Esther
2024년 4월 2일
"a story of love and longing in the sparse, elegant style"
2022년 노벨상을 수상한 Annie Ernaux를 개인적으로 처음 접하게 되는 작품입니다.
어떤 한 사람을 위해서 모든 것을 소모할 수 있었던 시간들에 대해서 벌거벗은 듯 솔직하게 쓴 글입니다. 단순하지만 생각해보면 수모스러울 수도 있는 시간들입니다. 동시에 비슷한 경험을 한 번씩은 하게 되는 다른 사람들을 가까이에서 이해하게 되는 시간들일 수도 있지만, 타인을 이해하기 위한 방법은 꼭 “단순한 열정”을 통한 것이 아닌, 여러가지가 있을 수 있겠습니다.
생각을 가다듬고 정리하려는 흉내라도 내보려고 글을 쓰는 뭇 사람들에게
어떤 글로 읽힐지 궁금합니다.
Quotes:
“the man we love is a complete stranger.”
“I experienced pleasure like a future pain.”
“I felt that time was no longer taking me anywhere, it only made me grow old.”
“To go on writing is also a means of delaying the trauma of giving this to others to read.”
“Yet it is that surreal, almost non-existent last visit that gives my passion its true meaning, which is precisely to be meaningless, and to have been for two years the most violent and unaccountable reality ever.“
“I discovered what people are capable of, in other words, anything: sublime or deadly desires, lack of dignity, attitudes and beliefs I had found absurd in others until I myself turned to them.”
Discussion questions:
* How does Ernaux’s blurring the lines between fiction and autobiography affect your interpretation of the novel and its themes?
* How does Ernaux depict desire and longing, and what insights do they offer into the human condition?
* How do feelings of guilt and shame shape her perception of herself and her actions?
* What does the title imply about the nature of desire and love explored in the narrative?
* How does the narrator’s raw honesty and introspection this authenticity contribute to the novel's impact on readers?