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|title=A Woman's Story

|sort=Woman's Story, A

|publisher=Quartet Books

|date=April 2014

|summary=Annie Ernaux's memoir was written in the immediate aftermath of her mother's death. Yet the book suffers from its cold and 'objective approach', which frequently disperses the gathering warmth. Nevertheless, its brutal (and brief) portrayal of Alzheimer's Disease is powerful stuff.

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After spending two years in an old people's home, Annie Ernaux's mother finally succumbs to Alzheimer's Disease. It has been a terrifyingly protracted end, and one that has spawned feelings of absolute helplessness in her daughter, who watched as her mother's life crumbled before an 'imagination' that bore 'no relation to reality'. Yet Ernaux's distress is also fuelled by the realisation that she'll 'never hear the sound of her [mother's] voice again', and by the fact that the fraying bond between the present and the past has finally been 'severed'. Impulsively, Ernaux decides to recreate that past, hoping to 'bring her [mother back] into the world' through a piece of writing. In short, she is 'incapable of doing anything else'.

Yet there can be no doubt that this was a difficult book to write. Yes, it would have benefited from a more in-depth analysis of her mother's character, but we must remember that it was written in the immediate (and topsy-turvy) aftermath of her mother's death. To create a character in the manner of Henry James would've been impossible. Nevertheless, Ernaux's objective approach doesn't allow us to view her mother properly, which is a shame, as she seems like a really prickly and interesting woman. Ultimately, though, Ernaux should be applauded, because the last fifteen pages, which document her mother's slide into Alzheimer's, are a sad and poignant account of a terrible disease. And Ernaux should take credit for that, for her book allows her mother's life to transcend its alarming end. In fact, it really does help bring her back into the world.

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