Book review: The Years

Posted on March 29, 2019 by WordsAndPeace

The Years
by Annie Ernaux
Translated by
Alison L. Strayer
Seven Stories Press
11/21/2017
Originally published as Les années
in 2008!
Genre: Nonfiction. Autobiography
237 pages

Goodreads

I already mentioned that The Man Booker International 2019 Shadow Panel made me discover a French author unknown to me. I’m very happy to present another one today. I had heard about Annie Ernaux, but had never read The Years, nor anything by her. It’s sad that in all my studies in France, I was not exposed to contemporary authors like her (she was born in 1940), even though she won a lot of literary awards.
And this is so good! Hang on, this is going to be a long review, but hopefully, you will jump on the book right after reading my prose!

Click to continue reading

Discover Michel Bussi

Posted on November 22, 2018 by WordsAndPeace

I had not done any video for a while, so I thought this format would be great to make you discover this amazing French author of thrillers.
The video is in English and refers to the English translation of his books.
So come with me and

DISCOVER MICHEL BUSSI

I asked a couple of questions in the comment section of the video on Youtube. I’m curious about your answers.

After I made this video, I also listened to N’oublier jamais – the English translation, Never Forget, will be release on Feb 14, 2019.
The book was smartly put together, with several plots and a cold case reopened for investigation. The end was totally unexpected, as usual with Bussi. I also liked the change of narrators. The main one, Jamal, addresses the reader, trying to convince you of his innocence. Is he the easy scapegoat here? A handicapped man with an Arab name and skin color, and working with mentally handicapped kids? Is he really innocent, and really was trying to help this young lady who ended up jumping the cliff to her death?