Reading this novella was an experience akin to reading "Waiting For Godot". I was left feeling confused and disturbed, with only two certainties. The world is full of chaos and uncertainty, and communication is everything. The plot, as nearly as I could make out, was about assassins sent by the Communist party to execute a Jew who had discussed the concept of freedom with one of their members. Duras is a master of language and intentional prose. I do not think she misplaces a single word. Powerful, difficult to decipher and to take emotionally, and remarkable in its impact! ( )

Abahn Sabana David is “a fable about ideological extremism under an avant-garde skin.”

You can read my full review at the New York Journal of Books:

http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/abahn-sabana-david ( )

This is like reading poetry--I'll have to give it several readings before I figure out what I think it means. And then my answer may or may not be what the author was saying. Intriguing. My personal copy. ( )

Abahn, Sabana and David are the names of three characters in the novella Abahn Sabana David by Marguerite Duras. Although this prose text most resembles a novella, the reading never feels far removed from a theatre text. The tone and atmosphere is close to Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

It is the story of four people, who get together in a room. Largely consisting of dialogue, with very little description, the story is difficult to follow, the more, because there are two characters with the same name, each named Abahn; however, one of them is soon reduced to be merely referred to as "The Jew". The tension in the novella consists of the waiting for Gringo, while Sabana and David guard the Jew, who awaits execution.

From the difficulty of reading Abahn Sabana David, and deciding on its significance, it seems a work that is perhaps of interest to a more specialist readership, rather than newcomers to the work of Duras. ( )