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Whole Days in the Trees

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These remarkable novellas by one of the outstanding French writers of the present time are now translated into English for the first time. They are all about human relationships and human decisions—about power, money, nostalgia and regret for missed opportunities; the author shows how our lives are shaped by the associations the mind puts together and the memories behind those associations.

Whole Days in the Trees is about a rich old woman and her obsession for her son: it has also been adapted by Mme Duras into one of her most successful plays. The Boa, to quote Sir Harold Hobson, contains 'the seeds of all Marguerite Duras's plays' and links two horrific events that become part of a Sunday ritual. The other stories contribute in different ways to our understanding of human motivations, each with the oblique, highly-charged use of association that is the Duras trademark in her novels, plays and films.

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

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About the author

Marguerite Duras

356books3,048followers
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.

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5 stars
31 (9%)
4 stars
107 (32%)
3 stars
117 (35%)
2 stars
59 (17%)
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
Profile Image for Nercs.
177 reviews62 followers
December 8, 2024
این یه خوانش اتفاقی بود. دوون دوون بعد از پایان ساعت کاری خودم رو رسوندم اون سر شهر که کتاب‌های� که دستم بود رو پس بدم به کتابخونه، اولین کتابی که چشمم بهش خورد و تیترش هم جذاب بود رو بر داشتم تا صرفاً دست خالی برنگشته باشم. پشیمونم؟ نه! راضی‌ام� نه! از همین کتاب‌ها� معمولی‌ا� بود که گذر هر کتابخونی گاهاً بهش میفته.
Profile Image for ̶̶̶̶.
964 reviews554 followers
April 11, 2021
Two of the pieces in this brief collection of Duras's early short fiction—which includes the title novella and three short stories—prefigure the novels she would begin to write in the 1960s. Both the 'Whole Days in the Trees' and 'The Building Site' showcase the hallmarks of her fiction going forward: the obsessions with death, the tight third-person interior monologuing, the tensions between the observer and the observed, the circular dialogues, the ruminations over connections between past and present. I found the other two stories fairly unremarkable in the context of her oeuvre (particularly 'Madame Dodin'); on a thematic level they are representative, but their style is not as compelling as the compressed sublimity that she would soon master. Four stars each for the 'Whole Days in the Trees' and 'The Building Site' and two stars each for 'The Boa' and 'Madame Dodin.' Rounded up for Duras in general.
Profile Image for Cody.
838 reviews247 followers
October 15, 2024
"Whole Days in the Trees" and "The Boa" are as good as anything M. Duras has every written, and she's written some shit. 'Shit' being good, not excremental. As in, "Hey, man, this is some good shit!" when sharing a needle and some fantastic smack with a buddy (or stranger; this is a judgment-free zone). I would hate for there to be any confusion on the matter.
Profile Image for Lee Foust.
Author10 books199 followers
August 9, 2020
Even in her relatively early work, Margurite Duras's unique writing style impresses with its originality. No one writes the raw nerviness of intense emotion the way Duras does. The first, title story, of these was adapted by the author herself into a play, prefacing her 98% dialogue novels to follow, putting her alongside Samuel Beckett as the other novelist/playwright of the nouveau roman group of the post-war French scene. "Whole Days in the Trees" is a lovely, three-character drama of a mother, her incapable of working/joining the constraints of a bourgeois lifestyle son, and her son's prostitute companion. By classical theatrical terms perhaps the character study fails to feature an event of any note, but the interior workings of the characters, their incapacities more than their deeds or desires--I suppose their lack of bourgeois desires--is key here. Therefore, although perhaps clumsy by classical standards, the writing reads new--even groundbreaking--still, some 60+ years later. Like the character of the son, the text itself seems casually to rebel against the conventions created by our post-Renaissance descent into a primarily mercantile society in which we waste our lives providing for creature comforts, keeping up appearances, and, more than anything else, conforming to the absurd proprieties of a class system completely alien to us at birth and seeming not to have ever had a creative agency or true raison d'etre behind it. "Just the way it is" being it's only form of justification.

