lilysolaia's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
thehikinglawstudent's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Such a raw and unflinching account of parisian society and the people who encounter it.
elonzo's review
4.0
reading this book feels like meditating
"So it is outside my own life that my past existence lies: in passengers commuting on the subway or the RER; in shoppers glimpsed on escalators at Auchan or in the Galeries Lafayette; in complete strangers who cannot know that they possess part of my story; in faces and bodies which I shall never see again. In the same way, I myself, anonymous among the bustling crowds on streets and in department stores, must secretly play a role in the lives of others." (pg95)
"Yet the very starkness and paucity of music allow me to recall a whole episode of my life and the girl I used to be when I listen to I'm just Another Dancing Partner thirty years later. Whereas the beauty and fullness of Le Bel Ete and A Ia Recherche du Temps Perdu, which I have reread two or three times, can never give me back my life. (pg 55)
"I realize that I am forever combing reality for signs of literature."
"In other words, the feelings and thoughts inspired by places and objects have nothing to do with their cultural content; thus a hypermarket can provide just as much meaning and human truth as a concert hall." (Pg 7)
"So it is outside my own life that my past existence lies: in passengers commuting on the subway or the RER; in shoppers glimpsed on escalators at Auchan or in the Galeries Lafayette; in complete strangers who cannot know that they possess part of my story; in faces and bodies which I shall never see again. In the same way, I myself, anonymous among the bustling crowds on streets and in department stores, must secretly play a role in the lives of others." (pg95)
"Yet the very starkness and paucity of music allow me to recall a whole episode of my life and the girl I used to be when I listen to I'm just Another Dancing Partner thirty years later. Whereas the beauty and fullness of Le Bel Ete and A Ia Recherche du Temps Perdu, which I have reread two or three times, can never give me back my life. (pg 55)
"I realize that I am forever combing reality for signs of literature."
"In other words, the feelings and thoughts inspired by places and objects have nothing to do with their cultural content; thus a hypermarket can provide just as much meaning and human truth as a concert hall." (Pg 7)
hannisreading's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
as a nosy person who overthinks, i absolutely love this book.
minniepauline's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
I found a lot to chew on here, but as Ernaux herself writes, it’s snippets with no other purpose than to exist as they are, which can be frustrating (her word). Still, I want to read more.