Lettera a D. : storia di un amore (edition 2006)

D is the André Gorz’s 82-year-old, terminally ill wife, and this short book is a letter written to her about a year before they both committed suicide at the same time, unable to bear the thought of being parted.

It’s a beautiful story, augmented by a few lovely photos of the couple (I wanted more, actually). The telling is often very beautiful and poignant, although occasionally it’s surprisingly long-winded for such a short book, particularly in the parts where he’s examining some hurtful lines he wrote about her in his first book The Traitor. It almost feels sacrilegious to criticise him after all that emotional backstory, but that was my reaction. Another problem I had was that although it’s a letter to D, most of the book is about A, André Gorz. D is praised a lot, but mostly for the way she helped him in his career or in his existential struggles. I didn’t get much sense of what she wanted out of life, other than to be with him.

That said, the beauty outweighs the problems. And Gorz was one of France’s leading 20th-century intellectuals, so there’s plenty of interesting history about intellectual life in mid-century Paris, 1968 etc. Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre figure quite prominently. I related to the couple’s early struggles to be true to their ideals while coping with the practicalities of paying the rent. I liked the way that, over the decades, Gorz came to understand what was truly important in his life, and to let go of so many of the other things that seemed important but weren’t.

In short, it was an excellent book, but not quite the emotional love-letter I had expected. It’s a love-letter written by a philosopher, emotional in places but mostly analytical and contemplative. I read it in one sitting late at night, and would definitely recommend it to others. ( )

Andre Gorz, journalist, activist and pioneer of political ecology writes a long letter about/to his love, his wife, his soul mate, writes about their deep love, their shared life . I read it in one breathless rush, always aware of the fact that only a year after this was first published they decided to take their lives together when she became terminally ill. They simply could not live without one another.

The best love story ever.

Letter to D is a touching look at a couple's life together, spanning half a century. The love Andre feels for his beloved wife Dorine comes through, loud and clear, in every word he has written. Even people who don't usually enjoy romance novels (and I count myself amongst this number) cannot help but be captivated by the depth of feeling contained in this open letter from a man to his dying wife. This novel is all the more poignant for the events which followed. Letter to D is a definite must-read. ( )