The Shameless

FIRST EDITION (not large paper) of Marguerite Duras's first novel, rejected by Gallimard before being published by Plon.

Fictitious mention of "7th thousand" on the cover.

"Marguerite Duras's first novel has a history quite similar to what she would produce later. The story is primarily family-oriented, with no displacement of the protagonists; everything is centered on the absent father's property in the French countryside of Lot-et-Garonne. The main theme is family, a devouring family that swallows individualities and causes violent tensions. The characters are torn between themselves, boredom, and idleness reign supreme, and questions about the emptiness of existence emerge. These themes would later be revisited in most of the author's books." (marguerite-duras)