Written in journal form, Annie Ernaux's account of her mother's steady decline spans a period of nearly three years. When her mother first becomes ill, Ernaux takes her in. Soon, it becomes painfully obvious that professional help is needed. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, her mother enters a nursing home, never to leave. As it explores the complexities of death and parent-child role reversal, Ernaux's latest work takes its place on the shelf beside John Bayley's Elegy for Iris and Roger Kamenetz's Terra Infirma. "As revealed by Ernaux, the details of a loved one's deterioration have such emblematic force and terror that the particular becomes universal." - The New York Times Book Review
The author of some twenty works of fiction and memoir, Annie Ernaux is considered by many to be France鈥檚 most important writer. In 2022, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. She has also won the Prix Renaudot for A Man's Place and the Marguerite Yourcenar Prize for her body of work. More recently she received the International Strega Prize, the Prix Formentor, the French-American Translation Prize, and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation for The Years, which was also shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2019. 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.
Deserved winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize for Literature!
A heartfelt reflection on losing a parent to dementia, and all the pain the slow decline and the reversion of the roles of parent and child brings with it Right now, I would like her to be dead and free of such degradation
To grow old is to fade, to become transparant. writes about the dementia of her mother, in short burst of prose, like a diary. Good days can't weigh up against the gradual but inexorable decline of a loved one. Clipping once mothers nails, heaps of shit (literally), feelings of seeing what one will become once older (All that I have standing between me and death is my demented mother); this all make a poignant and touching read. Especially the lucid moments when her mother realises the changes, being heartbreaking. Reversion of the child-parent relationship (An agonizing reversal of roles between mother/child) are also impactful. The slow decline, with things becoming impossible, make this a hard but important book, if short.
鈥淚 remain in darkness鈥� was the last sentence my mother wrote.
Ruthlessly stark and brutally honest, written in the form of a diary, Ernaux recounts her experiences coping with her mother鈥檚 Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, witnessing her gradual decline and deterioration from 1983 to 1986.
No woman will ever be this close to me, it鈥檚 like she鈥檚 inside me.
As we read the entries of the diary, we sense Ernaux鈥檚 love towards her mother, but also her frustration, her anger and her fear of getting old like her, being helpless and infantile.
The situation is reversed, now she is my little girl. I CANNOT be her mother.
She loves her mother, deeply, tenderly, but also remembers her strictness, severity and violence. She remembers the good and the bad. She remembers her mother slapping her or preferring her dead sister to her. But then鈥�
As I bend forward to check the safety catch of my mother鈥檚 wheelchair, she leans over and kisses my hair. How can I survive that kiss, such love, my mother, my mother.
This is a story about an agonizing reversal of roles between mother and child.
La m猫re d鈥橝nnie Ernaux est morte en 1986 de la maladie d鈥橝lzheimer. Elle a commenc茅 脿 pr茅senter des troubles quelques ann茅es auparavant. Ce court r茅cit 茅voque, sous la forme du journal intime, la longue et douloureuse descente de cette femme vers la mort.
Ce qui frappe le plus ici, ou plut么t ce qui glace le sang, c鈥檈st la mani猫re qu鈥檃 l鈥檃uteure de d茅crire l鈥櫭﹙olution de la maladie. Sa prose n鈥櫭﹑argne rien, met le doigt l脿 ou cela fait le plus mal. C鈥檈st le registre fid猫le et atroce de tous les 茅branlements affectifs d鈥檜ne fille qui voit sa m猫re partir progressivement, d茅labr茅e, d茅truite par la maladie : d鈥檃bord les pertes de m茅moire, d鈥櫭﹒uilibre, d鈥檃pp茅tit, la confusion mentale, les d茅lires et l鈥檃nxi茅t茅, puis l鈥檌ncapacit茅 progressive de prendre soin de soi, de se retenir, de marcher, de parler, de se nourrir. L鈥檜nivers semi-concentrationnaire de la maison de retraite est 茅galement d茅crit sans aucun m茅nagement. Bref, ce livre est franchement d茅primant.
