soparosa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Muy interesante si te interesa la religión y la clase obrera, todo esto bajo el contexto de Francia en los años 50. La diferencia entre la sociedad francesa y española no es para nada tan notable como supuse que sería, lo que hace que, incluso si el lenguaje puede resultar frío y desapegado -probablemente debido a no estar en su lengua original-, los lectores podamos sentir cierta conexión con las vivencias de la autora. Plantea temas que dan mucho que pensar a la par que transmite la sensación de incertidumbre y engorro que la escritora vivía a diario en aquella época, lo que nos deja insatisfechos pero también enganchados.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny
girvanryan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Domestic abuse
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
The parts when Ernaux reflects on her situation as a child, about what made her upbringing different and how long it took her to understand that, because she had no one from a different class to compare herself to, were the strongest parts in this book. What was considered to be important, how to behave and how to pretend. Apart from that this was the weakest of the ones I've read by this author so far for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Domestic abuse, and Religious bigotry
americattt's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
“For me and no doubt many of my contemporaries, memories are associated with ephemeral things such as a fashionable belt or a summer hit and therefore the act of remembering can do nothing to reaffirm my sense of identity or continuity. It can only confirm the fragmented nature of my life and the belief that I belong to history.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Minor: War
lu_fer_merino's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Fitzcarraldo for the eARC of Shame by Annie Ernaux! The book was published originally in the 90s, but I was given a copy of the Fitzcarraldo edition which is released September 20.
I loved the descriptions of the author’s small hometown and what small town life was like in 50s France! The book could drag at times but it didn’t last very long. This is a short and quick read that can be finished in one day!
I loved the descriptions of the author’s small hometown and what small town life was like in 50s France! The book could drag at times but it didn’t last very long. This is a short and quick read that can be finished in one day!
Ernaux talks about her family, specifically a scene in which her father nearly murders her mother at the age of 12. She also talks about working at her family business, their community, her religious education, adolescence/puberty, all glimpses into her life during her 12th year. I thought it was interesting to focus on these subjects as they all revolve around (and lightly touch) on the feelings of shame!
I was expecting more about Ernaux’s family incident and the aftermath, since this moment was the main starting point for the story. I would’ve been interested to learn more about her family life both before and after, how things changed, etc.
The ending felt a bit abrupt but from what I understand, each of her books is about a different portion of her life so maybe that’s why for Shame, the ending is left open because it’s leading into her other works. I’d definitely be interested to read more from Ernaux as I loved her lyrical writing! Plus from her other book synopsis’ they also discuss the idea of shame, as Ernaux stated that following the incident she forever feels a sense of shame.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: War and Religious bigotry
fc_reads's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
joanaprneves's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
This is my first Annie Ernaux book, surprisingly. I had picked it up when I was about 18 years old and studying in Paris but thought it was too feminine (I was clearly not yet a feminist and not used to reading female voices). I regret not having tried more. Instead, I gave in to Marguerite Duras who, I find, hasn't aged as well and caters to the male gaze quite a lot (but I may have to review this opinion, based on old readings).
It seems incredible to me that this was published in 1997. Or perhaps not. Published authors were allowed to be much more playful, to break the 4th wall (if you can apply this to writing), to deconstruct memoir narratives etc. I love this book because it is an attempt to write a book, and not a kind of storytelling that flattens the thing-you-want-to-talk-about to make it palatable, which is the problem in a lot of popular fiction nowadays. Ernaux shares her hesitations, a conflicted view of writing about an abyssal experience for her when she was 12 years old, that propelled her into a fear that no one ever bothered to take away from her. But this episode is the central part of a cluster of other indignities: children live a very social life, they go to school, they are constantly judged and appraised and therefore, they unveil the inequities of a society that separates according to class and money. Shame and shaming become part of their world, a sort of abject feeling one avoids in order to keep living. This is what this book is about, and it is marvellous in its impossibility to become a Story. It is a sharp, fragmented form of writing, where the author tries her best to expose everything while still needing to parenthesise, to explain, to contextualise some feelings, impressions. She makes a big effort never to explain, never to make it a story about growth. Because, as she says very well, shame never leaves you. You can understand it, regret it in hindsight, recognise what your shame was a mechanism of, but it never really fades. I loved this book and only wish it could have gone on longer, thus the 0.75 missing marks for a full blown five star review.
It seems incredible to me that this was published in 1997. Or perhaps not. Published authors were allowed to be much more playful, to break the 4th wall (if you can apply this to writing), to deconstruct memoir narratives etc. I love this book because it is an attempt to write a book, and not a kind of storytelling that flattens the thing-you-want-to-talk-about to make it palatable, which is the problem in a lot of popular fiction nowadays. Ernaux shares her hesitations, a conflicted view of writing about an abyssal experience for her when she was 12 years old, that propelled her into a fear that no one ever bothered to take away from her. But this episode is the central part of a cluster of other indignities: children live a very social life, they go to school, they are constantly judged and appraised and therefore, they unveil the inequities of a society that separates according to class and money. Shame and shaming become part of their world, a sort of abject feeling one avoids in order to keep living. This is what this book is about, and it is marvellous in its impossibility to become a Story. It is a sharp, fragmented form of writing, where the author tries her best to expose everything while still needing to parenthesise, to explain, to contextualise some feelings, impressions. She makes a big effort never to explain, never to make it a story about growth. Because, as she says very well, shame never leaves you. You can understand it, regret it in hindsight, recognise what your shame was a mechanism of, but it never really fades. I loved this book and only wish it could have gone on longer, thus the 0.75 missing marks for a full blown five star review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
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