Description
Book SynopsisThe author grew up in Hallencourt, a village in northern France where many live below the poverty line. This novel is about life there. It is an extraordinary portrait of escaping from an unbearable childhood. Written with an openness and compassionate intelligence, ultimately, it asks, how can we create our own freedom?
Trade ReviewWhen new voices come from underrepresented constituencies, there’s always the hope of a new perspective... I can read Edouard Louis and know something of what it means to grow up in extreme poverty in contemporary France -- Zadie Smith * Observer *
When new voices come from underrepresented constituencies, there’s always the hope of a new perspective... I can read Edouard Louis and know something of what it means to grow up in extreme poverty in contemporary France -- Zadie Smith * Observer *
Even in the wake of Knausgaard and Ferrante it is hard to find a literary phenomenon that has swept Europe quite like the autobiographical project of Édouard Louis * LitHub *
An extraordinary autobiographical novel about class, violence and sexuality in France. It’s
a vivid, often brutal but immensely touching book that restores my faith in the power of literature -- Tash Aw
This is
the courageous story of an outsider, in equal parts frank, provocative and compelling -- Laura Garmeson * Financial Times *