Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It “Look deeper than the semi-pedophilic erotic love story and see the profundity. It's about colonialism, wealth and poverty, and just love in general. Check it out. Then see the movie.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It“I'm trying to figure out why this book was so raved about. A good thing it was short, |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“Look deeper than the semi-pedophilic erotic love story and see the profundity. It's about colonialism, wealth and poverty, and just love in general. Check it out. Then see the movie.”
Ria A wrote this review Thursday, September 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I'm trying to figure out why this book was so raved about. A good thing it was short,
Carolyn M wrote this review Tuesday, July 21 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
because I found it boring and uninteresting. A big disappointment.”
“Enjoyed the movie when it came out in the mid-90s, and put much stock into the plot as a love story--I so wanted a happy ending for the couple; this was when I was an impressionable 24 or 25. Having just read the book now, I realized this was no big romance, at least not in the way I understood it to be. Or perhaps this now-jaded reader should watch the movie again?”
Annabelle wrote this review Monday, July 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I was obsessed with both this book and the movie as a teen and it translates well from the what a young woman reads into it to what a grown woman takes from it.”
Sugar Malone wrote this review Tuesday, June 30 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“i didn't like it as much as i thought i would...it was like the narrative was written in fragments...though i appreciate the author's unique style of writing...
mona17 wrote this review Sunday, July 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
moreso, i agree that the novel was erotic...
i liked the Chinese lover's character, i can visualize him in my mind - the way he makes love with the heroin and the way he shows his love...
the brothers' and the mother's role in the story was greatly emphasized...their characters were like a mystery puzzle being solved all throughout the novel...
nonetheless, it was a fun read...=)”
“Not really my style, and I found myself more than a little depressed after reading it. I can see how it might be a classic, but not for me.”
sara k wrote this review Monday, June 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“the movie was great, very erotic.. thats why reading the book is soo intriguing”
lourna m wrote this review Monday, May 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Set against the backdrop of French colonial Vietnam, The Lover reveals the intimacies and intricacies of a clandestine romance between a pubescent girl from a financially strapped French family and an older, wealthy Chinese man.
Wendy B wrote this review Thursday, May 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
In 1929, a 15 year old nameless girl is traveling by ferry across the Mekong Delta, returning from a holiday at her family home in the town of Sa Đéc, to her boarding school in Saigon. She attracts the attention of a 27 year old son of a Chinese business magnate, a young man of wealth and heir to a fortune. He strikes up a conversation with the girl; she accepts a ride back to town in his chauffeured limousine.
Compelled by the circumstances of her upbringing, this girl, the daughter of a bankrupt, manic depressive widow, is newly awakened to the impending and all-too-real task of making her way alone in the world. Thus, she becomes his lover, until he bows to the disapproval of his father and breaks off the affair.
For her lover, there is no question of the depth and sincerity of his love, but it isn't until much later that the girl acknowledges to herself her true feelings.
”
“The story is told in a sort of diary format, so the only character you hear from is the main girl, who is not older looking back at a time when she was 15. She has a messed up family life that she overcomes without much regret. I love the main character, she is strong, even at 15 she understands the power she has in being a woman, and she uses it. Though 15 sounds too young, this was all going on in the 1940's during WWII, and even though she is young she is mature for her age, she has been through a lot with her mother and older brothers, and this affair is an outlet for her to come into her own. ”
Shawna B wrote this review Monday, May 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Autobiographical story of growing up in Vietnam. Her parents are teachers. The father dies and the mother stays. They are poor. The mother has a mental illness and doesn't really pay attention to the children. The oldest son steals everything from the family to support his drug habit. The girl, age 15, becomes a lover to a Chinese male.There is no connectivity to anything. She write emotionless and describes sex as something she is observing. Is she actually being sexually abused to support the family and no one does anything to stop it? ”
Kristel wrote this review Saturday, May 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
