Annie Ernaux writes life like no one else. The 82-year-old French author, who was today awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, is a master of memoir. Over the course of countless works – many of which are autobiographical – she has affirmed the genre of life-writing as a crucial part of our artistic landscape.
The Years, first published in 2008 and translated into English by Alison L Strayer in 2017, is typically acknowledged to be Ernaux’s defining work. The book is a patchwork quilt of social history from the years 1941-2006 that incorporates news headlines, photos, songs and impressions, spanning Ernaux’s life as she observes a changing, modernising France. Taking a communal approach to history, Ernaux strikes upon a tone that feels revelatory in its intimacy, despite the book’s broad scope.
Content from our partners
