And tied together with the beautiful idea of our own life being projected on strangers, of seeking and getting a deeper understanding of the self by being observant about others. As per I find Ernaux sometimes illuminating, but mostly less than impressive and at times, pretentious. Ez a nyolc év az ingázásnak, a bevásárlásnak, a fodrásznál töltött időnek a történéseit örökíti meg nagyrészt, innen származik az élményanyag.

Overall I really like the writing style of Ernaux and the social perspective that is apparent in her writing. I’ve been thinking a lot whether the reason I like this style of writing so much is because it’s so disjointed and easy to process.Taking the form of random journal entries over the course of seven years, Exteriors concentrates on the ephemeral encounters that take place just on the periphery of a person's lived environment. Taking the form of random journal entries over the course of seven years, Exteriors concentrates on the ephemeral encounters that take place just on the periphery of a person’s lived environment. This may sometimes, though not always be true since I have acquired the mental habit not only of experiencing emotions but of 'getting them into perspective'. Taking the form of random journal entries over the course of seven years, Exteriors concentrates on the ephemeral encounters that take place just on the periphery of a person’s lived environment. I say that because it seems as if she wrote this book primarily to sustain the edge of her wonderful restrained, understated style of writing.

I n a few years from now, in the middle of hypermarkets, we shall probably see cinema screens, promotional lectures on painting or literature, maybe even lessons on computers.

Of all of Annie Ernaux’s books that I have read (I am about halfway through Annie Ernaux: The Unboxed Set comprising 12 books), I venture to say Exteriors might be her most self-indulgent. I was tired of wearing the same couple over and over again, but I didn’t want to blow the bank on something extravagant. I’ refers to oneself, the reader, and it is inconceivable, or unthinkable, for me to read my own horoscope and behave like some mushy schoolgirl. I look around the train, glancing the same old sea of faces staring at black mirrors (this is a tired description, and I’m leaving it there). On a sunny day like today, the seams of buildings lacerate the sky, the glass surfaces radiate light.

As much as I appreciated certain observations and the matter of fact writing, I felt like the book was perhaps too short. One of Ernaux’s most idiosyncratic qualities is how she never lets us forget her role as author (a sort of postmodern Tristram Shandy). Most of the pieces arise from rail trips between Paris and her home in Cergy-Pontoise, ""a new town 40 kilometers outside of Paris. I do like the smart and courageous writing of Annie Ernaux, but I could have taken a pass from reading these snippets taken from her journal and never felt anything missing from my life. By upsetting our complacency, she encourages readers to continually question her writing, and thus art generally.Again, she draws on diary entries she wrote while commuting on the Paris Métro, usually just observing strangers, and seeing how they help her reflect on her own life. Exteriors, Fitzcarraldo’s latest translation from the oeuvre of Annie Ernaux, consists of a series of fragmented paragraphs depicting things seen in the world, all taken from diaries kept between 1985 and 1992. Her other works include Exteriors, A Girl's Story, A Woman's Story, The Possession, Simple Passion, Happening, I Remain in Darkness, Shame, A Frozen Woman, and A Man's Place. They are the briefest of vignettes, often observations on the train or at one or other of the various supermarkets she visits.