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Thank you so much @fitzcarraldoeditions for sending me this masterpiece of a memoir to review, and congratulations on having it shortlisted, as it deserves to be! I wouldn’t have thought that a history of France between 1941-2006 disguised as a memoir would affect me so deeply, but I was honestly mesmerised by this book.
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It is both structurally and stylistically brilliant (and elegantly translated by Alison L Strayer - she handles the sheer amount of French culture beautifully), with Ernaux capturing the culture, politics and history of France through the decades in a sort of collective autobiography, smattered throughout with snapshots of her own life. Although we do follow Ernaux’s personal life, it’s the history of France that had me captivated.
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I will warn you that, obviously, The Years is just filled with references to French politics, politicians, adverts, films, songs, TV programmes, news headlines, so if you’re adverse to lots of Googling in between reading then I wouldn’t recommend this one because you might feel a bit lost. But if you do want to find out more about 20th century France then pick it up. I studied French at GCSE, A Level and University (should be reading it in French lol, French books are expensive!) and so a lot of the references I already was aware of, which definitely made it a smoother reading experience for me personally.
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The mix of private and communal is just something I’ve never encountered before, making this book one of the most unique I’ve ever read. The juxtaposition of Ernaux describing her first sexual awakening in the third person with the vast sense of collective unease or euphoria at certain points in France’s history shouldn’t work but it just does. And she doesn’t shy away from exposing the weaknesses in French politics and community, for example the racism that pervades towards the banlieues.
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I never thought I’d see myself give a memoir of sorts five stars, but here we are. This book is nothing short of a masterpiece (and yet it is weird that I wouldn’t recommend it blindly to everyone - know what you’re in for and if you know you don’t want to be Googling all sorts during it then maybe avoid it)
.
It is both structurally and stylistically brilliant (and elegantly translated by Alison L Strayer - she handles the sheer amount of French culture beautifully), with Ernaux capturing the culture, politics and history of France through the decades in a sort of collective autobiography, smattered throughout with snapshots of her own life. Although we do follow Ernaux’s personal life, it’s the history of France that had me captivated.
.
I will warn you that, obviously, The Years is just filled with references to French politics, politicians, adverts, films, songs, TV programmes, news headlines, so if you’re adverse to lots of Googling in between reading then I wouldn’t recommend this one because you might feel a bit lost. But if you do want to find out more about 20th century France then pick it up. I studied French at GCSE, A Level and University (should be reading it in French lol, French books are expensive!) and so a lot of the references I already was aware of, which definitely made it a smoother reading experience for me personally.
.
The mix of private and communal is just something I’ve never encountered before, making this book one of the most unique I’ve ever read. The juxtaposition of Ernaux describing her first sexual awakening in the third person with the vast sense of collective unease or euphoria at certain points in France’s history shouldn’t work but it just does. And she doesn’t shy away from exposing the weaknesses in French politics and community, for example the racism that pervades towards the banlieues.
.
I never thought I’d see myself give a memoir of sorts five stars, but here we are. This book is nothing short of a masterpiece (and yet it is weird that I wouldn’t recommend it blindly to everyone - know what you’re in for and if you know you don’t want to be Googling all sorts during it then maybe avoid it)