The Years by Annie Ernaux

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The Years by Annie Ernaux: Episode 4

Episode 4

BBC Radio 4 - The Years by Annie Ernaux, Episode 4

Ernaux's memories of life in 1968 have little in common with those found in the media.

A young married teacher and mother, living in a small town, Ernaux no longer has time to read, let alone write. Her memories of 1968 differ from those chronicled by the media.

Considered by many to be the iconic French memoirist’s defining work, The Years is a narrative of the period 1941 to 2006 told through the lens of memory, impressions past and present, cultural habits, language, photos, books, songs, radio, television, advertising and news headlines. 

Annie Ernaux invents a form that is subjective and impersonal, private and collective, and a new genre – the collective autobiography – in order to capture the passing of time. 

At the confluence of autofiction and sociology, The Years is ‘a Remembrance of Things Past for our age of media domination and consumerism’ (New York Times), a monumental account of twentieth-century French history as refracted through the life of one woman.

‘One of the best books you’ll ever read.’
— Deborah Levy, author of Hot Milk

‘The author of one of the most important oeuvres in French literature, Annie Ernaux’s work is as powerful as it is devastating, as subtle as it is seething.’
— Edouard Louis, author of The End of Eddy

‘Ravishing and almost oracular with insight, Ernaux’s prose performs an extraordinary dance between collective and intimate, “big” history and private experience. The Years is a philosophical meditation paced as a rollercoaster ride through the decades. How we spend ourselves too quickly, how we reach for meaning but evade it, how to live, how to remember – these are Ernaux’s themes. I am desperate for more.’
— Kapka Kassabova, author of Border

Born in 1940, Annie Ernaux grew up in Normandy, studied at Rouen University, and later taught at secondary school. From 1977 to 2000, she was a professor at the Centre National d’Enseignement par Correspondance. In 2017, she was awarded the Marguerite Yourcenar Prize for her life’s work. In 2022, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Alison L. Strayer is a Canadian writer and translator. Her translation of The Years was awarded the 2018 French-American Translation Prize in the non-fiction category. She lives in Paris.

Written by Annie Ernaux
Translated by Alison L Strayer
Read by Sian Thomas
Abridged by Jill Waters with Mark Kilfoyle
Produced by Jill Waters 
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4

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The iconic French memoirist's 'collective autobiography' of the period 1941 to 2006.

Book of the Week. The iconic French memoirist's 'collective autobiography' of the period 1941 to 2006. Read by Sian Thomas.

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