Marguerite Duras's novel is essentially autobiographical (the writer grew up in Indochina). Following on from The Lover, which won the Prix Goncourt in 1985, the author continues the theme of love between a teenage girl and a thirty-year-old Chinese man. But this is not another “Lolita”. The East, its exquisite charm, different from European aesthetics, gives a completely unique sound to one of the eternal themes.