The short "The Boa" explores the formation of a young woman's sexuality through a series of again bourgeois contingencies and is quite restrained and creepy.

The longer "Madame Dodin" dragged a bit for me through its elongated character sketch of an irascible concierge, but did have an unexpected ending that brought it a bit in-line with the other two tales before it in terms of a growing theme of marginal characters unable to conform to bourgeois standards and their anguish, or strangely removed lack of anguish in the face of marginalization.

"The Building Site" was more indicative of the last phase of Duras's writing, when she returned obsessively to male/female relations, sexuality, and--as always--anguish as a theme. I like how the text skirts around symbolism here, eschewing modernist subtlety to construct the building site itself as a major player in a couple's budding romance. Again, the originality is what intrigues me and keeps me coming back to Duras's work for enlightenment and inspiration 60 years on.
Profile Image for Rudi.
156 reviews32 followers
July 15, 2023
„Ach, die Freuden des Sauerkrauts, rief die Mutter, man hat gut davon reden, wenn man sie nicht kennt! Ein gutes Sauerkraut ... mit über fünfundsiebzig Jahren ... zwei Kriege ... wenn ich bedenke ... Zu allem Überfluß ... sechs Mutterschaften ... ich frage mich immer noch, wie ich das geschafft habe . . . wieso ich sie nicht alle umgebracht habe ... O je! Es ist ein Kreuz ... einen Tropfen Beaujolais, bitte.�

Drei sehr unterschiedliche Ungeheuer treffen aufeinander. Die Mutter besucht nach fünf Jahren ihren Sohn, einen Spieler, Gigolo und Dieb, der mit einer Prostituierten zusammenlebt. Ein beunruhigendes Kammerspiel, in dem niemand unversehrt davonkommt. Ein starkes, verstörendes Leseerlebnis.
Profile Image for Кремена Михайлова.
625 reviews211 followers
November 22, 2017
„Поради възрастта си и своята твърде напреднала девственост Барбе беше безразлична към боата.�

Четири разказа, все много добри според мен („Боата� � хипнотизиращ; „Строежът� - чудодействащ). Познатото чувство от творбите на Дюра(с?) � miserable състояния; валяне в издигната нищета; тегнещата връзка майка-син; френската химия в привличането мъж-жена; копнежи и бариери.

Типични изрази, описващи настроението в разказите/новелите:

„Войнит� отминават, а аз още се крепя…�, „зъ� възторг�, „съвършения ужас, мрачен и алчен, лукав и подмолен…�, „сияйнот� чудовище�, „пагубе� устрем�, „храм на безсрамието�, „мо� балкон на отчаянието�, „боклукчийск� мъченица�, „вонящ� и гниещи отпадъци�, „анонимнит� кокали и угарки�, „полуфаталн�, полуусловна забрана�, „окаян� разложение�, „изкуствот� на деградирането�, „преднамерена уловка�, „безкрайно представление�, „изблиц� на ужас и възторг�, „бе� душевно терзание, но не и цинично � просто с тъга�, „бремето на надеждата�, „щедра и естествена жизненост�, „очарователна наивност�, „стремителната дързост�, „пурпурните лесове на химерите“�

Предполагам, че тези картини на парижки, курортни или колониални смесици от падение и очарование ще останат винаги ярки в съзнанието ми със своята специфичност. Привлекателно-лепкави, честни и мечтателни, една стъпка над земята (дори и най-битовите). Нищо не ми прозвуча като изсмукано от пръстите, а като спонтанно излято от уверен талант; отдавна не бях срещала нещо толкова идеално.

