Een vrouw

Ernaux's essays always bring perfectly curated details of a life that while very detailed somehow are also very spare and while always quite unique to Ernaux are also spectacularly universal. Every story a paradox within a paradox. But rather than leaving the reader baffled, these paradoxes are

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really satisfying. This story, the tale of her mother's becoming as an adult, and undoing as a widow with Alzheimer's whose dignity is diminished daily. is a beautiful tribute. (I listened to this one rather than reading it, and it was the work of one commute to work and home, and the time it took to prepare a simple supper. What a wonderful use of time.)

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After her mother dies of Alzheimer's, Annie Ernaux writes and reflects on her mother's life, their relationship, and how she herself feels after her mother's death.

"Naturally, this isn't a biography, neither is it a novel, maybe a cross between literature, sociology, and history" the author tells

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us. As Ernaux wrote about her father in A Man's Place, she now turns her attention to her mother. It's framed very similarly, beginning with her mother's death, and then going back to share biographical details and memories, interspersed with Ernaux's thoughts on her grief or comments on her writing process. Her mother was sometimes a difficult person, but Ernaux manages to make her very sympathetic at the same time. She'll sometimes describe or explain an aspect of her mother's personality objectively, and then step in and tell you more about the emotions she attaches to a memory or why she's trying to write about her mother in a certain way. Ernaux has a spare style but one that draws you in and tells a surprisingly complex, yet easy to read, story.

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The words chosen for this book are so exact I felt I knew both the author and her mother. She does not stick to explicit chronological order, and I was frequently waiting to see what would happen next. I have had some experiences similar to hers and felt her descriptions were both interesting and

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on target. I also felt her style somewhat distanced me from the characters. Even though she claimed this was not an autobiography, I found her awareness of her perceptions and motives from years past both interesting and only somewhat credible. It made me wonder how well she really knew the inner thoughts of her parents. They certainly were interesting. I look forward to reading more of Ernaux.

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