bouncing through an existential crisis trying to find a sense of meaning in this world. And yet somehow her bouncing around works incredibly well---it strengthens her writing and makes connections and jumps somehow feel fluid and natural. In "Nadine from Orange" she interviews the wife of André Berthaud (a man who kidnapped a 9 yr old girl and was accused of molesting her; he commits suicide after being interrogated but his wife remains his staunch defender believing he not only did not harm the girl in any way, but that he was incapable of doing such a thing). It is a disorienting and uncomfortable account and Duras manages to sort of mold it wonderfully without getting in the way of the story.

From an ode to Yves Saint Laurent to her longest piece ("Summer 80") that weaves together a fictional story, weekly beach reports, and all manner of political/historical happenings during one summer, this collection is stellar. It's philosophical, inquisitive, fascinating, and does a wonderful job of showing Duras's range and talent.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorites: "Horror at Choisy-le-Roi" (about a sex crime in which a man's mistress murdered his wife at his orders), the three most exploratory essays ("Flaubert Is..."; "My Mother Had..."; "I Thought Often...") which seem to wander into their brilliance, like turn the corner and bam, another gem. "Reading on the Train" also great. And "Me" !

[kennedy clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

not nearly as enticing as ‘the war’ or ‘the lover’, some writings were more interesting than others. towards the end though, i was barely hanging onto it. i think it worsened my reading slump 🤗🤗

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So interesting! I don’t know how I’d get on with her fiction, but this was fascinating and frustrating. Always weird when you have someone else’s marginalia in a book. Whoever had written previously in my copy really did not enjoy her discussions of her mother’s headfuckery and family dynamics. “This is disturbing”. Book math Moyra Davey’s Index Cards + maybe one of Deborah Levy’s novels that I find low key greasy: e.g. Swimming Home.

[E.Y. Zhao]

“Summer 1980” should be in all creative nonfiction syllabi. I don’t even know if I love what it’s doing / perhaps its form has been replicated to death. But like others have written, she has a unique voice and belongs in the pantheon of frigid literary ladies I admire. The wire mother I wish to be…

[William John Wither · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Marguerite Duras being Marguerite Duras, in that her voice is so present and real that even when she talks about someone else it's her. It's a moment to reflect on who the writer is and where they might operate. Can you be less you in the service of another?

[Moved to Library Thing adaorhell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duras' is at her best when she's writing about absence and about the violations of our own desire. I love her writing about writing, about reading, about her opinions of her life, her reading, her writing. I love how she talks about suicide, I love how she talks about horror. Duras is one that I learn more and more from as I get older. A book for writers.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I thought to myself that we are always writing on the dead body of the world and, similarly, on the dead body of love. That it’s in these states of absence that writing rushes in, not to replace what was lived or believed to have lived, but to record the desert that’s left behind.”

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

i dreamt the train took too long. i dreamt the lights were out at the station. the lights were out everywhere and the bus home would not be coming till morning or maybe not at all.
at first i was ecstatic.
and young girl or 12 or aged 12 showed me how to sneak into somewhere near by. climb up as if into a big tree and use their sound system and play it loud. we played it loud and didn’t care. weren’t self conscious of the music we played. we danced and danced and danced.
tired and over the music was so loud i finally needed to turn it down.
the little girl had disappeared i don’t know when. it was now very dark and hard to find my way out. i try to call my mom and she says i have been trying to call you where are you you didn’t get home on the bus. her voice is far away. my phone is about to die.
i say don’t get mad i missed the bus can she pick me up i’ve only had one beer i promise. she sounds disappointed in me and says it is very far. my phone is dying and the lights on my phone are strained doubled and losing themselves quickly. i don’t know how to get out of where i got myself in.
i loose my mothers voice with the death of my phone. i’m not sure she will come get me. i’m lost alone it’s too dark to make my way out and i’m afraid. i regret the fun i’m not sure i had that brought me here and feel there is no way out.
i wake sad angry and afraid and grab my phone notes app to take this down as fast and accurately as possible. my mom tries to facetime me while i type but i don’t answer. it’s dark i don’t want to wake my sleeping husband and i need to get this down before it’s all gone. maybe she felt my dream and knows i am crying. maybe it really was her in my dream trying to help. now i’m definitely crying.
my husbands alarm suddenly. i leave the dream note where it is. i say quickly through small tears i had a bad dream and he says it’s ok i’m here climb onto me like a life-raft and his words make me cry more but different tears.
my head clears hugging my life-raft and i come back to a too warm bed. all is well.
one word of advice: don’t fucking fall asleep reading marguerite duras
the fuck
to catch eyes with womanhood’s unconscious inside all fragile n wrong. tender n yearning. inextricable n shit
nah, the fuck is that?????

[Annie Tate Cockrum · Rating 2 out of 5]

A vast collection. What was good was incredible and what wasn’t was unpalatable. There is a subtlety to Duras’s writing that I find beautiful - I particularly enjoyed the essay Reading on the Train and recommend it specifically.

After reading this it became clear to me that she and I don’t always align politically. Maybe she was a product of her time but it is important to note that there were some unsettling ideas being presented here.

