Duras wrote this short, 110-page novel late in her career, in 1984, claiming it was "purely autobiographical," which created a bit of a scandal in certain corners, since the plot revolves around an affair a 15-year-old girl carries on with a 27-year-old man in what was then French Indochina.

We talk about the perhaps unconventional power dynamics of that romantic relationship, Duras's mother and brothers, who also feature heavily in the book, and short novels more generally. We also see if we can make heads or tails of some grad-school questions about this book, and Tom's got another installment of Raccoon News.

For more, as always, you can visit us online at bookfightpod.com.