En m锚me temps, la forme du r茅cit est fascinante. Annie Ernaux 茅crit 脿 la premi猫re personne, directement, apparemment sans artifice, sans aucun d茅tour et sans le truchement d鈥檜n narrateur ou d鈥檜n personnage, prenant des notes sur le vif : 芦 C鈥檈st dans la p茅riode o霉 elle 茅tait encore chez moi que je me suis mise 脿 noter sur des bouts de papier, sans date, des propos, des comportements de ma m猫re qui me remplissaient de terreur. [鈥 J鈥櫭ヽrivais tr猫s vite, dans la violence des sensations, sans r茅fl茅chir ni chercher d鈥檕rdre 禄 (p. 11). Et plus tard : 芦 Quand j鈥櫭ヽris toutes ces choses, j鈥櫭ヽris le plus vite possible (comme si c鈥櫭﹖ait mal), et sans penser aux mots que j鈥檈mploie 禄 (p. 92).
Cependant malgr茅 ce c么t茅 spontan茅, descriptif et plat, Annie Ernaux proc猫de aussi 脿 un travail de superposition narrative assez complexe : chaque description de l鈥櫭﹖at se sa m猫re est l鈥檕ccasion d鈥檜ne sorte de d茅doublement o霉 la fille est horrifi茅e de voir son avenir dans le pr茅sent de la m猫re. Mais c鈥檈st encore l鈥檕ccasion presque syst茅matique d鈥檜n souvenir, d鈥檜n retour sur le pass茅, sur l鈥檈nfance de l鈥檃uteure. En somme, la d茅ch茅ance progressive de la m猫re est comme une petite madeleine de Proust pour la fille.
En outre, Je ne suis pas sortie doit sans doute se lire dans le contexte de l鈥檈nsemble de l鈥櫯搖vre d鈥橝nnie Ernaux, car il renvoie 脿 d鈥檃utres textes, notamment , qui est 茅galement centr茅 sur la vie de sa m猫re, mais aussi 脿 et , dans la mesure ou cet 茅v茅nement est contemporain de l鈥檃venture amoureuse d茅crite dans ces deux autres r茅cits. Et plus largement, il convient sans doute de le replacer dans le contexte litt茅raire de l鈥檃utofiction, de la biographie ou de la confession, dont les racines remontent au moins 脿 , , ou .
Ce r茅cit de soi, donc, (j鈥檋茅site 脿 l鈥檃ppeler roman) se pr茅sente comme des pages arrach茅es 脿 un journal intime, t茅moignage subjectif et pris sur le vif, avec dates en t锚te, etc. Mais ce qui ajoute peut-锚tre encore 脿 la sensation de malaise de cette lecture, c鈥檈st qu鈥檌l ne s鈥檃git pas vraiment d鈥檜n journal intime, mais d鈥檜n texte publi茅 et market茅. Cette ambig眉it茅 donne au lecteur 脿 la fois l鈥檌mpression d鈥檜ne exp茅rience humaine traumatique saisie de mani猫re non-factice et presque non-litt茅raire, anti-litt茅raire, le contraire d鈥檜ne 芦 fabrication 禄, un geste d鈥檈xpression pur et courageux. Mais dans le m锚me temps, je n鈥檃i pu me d茅faire du sentiment d鈥櫭猼re le voyeur complice d鈥檜n acte passablement obsc猫ne o霉 la narratrice objectifie le corps de sa m猫re mourante et exhibe ses propres r茅actions boulevers茅es. En somme, quelque chose comme un reality show sid茅rant et mortif猫re. Comme dit l鈥櫭ヽrivaine, 芦 茅crire sur sa m猫re pose forc茅ment le probl猫me de l鈥櫭ヽriture 禄 (p. 49).
"Escribir sobre la propia madre plantea, a la fuerza, el problema de la escritura".
Ernaux #7 del a帽o. Este es libro m谩s duro de la autora que he le铆do hasta ahora. Un diario sin modificaciones, un texto crudo y desgarrador en el que se intenta hacer sentido de uno de los eventos m谩s traum谩ticos a los que una persona puede enfrentarse: el deterioro y la muerte de la madre.
