Marguerite Duras (1914-1996) was a famous French writer and playwright. Based on an extensive reading and a literature review of studies in China and abroad, this book is an analytic study of Duras’ literary works against the literary context of France at that time. It divides Duras’ literary writing into four phases, each corresponding to one of the four themes—Worries, Madness, Destruction, and Death, which also form the thread that strings up Duras’ whole life and writing. It studies the change in the themes of Duras’ writing, discusses the relationship between these themes and the general living conditions of humankind, and finally summarizes Duras’ writing as “a dark, yet positive world”, a rather dialectical comment. This book is a fruitful attempt at studying Duras, which has great referential and practical significance. 

Yang Xi (1968- ) earned her doctoral degree from the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Normal University, majoring in comparative literature and world literature and focusing on the studies of 20th century French literature. Now an associate professor in the School of Chinese Studies, Beijing Language and Culture University, Dr. Yang has published several research papers on the French writer Marguerite Duras. 

A must-read for researchers and fans of Marguerite Duras and her works