И по едно изречение от всеки разказ:

„Сп�, мамо, умолявам те.�

„Так� боата, която ме плашеше, бе в същото време единственото същество, способно да ми върне волността и дързостта.�

„Щ� нервирам хората, докато съм жива � казва г-жа Доден, � истината е, че ми доставя удоволствие.�

„� сякаш обзети от тревожно прозрение, се стараеха никога да не се поддават на заплашващото ги томление, на негата, обгърнала водите, на ласкавото езерно блаженство, бликащо от водната утроба…�
Profile Image for Nate D.
1,633 reviews1,200 followers
August 2, 2019
Four novellas from Duras' early years, pre-Moderato Cantabile. Two deal with Duras' lifelong concerns of class, labor, and work, here more directly than later, one is almost entirely dialogue in her frequent pseudo-playscript form (and indeed became a play and a film), two take somewhat un-Durasian essay-recollection forms (I believe they are nevertheless stories, though she often intentionally blurs those spaces), the last, my favorite, The Building Site seems to place the weight of 20th century dread into an arbitrary locus, as good as any other, in a story of obsessive romance, presaging so many of her best later works.
Profile Image for Clio Windust.
12 reviews4 followers
July 25, 2022
hit and miss, i liked “the boa� and “the building site�
Profile Image for Dunya Al-bouzidi.
634 reviews82 followers
April 11, 2019
عمل سيري-واقعي آخر لدوراس مُقَنّعٌ بالصيغة الأدبية. يُقال أنّ هذه المسرحية كُتبتْ كقصة قصيرة بداءةً، ولكنها انتقلتْ إلى المسرح ثم السينما، كعادة أعمال الكاتبة جميعها.
Profile Image for Eva.
307 reviews26 followers
July 22, 2022
Niets voor mij. Gedateerd, niet invoelbaar en te veel op dialogen gefocust; leest als een (voor mij) oninteressant toneelstuk.
Profile Image for esther.
10 reviews
Read
December 31, 2021
…el hombre tendía cada vez más a no ver en las cosas más que signos. todo se convertía en signo de ella o para ella. signos de indiferencia de ella para con él o para con las cosas. le parecía que la muchacha filtraba, por así decirlo, sus días y sus noches, que ya sólo llegaban hasta él transformados por la manera como imaginaba que ella los vivía
43 reviews1 follower
November 9, 2021
This is a collection of short stories published in 1954 fairly early in the long writing career of Marguerite Duras. The title story of nearly one hundred pages could be classed as a novella. In each of these works Duras is stretching herself to create something a little different and she succeeds in creating an atmosphere, although the shortest story Boa is the leat successful because while the longer stories develop and build the stories with their different styles, Boa is over all too quickly.

Des Journées dans les Arbres tells of an elderly woman journeying to visit her son. She arrives by aeroplane and is met by her son and his partner at the airport. The son hardly recognises his mother and this is because she has aged tremendously in the long time that they have not seen each other. The story is written as a conversation mainly between the three protagonists, and it quickly becomes apparent that the relationship is a difficult one. Jacques has been the black sheep of the family the only son who has not made money and been successful, he feels resentful and his relationship with a prostitute Marcelle is on thin ice. They live in a small three roomed apartment and the mother has to cope with fairly squalid conditions while trying to recover her health after the flight. The conversation is not easy and the visit to a nightclub where Jacques and Marcelle work as dancers/hosts becomes an ordeal for all three of them. The story was adapted and made into a film which Duras directed and it also enjoyed a run as a stage play.

Madame Dodin takes us back to between the wars and perhaps a popular subject of some writing in France; a Parisian concièrge. Madame Dodin is in her sixties and is indulging in a war with the tenants of the apartment block over the collection of refuse. It is her job to wheel out the communal bins every day, but she complains bitterly because the tenants do not throw away their rubbish everyday, saving it up so that the bins become very heavy. Madame Dodin makes sure she wakes them all up when she drags out the bins in the early morning. She has a confident in the concierge next door but also with the roadsweeper Gaston, who stops by every day on his rounds. The story turns towards Gaston who at first takes pride in his job, but becomes increasingly disenchanted. Madam Dodin an equally unhappy person confides in him and it becomes evident that there is something between them. This story develops from a fairly lengthy description of Madame Dodin's situation and gets right under the skin of the protagonists, building in confidence as it moves along.