[Oana · Rating 5 out of 5]

a few notes on this:
- even though MD has some.. questionable takes at points, I can’t not give it a 5/5, some of the essays here are beyond words.
- I’ve now read MD in romanian, french & english and the imagery & rhythm of her words is immeasurable gets me everytime c’:

[Justine Kaufmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Danny Germino- · Rating 4 out of 5]

she's so mother

[Christie]

I find this a tricky book to star rate...I probably wouldn't suggest this as a starting point for those new to Duras, but I personally found it to be a good subsequent read that expanded upon my understanding of her/her work. The quality translation and afterword by Olivia Baes and Emma Ramadan were strong points. Some of the selections I preferred over others, but overall a worthwhile read.

"The best thing, in this situation, is to sleep, caught between the difficulty of imagining and the repugnance of knowing." -- Summer 1980

[Mina-Louise]

None of this was new to me, but as she is my favourite I didn't mind. A lovely introduction to her non-fiction for readers new to Duras' work.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all compilations, seeing the reason for a piece's inclusion may not be obvious until you've completed reading the thing. Here, the translators' notes at the end help. The most stunning part here is the Summer 80 collection of columns Duras wrote while holed up by the sea in Normandy. For me, this collection takes on a particular thrill when Duras reports on the early days of the Solidarity movement in Poland. This I remember, and to hear her recount the first news of the shipyard rebellion is exciting. Even when she cannot get news, she must think about the event, and think about the legacy thus far of Soviet socialism. Of course, she realizes even before she knows the details that the events in Gdansk will not reorient the world to Mostly Good, which is a strange comfort to someone who knows much more of the story.

[Edd Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I truly find Duras amazing. Her rang of knowledge is fascinating. The ability in her to write about almost anything amazes me. I love that quality in a writer. This book was the premise to her fiction, and it also had qualities of nonfiction. Looking back at it I wish there were more to it being that it was so short. But after reading a few things by Marguerite Duras, the touching moments and tellings of her mother called me down.
It gave me definitive background to what I was reading. I don’t think if her mother was mentioned things like the confusion of Birth in Indochina and Europe might be a toss up.
But yet that’s the life she lived. Which enabled her to talk about a few wars including the Holocaust.
Thus making Miss Duras a very memorable woman.

[Emma Davey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I think all the filmmakers of the world profoundly disgust me. I like only my films."
"I find that in literature, no writer's mother compares to mine."

The most conceited author I've ever read, a true queen, a true *TikTok voice* material girl.

Interesting reading this and "Dryer's English" at the same time, as Duras constantly breaks so many rules of writing and grammar (though she's writing in French, so not all of Dreyer's rules about English will apply, but still, this woman loves a comma!) But there's something about her writing that's so intoxicating!

Loved the first part, Summer 80 didn't grab my attention as much; I did not really care about the story of David and the shark, sorry!

[Harrison Malkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dynamic and singular. Some pieces don't seem to fit the collection, like the one about Yves Saint Laurent, but the adventure is well worth when we get to the breathtaking story of a young girl and a child in "Summer 80."

"Where do certain books come from? There is nothing on the page and then all of a sudden there are three hundred pages. Where does it come from? You have to let it happen when you write, you can't control yourself, you have to let go because you don't know everything about yourself. You don't know what you're capable of writing." - Duras

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Lover, I knew I had to read more Duras. I watched a whole YouTube discussion with one of the translators of this collection while reading The Lover… I could tell through her writing that there was something really special about Duras.

She is unapologetically and emphatically herself, which I love and admire. Her writing is unlike any other. I very much enjoyed this collection.

[Zappster · Rating 2 out of 5]

One for the completionists I think. Feels like a collection put together to cash in on the author's name. Some of the pieces are so short and left me wondering why they were even included. There are some pearls in there but not near enough for me to want to keep this in my collection. It's my first encounter with Duras but won't be my last. The author has enough of a reputation that I want to try her other works at some point.

[Ralph Römer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Marguerite Duras' writing style, but the subjects of the pieces collected in this book are quite dated. The reader would have been better served if the publisher had included a more substantial introduction to contextualise the pieces included in the book. I must confess that I skipped through sections, because I did not care for the topic.

[Antonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half: Duras is absolutely unapologetic in her self-absorption

Second half: Heatstroke-driven delirious rambling (made legible in English, can't even begin to imagine what it was like in the original French) flowing like a current coming from the Atlantic and capturing the essence of summer so well, and specifically summer '80 and its impassioned changes happening in the world

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of the essays are opaque or perhaps too far from the context, but the empathy she shows for the people damaged by their impossible loves is very powerful. the final piece, summer 80, would probably have been even better had it been alone.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing work. I've been a fan since Malady of Death and this was just perfect for me. Summer 80 I remember some of those things, and the story is reminiscent of Malady in the way it moves and feels. The essays were great to read before the story, it gives insight on how she approaches her work.

[غبار · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It would take me a second day to forget, to emerge from the darkness of these facts, from their promiscuity, to regain the surrounding air. A third day to erase what had been written, to write."

—Summer 80, p98

[Brad Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

She’s such a good writer. Some verges on too abstract but still very good, so i can’t say i enjoyed all of the content, “Summer 80” in particular being a bit too aimless and long, but will definitely come back to her work

[Bailey Tolentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love all of her takes on feminism / being a woman soooo much. every piece was really good except i wasn’t a huge fan of the last one (‘summer 80’) which is unfortunately also the longest one.

my fav: I Thought Often…