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A review by drjreads
Shame by Annie Ernaux
3.0
Out of the six books I've completed in 2024, three of them were written by Annie Ernaux, an other I only heard about for the first time when she won the Nobel prize and figured I should check out her writing. I think this is going to be it for now, and maybe for good, because her style just doesn't seem to work for me.
Shame is a book that feels more like a catalog of memories. There are many lists, lots of facts (most of them trivial and inconsequential), and descriptions. The whole book builds up towards a specific date that we are constantly reminded is coming, a devastating memory for the narrator, only for the reader to finally get there and, in my case at least, feel baffled by its insignificance.
If the prose or style were great, I probably wouldn't feel as disappointed, but it's not. The book is written as though by a cleric, it's sterile and unemotional, much like "A Man's Place" (another of the author's books I read and didn't like). It makes sense that the one book by Ernaux I enjoyed, "Simple Passion", was also her most vulnerable and heartfelt. I guess this author for the most part is just not for me, so I'm off to explore someplace new.
Shame is a book that feels more like a catalog of memories. There are many lists, lots of facts (most of them trivial and inconsequential), and descriptions. The whole book builds up towards a specific date that we are constantly reminded is coming, a devastating memory for the narrator, only for the reader to finally get there and, in my case at least, feel baffled by its insignificance.
If the prose or style were great, I probably wouldn't feel as disappointed, but it's not. The book is written as though by a cleric, it's sterile and unemotional, much like "A Man's Place" (another of the author's books I read and didn't like). It makes sense that the one book by Ernaux I enjoyed, "Simple Passion", was also her most vulnerable and heartfelt. I guess this author for the most part is just not for me, so I'm off to explore someplace new.