The final story: Les Chantiers is the most experimental. A young man on holiday in a hotel notices a girl leaving to go into some woods. He misses dinner to meet her when she returns to stare at a building construction site across from the hotel. They speak briefly and for the remainder of the holiday the young man watches the young woman. Confident that she will eventually come to him. The story is told from the young man's perspective and his inner belief that the young woman will eventually notice him.

The stories have a climax to them of sorts, but the resolutions if there are any are open. There is an undeniable power, almost mystic in a couple of them; sexual attraction is an underlying theme of the final two and they are worth reading. Difficult to grasp at times as Duras searches for inner motivation, but the stories unfold and stay in the memory 4 stars.
Profile Image for Sierra Hunt.
755 reviews2 followers
April 1, 2016
I had to read Madame Dodin and I just decided to read the whole book. This book was quite awful. I realize that this is a translation and this may not be the case for the original but my god I hated the writing style in this book. Each story in this book was really boring and really repetitive. I will say that each story was better than the one before it.
Whole Days in the Trees: I found this one to be especially boring, pointless, and tedious. I really hated the mom in this story. She was rather awful and never stopped complaining and talking about how rich she was. She just kept saying pretty much the same things over and over. I was quite glad when I reached the end of this story.
The Boa: Well...this one is about a young girl who spends all her time thinking about a boa swallowing a chicken every Sunday and the virginity of her guardian so I think that pretty much speaks for itself.
Madame Dodin wasn't too bad and thank god because that's the one that I had to read for my class. I weirdly find myself liking the character of Mme Dodin. She's one of those people who are only happy when they and everyone around them are miserable. She complained a lot but it wasn't really annoying. This story was repetitive and it wasn't not boring but it just wasn't as bad as the others.
The Building Site: Well, obviously the main character in this book was really creepy. He just spent all his time watching this woman way past the point of obsession. I do not understand the ending or why she wasn't creeped out or repulsed by him but to each their own I guess.
Definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
Profile Image for Kuszma.
2,683 reviews255 followers
October 17, 2019
Duras kisregényei gonddal megformált, lírai kompozíciók, amelyek különös kiegyensúlyozatlanságot sugároznak magukból. Látványos, szövegeiben mennyire kerüli a leírások használatát � amit csak lehet, a párbeszéd eszközével kíván megoldani*. Ezek a néha furcsa kacskaringásokat bemutató, groteszkbe hajló dialógusok teszik Duras prózáját fátyolossá, és egyben a beszéltetés eszközével mutatnak rá a szereplők végletes magányosságára. Azzal pedig, hogy a szerző atipikus helyzeteket mutat be, nem tesz mást, mint kiemeli a hétköznapi helyzeteinkben is megbúvó abnormitást, felnagyítja, és az orrunk alá dörgöli � nesze neked, ezt emészd meg. Szép, a maguk módján hibátlan produkciók.

* Legkevésbé még az Andesmas úr délutánja c. műben, ami mondjuk nem csoda, hisz szegény Andesmas úr a kisregény jelentős részét egymagában tölti.
Profile Image for Vincenzo Iennaco.
111 reviews
August 12, 2021
Una madre va a trovare il figlio dopo vari anni che non si vedono e ne constata l'immaturità esistenziale associata a una connaturata apatia sentimentale; una tredicenne comincia a farsi le sue idee riguardo le relazioni sentimentali paragonando l'istinto primordiale di un boa allo zoo e lo spirito conservativo nella verginità della settuagenaria direttrice del collegio; una portinaia acida alle prese col bidone della spazzatura e l'insofferenza verso gli inquilini e il prossimo; l'idillio prevalentemente mentale tra due villeggianti al lago. Quattro piccoli spaccati di diverse turbe esistenziali, accomunati dalla limpida penna della Duras.
Profile Image for Silvia Serrano.
29 reviews
July 25, 2016
La primera historia me atrapó y me divirtió muchísimo; la segunda se me hizo un poco cuesta arriba y la tercera a ratos me aburrió, pero no sé si es porque realmente decae la calidad o porque se repite cierto patrón en cada uno de los relatos.

