The War: A Memoir - Paperback
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The War: A Memoir by Marguerite Duras
Written in 1944 during the final months of Nazi occupation and first published in 1985, The War: A Memoir stands as Marguerite Duras's most personal and harrowing account of life in Paris during World War II. This memoir captures the raw reality of survival, resistance, and the psychological toll of living under occupation with what Julian Barnes of The Washington Post Book World describes as "a rich conviction enhanced by [a] spare, almost arid, technique."
A First-Hand Account of Resistance and Survival
As a member of a French resistance network headed by François Mitterand, Duras witnessed and participated in the underground struggle against Nazi occupation. This memoir documents her experiences with unflinching honesty: nursing her husband back to health after his return from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, interrogating a suspected collaborator, and engaging in a dangerous psychological game with a Gestapo officer who was attracted to her.
About the Author: Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras (1914-1996) remains one of France's most important literary figures. Best known for her internationally acclaimed novel The Lover, Duras's body of work includes The Ravishing of Lol Stein and The Sailor from Gibraltar. She also wrote the screenplay for the landmark film Hiroshima Mon Amour. The New Press has published translations of The North China Lover, The War, and Wartime Writings, preserving her legacy for English-speaking readers.
Critical Acclaim
The New York Times praised this work as "more than one woman's diary . . . [it is] a haunting portrait of a time and a place and also a state of mind." The memoir transcends personal narrative to become a document of historical significance, offering insight into the daily realities of occupied France that larger historical accounts often overlook.
Why This Memoir Matters
This paperback edition preserves Duras's immediate, visceral prose written during the events themselves. Unlike memoirs composed decades after the fact, The War carries the urgency and authenticity of lived experience. For readers interested in Holocaust literature, French resistance history, or the liberation of Paris, this memoir provides an irreplaceable perspective from one of the 20th century's most significant voices.
From the bestselling author of The Lover, Marguerite Duras's haunting memoir of suffering and survival in a time when Europe was torn asunder
Written in 1944 and first published in 1985, Duras's riveting account of life in Paris during the Nazi occupation and the first months of liberation depicts the harrowing realities of World War II-era France "with a rich conviction enhanced by [a] spare, almost arid, technique" (Julian Barnes, The Washington Post Book World). Duras, by then married and part of a French resistance network headed by François Mitterand, tells of nursing her starving husband back to health after his return from Bergen-Belsen, interrogating a suspected collaborator, and playing a game of cat and mouse with a Gestapo officer who was attracted to her. The result is "more than one woman's diary . . . [it is] a haunting portrait of a time and a place and also a state of mind" (The New York Times).
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Author
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The War: A Memoir by Marguerite Duras
Written in 1944 during the final months of Nazi occupation and first published in 1985, The War: A Memoir stands as Marguerite Duras's most personal and harrowing account of life in Paris during World War II. This memoir captures the raw reality of survival, resistance, and the psychological toll of living under occupation with what Julian Barnes of The Washington Post Book World describes as "a rich conviction enhanced by [a] spare, almost arid, technique."
A First-Hand Account of Resistance and Survival
As a member of a French resistance network headed by François Mitterand, Duras witnessed and participated in the underground struggle against Nazi occupation. This memoir documents her experiences with unflinching honesty: nursing her husband back to health after his return from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, interrogating a suspected collaborator, and engaging in a dangerous psychological game with a Gestapo officer who was attracted to her.
About the Author: Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras (1914-1996) remains one of France's most important literary figures. Best known for her internationally acclaimed novel The Lover, Duras's body of work includes The Ravishing of Lol Stein and The Sailor from Gibraltar. She also wrote the screenplay for the landmark film Hiroshima Mon Amour. The New Press has published translations of The North China Lover, The War, and Wartime Writings, preserving her legacy for English-speaking readers.
Critical Acclaim
The New York Times praised this work as "more than one woman's diary . . . [it is] a haunting portrait of a time and a place and also a state of mind." The memoir transcends personal narrative to become a document of historical significance, offering insight into the daily realities of occupied France that larger historical accounts often overlook.
Why This Memoir Matters
This paperback edition preserves Duras's immediate, visceral prose written during the events themselves. Unlike memoirs composed decades after the fact, The War carries the urgency and authenticity of lived experience. For readers interested in Holocaust literature, French resistance history, or the liberation of Paris, this memoir provides an irreplaceable perspective from one of the 20th century's most significant voices.
From the bestselling author of The Lover, Marguerite Duras's haunting memoir of suffering and survival in a time when Europe was torn asunder
Written in 1944 and first published in 1985, Duras's riveting account of life in Paris during the Nazi occupation and the first months of liberation depicts the harrowing realities of World War II-era France "with a rich conviction enhanced by [a] spare, almost arid, technique" (Julian Barnes, The Washington Post Book World). Duras, by then married and part of a French resistance network headed by François Mitterand, tells of nursing her starving husband back to health after his return from Bergen-Belsen, interrogating a suspected collaborator, and playing a game of cat and mouse with a Gestapo officer who was attracted to her. The result is "more than one woman's diary . . . [it is] a haunting portrait of a time and a place and also a state of mind" (The New York Times).
Contributor(s)
Author