Review: Happening

Happening by Annie Ernaux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Happening is a powerful book. It is a book that is brutal and visceral, and I did not realise quite how raw and intense Ernaux's writing can be. This is a memoirist at her best, with excerpts from diaries and subtle interjections from the present, the surreal nature of existence drawn out in a way that feels so sublime and fascinating.

Her experiences are, and will always be, foreign to me. My identity is too distinct from her. In this, I am uncertain how my responses compare to someone who relates to them more closely and fully.

I read this in one sitting. It is a short and arresting read. It hurts. It hurts and then it goes and it feels like life inked onto pages, tinged with a little bit of red.

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