En cualquier caso me parece escrito de manera exquisita.
Profile Image for rodriperez121.
11 reviews
July 7, 2023
Tres cuentos bien escritos y suficientemente interesantes como para no abandonar su lectura, pero que pasan sin pena ni gloria.
2'5⭐️
Profile Image for Rabbitinthehole.
29 reviews3 followers
June 27, 2022
Whole Days in the Trees ★★☆☆�

I thought it was a surreal story at the beginning. The hunger and tiresome of the characters feel surreal in Duras� words. As the story unfolds, I realized they’re symbols, symbols for the character’s inner feelings toward their life experiences, life conditions, and relationships. Hunger is paired with the mother and son’s needs for materials and love. Tiresome is paired with their attitude in terms of their needs as mentioned above. It’s sad to read a mother-son relationship like this, worse than the connection between the mother and the stranger girl—they meet for the first time in the story. And the girl is not even the son’s girlfriend.

The Boa ★★★☆�

This is a story that sets my mind free. I feel so relaxed reading it. There are no right or wrong thoughts. Thoughts that represent the truth a teenager discovered in her life.

Madame Dodin ★★☆☆�

I hope this story can be shorter. I couldn’t read through the whole piece.

The Building Site ★★★★�

I really like this story. The depictions of distance and uncertainty and the changes in the relationship between the characters are all well written.
Profile Image for Cruizcar.
11 reviews1 follower
September 6, 2020
Duras parece plasmar un minimalismo emocionante en esta edición que recoge tres cuentos: "Madame Dodin", "La obra" y "Días enteros en las ramas". Personalmente me quedo con el relato de "Madame Dodin", perfectamente podría ser una historia de Aquí no hay quien viva.
Profile Image for Gaspar Alvarez.
65 reviews51 followers
April 25, 2019
La traducción al español de esto es horrible, pero los cuentos son increíbles. "La obra" es particularmente revelador.
Profile Image for Jette.
54 reviews
Read
August 3, 2022
Ik heb de laatste tijd nogal moeite met lezen dus dit was een fijn kort boek die ik in één zitting uit kon lezen
Profile Image for nostalgica .
35 reviews14 followers
February 2, 2023
5 stelle per i racconti 'Giornate intere fra gli alberi' e 'Madame Dodin' - A m a t i 💘
Profile Image for Marlie Verheggen.
479 reviews
July 27, 2024
Vreemd verhaal dat nog vreemder toch herkenbaar is.
Ik kan mij voorstellen dat dit het als toneelstuk beter doet.
Profile Image for Steven.
466 reviews12 followers
November 9, 2024
The first novella and the last are as good as the run that begins with little horses…masterful.
Profile Image for أحمد.
Author1 book398 followers
September 5, 2014

لا أعرف لماذا الكتاب منشور في إصدارات المسرح التجريبي، فلا شيء غير اعتيادي في طريقة المعالجة، والقصة عادية أكثر وأحداثها اجتماعية تصلح في كل عصر، الشيء الذي ربما يكون حداثيًا فقط هو اقتصارها على أربع أفراد (كما أُشير إلى ذلك في المقدمة)، ولكن المسرحية قصيرة في الأصل فلا يعيبها الاقتصار ولا يخوله الحق في تحويلها بسبب ذلك إلى مسرحية تجريبية، ولكن بعيدًا عن نتيجة اختبار تحديد جنسها فالمسرحية الحوار فيها فاتن، ولعله أجمل ما فيها، قرأتها صباح أمس ثم تذكرتها قبل كتابة هذه الكلمات وكأنني قرأتها كقصة طويلة!، أعني إن هناك فقرة في المقدمة التي تعرّف بالمؤلفة تقول:

والحق إن ميْل «مرجريت دوراس» إلى لغة الحوار هو الذي قادها إلى الكتابة للسينما



والحق .. للمسرح أيضًا فيما أظن



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وهي مسرحية جميلة
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