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bluelilyblue's review against another edition
3.0
Écrit comme un documentaire de Varda: cette voix discrète, à peine saisissable car focalisée sur autrui, mais propice à un discours sensible et percutant.
haileyldavidson's review against another edition
2.0
This was fine I guess, like I know it's written well and everything- it just wasn't for me. So French though.
kyliebennett's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
really, a lovely read. ernaux captures the concept of sonder so well in this book, and it’s almost comforting to see how thoughts i have now, about myself and the world, were present in others, especially women, 50+ years ago.
gareth_beniston's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I wasn't sure to begin with but 20 pages I was beginning to pause and think on most pages. By page 40 I was pausing on everything! Occasionally it feels dated - in that the observations seem a little obvious to us now? There are also points where I slightly despair about how much she sounds like a (clichéd) French intellectual...but I'm not sure if that's because I know she's a french intellectual!?
thebobsphere's review
4.0
Whether we are on a commute or having a coffee or even a small rest outside, I think it is inevitable that we start people watching. In my case, although I bring a novel everywhere I go, I will put the book down and observe, never judge but observe.
This makes me wonder why we do it? are we hoping that said person will indulge in a peculiar habit? maybe we want to talk to them or too shy. If one commutes, one sees the same people from inside the vehicle and outside. When there’s a shared route one does notice that tiny little details of said people start to emerge.
Annie Ernaux’s Exteriors is precisely a 70 page people watching exercise. From her train commute Ernaux notes the people she sees; their eccentricities, strange happenings. These observations range from mildly humorous to tragic.
In lesser hands this would be a boring exercise but the outcome is rather interesting, mainly it’s because Annie Ernaux usually writes about herself and this is the first time I’ve read a book by her where she is positioning herself as an observer. This time the narrative is not personal and yet Ernaux notices that all these people, be it a homeless man or little girl are still participating in her life. However, Ernaux is a bystander.
To date, all the Annie Ernaux books I have read are like a puzzle as they focus on different aspects of her life. Exteriors is a bit different for the reasons explained above. However, it’s also the first time Ernaux is on the side of a reader. Reading itself is a voyeuristic act and with Exteriors Annie Ernaux is playing the role of a ogler, just like us. This reader alliance displays another side of Annie Ernaux and, although Exteriors is brief, it is a snapshot as her versatility as a writer.
avasbookmark's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence