A review by flara
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux

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. 
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