''The Years'' (french: Les Années) is a 2008

autobiographical novel An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fictive elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction. ...

Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...

Synopsis

In the book, Ernaux writes about herself in the third person (''elle'', or ''"''she" in English) for the first time, providing a vivid look at French society just after the Second World War until the early 2000s. It is the moving social story of a woman and of the evolving society she lived in. With this feature of book,

Edmund White Edmund Valentine White III (born 1940) is an American novelist, memoirist, playwright, biographer and an essayist on literary and social topics. Since 1999 he has been a professor at Princeton University. France made him (and later ) de l'Ordr ...

described it as a "collective autobiography", in his review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.

Reception

''The Years'' was very well received by French critics and is considered by many to be her magnum opus. It won the 2008 Françoise-Mauriac Prize of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, the 2008 Marguerite Duras Prize, the 2008 French Language Prize, the 2009 Télégramme Readers Prize, and the 2016

Premio Strega Europeo The Strega European Prize ( it, Premio Strega Europeo) is an annual literary award given to a novel in Italian translation by a European author who has received national recognition in their home country. Established in 2014, it is administered—li ...

Prize. Translated by Alison L. Strayer, ''The Years'' was a Finalist for the 31st Annual

French-American Foundation The French-American Foundation is a privately funded, non-governmental organization established to promote bilateral relations between France and the United States on topics of importance to the two countries, with a focus on contact between upco ...

Translation Prize. Alison L. Strayer's English translation was shortlisted for the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

in 2019.

References

2008 French novels French autobiographical novels Novels by Annie Ernaux Novels set in Normandy {{2000s-autobio-novel-stub