Siempre valiente, siempre franca, siempre con una honestidad brutal.
A sad bomb of a book that explodes in your heart, sending bits and pieces of emotional debris into your mind, nestling there, waiting to be replayed in your quietest and most peaceful moments. This book is fucked beyond belief, for those of us that share a fascination with its morbid theme (and a quick look at my favourites shelf will show that I am right there with you all): death.
What an empty fucking thing to say - a book has the theme of death. Cool. So what? What does it actually mean? I can鈥檛 tell you. I just see death in every single sentence. Humiliation. Shame repeats itself. Growing so old that you feel (and most likely are) a burden on everyone, almost daily. You piss your pants, maybe let go of a fart and shit yourself. Unadulterated, uncensored pain. This book pained me so much, and that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 a good work of art. Honestly - it鈥檚 one of the shortest books you can read. Under 100 pages. That didn鈥檛 stop me from putting it down every 2-3 pages and coming back hours later. At its core, I see Ernaux dealing with her mother鈥檚 dementia and decline as a potential road that I could walk down in the future, taking care of my own parents, being taken care of. My heart wrenches and my throat bulges, feeling like I鈥檓 about to vomit tears. The first competent people (if you鈥檙e lucky) in your life start to go down the drain. Now they are the kids that hang on to you, so dependent on your every move. You have to kill your idols, forcefully. Maybe you killed them a long time ago. All that remains is the husk of a person that you projected all your insecurities and demons on to. You blame them for everything (jokingly or seriously), crediting them with precious little. Now they are taking a shit and shoving it in a drawer at a nursing home. Everything they own is gone, and the shitty (!) tarp-like gown they wear is embarrassing and exposing.
Perhaps the single most poignant image that will remain for me from this literary grenade is this: Ernaux leaving her mother after a visit, rushing to the elevator. Her mother follows. She stands outside, looking betrayed, pained, confused, scared. The double doors start to slam shut, this face searing itself into Ernaux鈥檚 memory. She feels guilt. Too much exposure to her mother will spell the end of her own life. She remembers the last sentence that her mother wrote: 鈥淚 remain in darkness.鈥�
A couple of quotes from this one:
鈥淚 must not give in to emotion as I write about her.鈥�
First published in French in 1997 and republished in English by Fitzcarraldo Editions, I Remain in Darkness is a harrowing, excruciating account of a loved one鈥檚 decline from Alzheimers. A companion to another short work by Ennaux titled 鈥楢 Man鈥檚 Place鈥�, which centres around her Father, I Remain in Darkness is a rumination of her Mother鈥檚 descent from the disease; documenting the onset, development and climax over a period of three years.
Given its short form, this book was extremely onerous to read. Not due to any lack of quality or insipidity, but as a result of its sheer sorrow and anguish. Consequently, it makes it considerably difficult to scrutinize; and even harder to convey its utter brilliance in capturing the nature of such a devastating illness; particularly if you have had experience of it directly in your own life.
An epistolary, in which Ennaux documented visits in hospitals and homes from 1983-1986, you feel every ounce of pain in every word forcefully. It is unswerving and terse; evocative and overbearingly nostalgic, much like the disease in itself.
A meditation on familial love and heartache; Ennaux effortlessly portrays the grief and torment Alzheimer's dishes out to the sufferer and the suffering. How time disappears, how vivid memories engulf the relative and 鈥榯he agonising reversal of roles between mother/child鈥�. The questions it imposes inexorably: 鈥榃hat does she remember now of her life?鈥� 鈥榃hat does life mean to her now?鈥�. How it begins to consume those watching their relative disappear, pushing them too closer to death: 鈥楳y mother鈥檚 colour is fading. To grow old is to fade, to become transparent鈥�.
Having experienced a close relative go through this disease, I was often perplexed at the uncanny situations while visiting her mother. The petrifying and disturbing hallucinations from her mother of people she has apparently seen or people she has apparently spoken to, yet so vivid in how they are told that your own sense begins to blur. The grim descriptions of the home in which death lingers: 鈥榦dour of piss and shit鈥�, the deranged screams of other residents; and the agonizing sights of their souls painstakingly slipping beyond reach: 鈥榓n emaciated woman, a phantom from Buchenwald鈥�.
