A study in radical rhetoric

Annie Ernaux’s work is a study in radical rhetoric. We can disagree with her politics while saying she deserves her Nobel Prize, says Henri Astier

ONE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT claims that all literature is political: what matters in a work is the worldview it reflects. It may not be the way most people enjoy books, but it is an academic approach. But that political prism is relevant — indeed inescapable — when a writer claims it for herself — as is the case for Annie Ernaux, who last October became the first Frenchwoman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Regarded as a master of autofiction, she has written about her life and times for almost five decades. In her acceptance speech in Stockholm in December, Ernaux highlighted the activist nature of her art: coming from a humble background — her parents ran a provincial café-cum-grocery shop — she vowed early on to “avenge my…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2023

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