Description

Book Synopsis
Originally published in 1977, Do What They Say or Else tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl named Anne who lives with her working-class parents in a small town in Normandy, France.

Trade Review
“A powerful portrait of a searching adolescent.”—Publishers Weekly
“In this, her second published novel, Annie Ernaux writes the psycho-biology of being fifteen years old with perfect recall. Do What They Say or Else conveys the cost of upward mobility and the desire to just throw it all away. Ernaux is in perfect control of her narrator’s wildness. The result is vivid and tough.”—Chris Kraus, author of After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography
“Annie Ernaux is often celebrated for her minimalist and documentary style. Yet this second novel, very funny at times, is narrated from the perspective of a teenage girl, with a vindictive and self-deprecating tone that ranges from the colloquial to the outright vulgar. This translation is a true tour de force!”—Bruno Thibault, author of Danièle Sallenave et le don des morts

Do What They Say or Else

    Product form

    A Paperback / softback by Annie Ernaux, Christopher Beach, Carrie Noland

    £13.29

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    RRP £13.99 – you save £0.70 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Thu 15 Oct 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher University of Nebraska Press
      Published 1 October 2022
      ISBN-13 9781496228000
      978-1496228000
      ISBN-10 1496228006
      Also in:
      Contemporary Fiction Books by Annie Ernaux

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Originally published in 1977, Do What They Say or Else tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl named Anne who lives with her working-class parents in a small town in Normandy, France.

      Trade Review
      “A powerful portrait of a searching adolescent.”—Publishers Weekly
      “In this, her second published novel, Annie Ernaux writes the psycho-biology of being fifteen years old with perfect recall. Do What They Say or Else conveys the cost of upward mobility and the desire to just throw it all away. Ernaux is in perfect control of her narrator’s wildness. The result is vivid and tough.”—Chris Kraus, author of After Kathy Acker: A Literary Biography
      “Annie Ernaux is often celebrated for her minimalist and documentary style. Yet this second novel, very funny at times, is narrated from the perspective of a teenage girl, with a vindictive and self-deprecating tone that ranges from the colloquial to the outright vulgar. This translation is a true tour de force!”—Bruno Thibault, author of Danièle Sallenave et le don des morts

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