The complexities faced by those 鈥榮ane鈥� of mind are also deftly summated. The devastating emotional abyss you are cast into. Feelings of sadness, hope, grief, guilt and anger. Those subtleties of the former self breaking through to reveal previous character flaws - her previous bad temper, her 鈥榖rutal and inflexible鈥� nature, so that you still resent them, but know you shouldn't given their current state.
An absolutely stunning book, both unnerving and beautiful. It will leave a mark on you.
鈥淚 remain in darkness鈥� was the last sentence my mother wrote.
I seem to be quietly haunted by the voice of Annie Eernaux. I like big books, and have recently read a few of them; I just yesterday finished a big violent tome, LA Confidential, took me weeks to read, and today I listened to this in a couple hours, in a quietly controlled voice full of barely contained anguish and grief. This is the third book from Ernaux I have read in the last week. The first, A Man鈥檚 Place, was written after the death of her father, and then I read the even more intense tale of her mother鈥檚 life and death, A Woman鈥檚 Story. Her loving connection to her mother was intense, but quietly--I keep saying this word, but it is a deliberate stylistic choice for her--was anguished.
Ernaux writes about the process of writing about her most personal experiences in what seems to be a series of very short novels. She sometimes will write things such as: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 allow my emotions to carry me away,鈥� and she almost angrily rejects fiction, or anything remotely 鈥渓iterary鈥� in her depiction of her simple, working-class parents. At one point she cries out against the failure of literature to heal anyone or anything. She needs to simply tell what she experiences in as straightforward an approach as possible.
鈥淚 am incapable of producing books that are not precisely that 鈥� an attempt to salvage part of our lives, to understand, but first to salvage. . . I鈥檒l have to tell her story in order to 鈥榙istance myself from it鈥�.鈥�
Ernaux鈥檚 mother died after a two or three stretch of years of decline from Alzheimer鈥檚, where the mother and daughter in a sense trade places the daughter becoming the caregiving 鈥渕other鈥� to her mother. And she does not look away as the mother she loved more than anyone else falls apart. The grief is overwhelming when death finally comes and it is more moving because she has been as cool and distanced as possible as she documents the journey.
I keep saying this: There is nothing all that surprising in these books, but there is an elegant anguish and regret and sorrow that weaves its way through these few pages. I knew from A Woman's Journey how Ernaux鈥檚 mother died, but I felt compelled to read the closer look at the decline and death in part from that title. And in part because I have a good friend, a neighbor, who I am watching in rapid decline from Alzheimer鈥檚, and I have two older siblings in nursing facilities who no longer know who I am, also victims of this cruel disorder.
I already have other Ernaux books lined up that constitute a kind of episodic patchwork of an autobiography and meditation on the power and limitations of writing.
'I Remain in Darkness' is the transcription of Annie Ernaux鈥檚 diaries entries from the time her mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, until her death. It is a heart wrenching depiction of the illness, in general, but mainly an exploration of grief and coping as Ernaux tries to reconcile the image of a violent, angry, vivacious woman with the weathering body of her aging, dying mother; the conflicting feelings between love and hate that emerge from a complicated relationship; and the similarities between herself and her mother, the fear that she鈥檚 watching her own future unfold through her mother.
As usual, Ernaux doesn鈥檛 shy away from the realness and bleakness of a topic such as this, however, I felt the text was a bit clunky and (perhaps purposely) cold, lacking the feeling that the subject matter seemed to dictate.
Alzheimer鈥檚 is terrible and cruel. Here Ernaux recounts the two and half years of her mother鈥檚 illness, her gradual decline and Ernaux鈥檚 own experience in dealing with this.
I really wish I could read Ernaux in French, but sadly not at this point in my life. Maybe in the future? So we trust in Tanya Leslie鈥檚 translations, who I鈥檓 sure has done a wonderful job.
