A Man's Place
Annie Ernaux · b. 1940 · France
Originally La Place (French)
Why it matters
A daughter reconstructs her father (a peasant turned shopkeeper) in flat, unadorned sentences that refuse the betrayal of 'literary' style. Ernaux's breakthrough in writing class shame from the inside.
At a glance
autobiographical fictionfamily saga
Difficulty 3/10medium pace112 pagesDeliberately flat, unadorned sentences that are easy to read but dense with restraint.
