A review by nixiethepixie
The Years by Annie Ernaux

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

I feel grateful and humbled by this reading experience. A chronicle of a life, a history, a moment in time. Impressions of moments - big and small, and a beautiful encounter with the impossible task of capturing a life. 

Ernaux is generous in her storytelling, and writes with such grace and frankness across this sprawling tapestry of moments, memory and history. Of course Ernaux reflects so generously on time, French and world history, class, gender and sexuality, but for me (upon this reading) I was continually drawn to her reflections of time, memory and past selves, and the impossibility of the task. I felt similarly when encountering A Girl’s Story.

I often felt humbled and excited by my youth and all the possibilities, and lives yet to be encountered. Overwhelmed by the feeling that there is significance to be found in every moment and I wonder how moments, memories and stories will be documented. 

I can’t help but wonder what it was like translating this, and what magic lives in the original that English-readers will never know. I wonder where I will meet this book next in life.