Ernaux has such a profoundly simple, yet beautiful, and then at moments devastating style of prose. I very much appreciate her work.
N茫o tenho palavras para este livro, sei que nada do que eu escrever vai fazer justi莽a a "N茫o sa铆 da minha noite".
Mais uma vez, de uma forma extremamente crua, sem floreados, e retratando uma experi锚ncia muito pessoal, Annie Ernaux fala de todos n贸s. De n贸s, que temos ou j谩 tivemos um familiar com Alzheimer. De n贸s, que vimos um ente querido a definhar de dia para dia, a desesperar por n茫o saber quem era, onde estava. Mais uma vez, mesmo que seja atrav茅s de uma escrita simples, nada rebuscada, Annie Ernaux escreve sobre ela e sobre n贸s. A absoluta genialidade desta mulher de pegar numa experi锚ncia t茫o pessoal, t茫o 铆ntima, e transform谩-la em algo universal, t茫o humano.
"N茫o sa铆 da minha noite" 茅 um retrato muito humano, muito real, muito triste do que 茅 testemunhar o dia-a-dia de algu茅m que sofre da doen莽a de Alzheimer. S茫o os pensamentos de Annie Ernaux enquanto v锚 a m茫e desaparecer, a definhar. N茫o s茫o textos bonitos e foi um dos livros mais dif铆ceis da autora que j谩 li, precisamente por ser t茫o duro e t茫o cru.
Quando descobrimos o significado do t铆tulo... 茅 de partir o cora莽茫o 馃ズ
Annie Ernaux j谩 se consolidou como uma das minhas autoras favoritas, uma das minhas maiores inspira莽玫es. N茫o sei qual 茅 a magia de Annie Ernaux, mas sempre que a estou a ler acabo por tamb茅m escrever sobre a minha pr贸pria vida (mas nunca vou ser uma Annie Ernaux porque ela escreve frases curtas e textos curtos, e eu s贸 sei escrever testamentos).
Este 茅 um dos livros mais tristes de Annie Ernaux e nunca me deixa de maravilhar a capacidade que a autora tem de transformar os momentos mais tristes em algo t茫o bonito e t茫o profundo. T茫o carregado de emo莽茫o, mesmo que atrav茅s de uma escrita crua.
"N茫o sa铆 da minha noite" tornou-se num dos meus livros favoritos da autora e tenho cada vez mais a certeza que Annie Ernaux 茅 uma das escritoras da minha vida 鉂わ笍 (quando for grande, quero ser como a Annie Ernaux 馃ス)
Ein trauriges, ein liebevolles, ein klarsichtiges Buch 眉ber den Abschied von der Mutter. Ein erster Abschied als die Mutter sich in der Demenz ver盲ndert und wieder hilfsbed眉rftiges Kind wird, der zweite Abschied beim Tod der Mutter. Dennoch ein tr枚stliches Buch.
