The Years (Ernaux novel)
The Years (French: Les Années) is a 2008 autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux.
.jpg.webp) Collection Blanche cover (first edition) | |
| Author | Annie Ernaux |
|---|---|
| Original title | Les Années |
| Translator | Alison L. Strayer |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre | Autobiographical novel |
| Publisher | Éditions Gallimard |
Publication date | 7 February 2008 |
Published in English | 2017 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 978-2-07-077922-2 |
| OCLC | 192081505 |
| 843/.914 B | |
| LC Class | PQ2665.R67 Z46 2008 |
Synopsis
In the book, Ernaux writes about herself in the third person (elle, or "she" in English) for the first time, providing a vivid look at French society just after the Second World War until the early 2000s.[1] It is the moving social story of a woman and of the evolving society she lived in. With this feature of book, Edmund White described it as a "collective autobiography", in his review for The New York Times.[2]
Reception
The Years was very well received by French critics and is considered by many to be her magnum opus.[3]
It won the 2008 Françoise-Mauriac Prize of the Académie française, the 2008 Marguerite Duras Prize,[4] the 2008 French Language Prize, the 2009 Télégramme Readers Prize, and the 2016 Premio Strega Europeo Prize. Translated by Alison L. Strayer, The Years was a Finalist for the 31st Annual French-American Foundation Translation Prize.
Alison L. Strayer's English translation was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2019.[5]
References
- Laurin, Danielle (3 April 2008). "Autobiographie : Les années: le livre d'une vie" (in French). Radio-Canada. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- White, Edmund (19 January 2018). "Reclaiming the Past in the Internet's 'Infinite Present'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
- Peras, Delphine (11 February 2010). "Les Années par Annie Ernaux". L'EXPRESS (in French). Archived from the original on 29 October 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
- "Prix Marguerite Duras". Association Marguerite Duras (in French). Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- "Annie Ernaux | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 6 October 2022.