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flara's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
What a beautiful exploration of class and identity through the lens of Ernaux's memories of her father and his personal history. While the author's writing is neutral, as in it lacks emotional language; I found that the individual snippets were charged with grief, admiration towards her father and amusement by his simple ways. It is through individual recollections that we are able to assemble a bigger picture of an honest country man, who wanted to rise beyond his station, but found himself at odds with his daughter who actually managed to achieve his lifelong goal. The novel is set in early 1900s, extends to the 1960s and was written in the 1980s. It talks of war years and mud-floor houses. And yet the subject, themes and sentiments feel universal and contemporary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
lautreamont's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child death
savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Annie Ernaux's singular voice is, as always, unflinchingly honest and spare. In A Man's Place, she manages to maintain objectivity while discussing the loss of her father and his life leading up to death. A Man's Place isn't solely a biography, though. Even with only 114 pages, Ernaux represents the greater culture and class strata of her native small-town Normandy. With clarity, Ernaux then contrasts her own childhood with her father's and the ways that her access to education put a strain on their relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, War, Death of parent, Classism, and Grief
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