beaucoup de difficult茅s 脿 noter un livre pareil (la meuf t'explique pendant 120 pages que sa m猫re est morte dans ses propres excr茅ments je me vois difficilement dire "deux 茅toiles intrigue pas assez palpitante" t'as capt茅), mais je dois admettre que le malaise que j'ai 茅prouv茅 脿 ma lecture n'a fait que cro卯tre avec le recul. 茅videmment il appartient 脿 Annie Ernaux de raconter la d茅pendance et la maladie de sa m猫re comme elle l'entend, et 莽a fait trop longtemps que j'茅cris et 茅dite des livres pour me sentir une quelconque pertinence 脿 juger sa d茅marche voyeuriste ou non (on l'est tous quand on 茅crit 脿 divers degr茅s, honn锚tement), n'en reste pas moins que j'ai trouv茅 le livre g锚nant, crispant, avilissant, et c'est probablement le but hein I mean old age is a curse, mais pr茅cis茅ment je sais juste pas si c'est de ce genre d'ouvrages sur la vieillesse dont j'ai envie et besoin. je ne nie pas la r茅alit茅 de la grande d茅pendance et du d茅nuement, mais peut-锚tre on peut raconter d'autres histoires pour pr茅parer nos futurs, et imaginer comment s'occuper de ceux qui deviendront bient么t vieux autour de nous je sais pas peut-锚tre je suis id茅aliste tsais mais voil脿, ce livre qui n'en est pas vraiment un mais litt茅ralement le journal qu'AE tenait 脿 l'茅poque me semble au mieux maladroit au pire pas bienvenu, je me dis qu'脿 la place de la m猫re de l'autrice j'aurais vraiment pas kiff茅 qu'on raconte tout 莽a de moi. ouais je suis la censure tout ce que vous voulez, tant pis. seul le titre est beau, vraiment beau, et je dis pas que la litt茅rature doit 锚tre belle hein on peut raconter l'horreur le glauque et le path茅tique dieu sait que je le fais moi-m锚me et pas qu'un peu, mais voil脿, quand c'est juste pour raconter 脿 quel point ta m猫re se faisait caca dessus avant de mourir pendant que tu culpabilises de continuer 脿 vivre ta vie et de baiser un mec plus jeune je sais pas bref, 莽a m'a un peu saoul茅e tbh, je crois qu'avec les ann茅es je deviens de moins en moins fan d'Annie Ernaux, probablement pck j'en sais plus sur la personne, sur la fa莽on dont elle utilise le pacte de confiance entre elle et ses lecteurs, sur les r茅cits aussi qu'elle peut r茅arranger 脿 son avantage et les engagements politiques qu'elle refuse de prendre. qu'on se comprenne bien : je la respecte toujours, grande 茅crivaine, bravo le Nobel, mais je ne l'admire peut-锚tre plus. d'aucuns diraient que grandir, c'est faire descendre ses idoles de leur pi茅destal - je dirais que grandir, c'est surtout en trouver d'autres 脿 faire monter encore plus haut. plus je grandis, plus mes idoles sont radicales, marginales, plus elles s'茅loignent du consensus et des postures dont, je trouve, AE est un peu trop friande, et je trouve 莽a beau.
Una grande prova di coraggio scrivere di vicende cos矛 intime e personali. Con il consueto stile scarno e disincantato la Ernaux racconta gli ultimi anni di vita della madre affetta dalla terribile malattia. Il rapporto tra madre e figlia 猫 quanto di pi霉 complesso e misterioso, origine di drammi e conflitti che non si esauriscono con il tempo e neppure con la morte. Noi maschi non possiano capirlo. Qui poi c'猫 la tragedia della vecchiaia, questo invisibile veleno che pian-piano si insinua nella nostra vita e la consuma. Morire giovani 猫 un dispiacere, ma diventare vecchi 猫 un dramma, specialmente se l'ultima parte della vita viene vissuta in condizioni di assoluta mancanza di coscienza e quindi di dignit脿. I progressi della medicina, il testamento biologico, l'eutanasia: riuscir脿 l'uomo ad eliminare la vecchiaia? Non 猫 la morte il peggiore dei mali.
Mi primer libro de Ernaux. No decepcion贸. Resalto la prosa minimalista y al punto. A la idea concisa. Una especie de cuaderno de notas que se amalgama en una obra cruda, que da al lector un golpe de realidad acerca del paso del tiempo y de su desborde y fuerza inmisericorde sobre las cosas, pero principalmente sobre los seres que mas apreciamos (o no), y su ef铆mero recuerdo.
Naslov je posljednja re膷enica koju je autori膷ina majka napisala. Kako i pi拧e na koricama knjige: 鈥濧nnie Ernaux njegovala je majku oboljelu od Alzheimerove bolesti. Kada je majka smje拧tena u dom, ondje je redovno posje膰uje. Svaki posjet otvara novu bol, i svakim se posjetom majka sve vi拧e udaljava od svijeta i od nje.鈥�, ne mo啪emo ne naslutiti 拧to nas u ovoj knji啪ici od niti 100 stranica 膷eka.
