Book Review: Moderato Cantabile
A small novel running at a hundred and twenty odd pages, Moderato Cantabile by the French authoress Marguerite Duras, is a quirky and unconventional love story that deals with metaphysical relationships. Narrated in past-tense for the most part, MC takes an interesting look at the class barriers in love through a quite unconnected murder that happens in broad daylight.
Anne Desbaresdes is a rich woman who is married to a wealthy factory owner (he is never physically present throughout the story) in town. She has a vapid and monotonous life that chiefly involves taking her son (unnamed) to piano lessons. The child is talented, but shows little interest in learning music and is obstinate to the point of annoying his teacher Mademoiselle Giraud, who disapproves of his upbringing to Anne.
One day, during one such lesson, a woman is shot dead by her supposed lover at a nearby cafe frequented by workers. Shocked by the incident and sensing this as a chance to break her humdrum, she begins to visit the cafe along with her child ofttimes, and she and Chauvin, a previous worker in her husband's factory who had also been a witness to the occurrence, imagine the reasons as to what could have led to this fatal shooting. While discussing specifics about the murder, Anne and Chauvin enter into a metaphysical relationship that gives her some respite from the dull life only to regain it back in the end.
Despite the novel's petiteness, it's more or less a little difficult to get a grip on the tale. The unconventional narration aside, the plot devices used to bring about the imaginary love between the leads are at times even hard to comprehend, but nevertheless beautifully written. Anne's welcome relief from monotony begins as an invention of the lovers' backstory but later transforms into their own - a relationship between two people from the extremes of social positions. They desperately seek to be free from their shackles but deep down they know it's something which is impossible.
The child, who accompanies her to the cafe, is oblivious to the happenings but ultimately becomes the one who brings back Anne to reality. In fact, what's more appealing is the mother's nuanced and complex relationship with her son and that remains the best part of the book. Fascinating and abstruse at the same time, Duras's MC (meaning 'moderately and melodiously', a musical composition referred throughout the book) is highly recommended for literature lovers!
Anne Desbaresdes is a rich woman who is married to a wealthy factory owner (he is never physically present throughout the story) in town. She has a vapid and monotonous life that chiefly involves taking her son (unnamed) to piano lessons. The child is talented, but shows little interest in learning music and is obstinate to the point of annoying his teacher Mademoiselle Giraud, who disapproves of his upbringing to Anne.
One day, during one such lesson, a woman is shot dead by her supposed lover at a nearby cafe frequented by workers. Shocked by the incident and sensing this as a chance to break her humdrum, she begins to visit the cafe along with her child ofttimes, and she and Chauvin, a previous worker in her husband's factory who had also been a witness to the occurrence, imagine the reasons as to what could have led to this fatal shooting. While discussing specifics about the murder, Anne and Chauvin enter into a metaphysical relationship that gives her some respite from the dull life only to regain it back in the end.
Despite the novel's petiteness, it's more or less a little difficult to get a grip on the tale. The unconventional narration aside, the plot devices used to bring about the imaginary love between the leads are at times even hard to comprehend, but nevertheless beautifully written. Anne's welcome relief from monotony begins as an invention of the lovers' backstory but later transforms into their own - a relationship between two people from the extremes of social positions. They desperately seek to be free from their shackles but deep down they know it's something which is impossible.
The child, who accompanies her to the cafe, is oblivious to the happenings but ultimately becomes the one who brings back Anne to reality. In fact, what's more appealing is the mother's nuanced and complex relationship with her son and that remains the best part of the book. Fascinating and abstruse at the same time, Duras's MC (meaning 'moderately and melodiously', a musical composition referred throughout the book) is highly recommended for literature lovers!
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