Ernaux ispisuje posljednje mjesece i dane maj膷ina 啪ivota i stvara dnevnik s kojim si poku拧ava olak拧ati situaciju u kojoj se nalazi. Nada se da 膰e nekada u budu膰nosti, 膷itaju膰i retke u kojima opisuje susrete s dementnom majkom, isti pomo膰i oko prihva膰anja, boljeg razumijevanja sebe i njihovog odnosa. Razumijevanja u kona膷nici sebe i svih osje膰aja koje je kroz 啪ivot uz majku povezivala i do啪ivjela.
Dubina emocija koje autorica osje膰a opipljivi su toliko da diraju one koji se usude, skoro poput voajera, pro膰i njihove zajedni膷ki provedene sate. Stilski vrlo hladno, kratkih re膷enica ponekad nerazumljivih 膷itatelju ne umanjuju te啪inu trenutaka koje autorica prenosi.
鈥濲er bol ne mo啪e拧 talo啪iti. Mora拧 je okrenuti na 拧alu.鈥�
Uhvatila sam ovu knjigu samo da virnem i nisam ju mogla ispustiti, morala sam ju dovr拧iti i pro膰i uz autoricu ono 拧to svi dotaknuti demencijom prolaze. Tuga, ljutnja, nemo膰... Tri su suputnika na tom putu zaborava...
鈥濪anas je sve zvu膷alo kao nekakav koncert, kao 啪ivot koji hlapi br啪e nego ina膷e dok se upinje da potraje.鈥�
Quando a vida segue o seu curso natural h谩 uma fase em que os pais podem come莽ar a precisar da ajuda dos filhos. Gradualmente, ou de forma mais abrupta, os pap茅is invertem-se. Quando se trata de uma doen莽a como dem锚ncia ou Alzheimer, al茅m das dificuldades f铆sicas, h谩 tamb茅m uma degrada莽茫o que leva ao desaparecimento da identidade.
Annie Ernaux, revela neste livro o di谩rio que escreveu ao longo de quase tr锚s anos, os 煤ltimos anos de vida da sua m茫e. Depois das visitas que fazia ao lar onde estava internada, registava os sinais do agravamento da doen莽a de Alzheimer mas tamb茅m os seus pr贸prios sentimentos.
Um registo cru e honesto, ao jeito de Annie Ernaux, muito tocante e comovente. Um livro muito triste e duro, carregado de emo莽茫o, a provar que a sua forma de escrita 茅 poderosa e impactante.
鈥淲here are the eyes of my childhood, those fearful eyes she had thirty years ago, the eyes that made me?鈥�
This super short (somewhat scatalogical) book is actually a candid compilation of diary entries over a period of four years from the time Ernaux's mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's till her death. Its emotional power has a distinct rawness which emerges from the almost detached narration of events, a direct earnestness, around her mother's increasing debilitation. It bares the conflicted feelings that Ernaux has for her and their obviously complicated relationship. This was my first book by her and I am really interested in reading more of her work now.
L'he hagut d'acabar en un dia perqu猫 no volia estar m茅s d'un dia trista i plorant. M'ha fet plorar tant, que sovint he hagut de parar de llegir perqu猫 no podia m茅s. Annie Ernaux m'ofega. I jo continuaria llegint-la mil vegades m茅s. 脡s incre茂ble. Avui estava pensant que m'encantaria algun dia arribar a escriure com ella, encara que el millor regal de tots i el millor que m'ha pogut passar mai com a lectora ha sigut descobrir-la. No vull dir res del llibre, no tinc res a dir. La seva escriptura m'ha deixat muda. Nom茅s em queda plorar la resta del dia i pensar que el dia que em torni boja del tot ser脿 el dia que no la pugui llegir.
Uuuf. Libro (para m铆) de muy dif铆cil lectura, ya no por lo duro (que lo es, como la vida misma) sino porque con dolor, la autora escribe dando saltos. De un tema a otro. De una idea a otra, obviamente con la dificultad que nos supone pensar con claridad en momentos duros. Pero para el lector, un tedio.
Pag 113: no me est谩 gustando... muchas ganas de terminarlo. Se me hace pesado y largo y no s茅, tampoco me llega tan hondo.
Por un lado, pienso: creo que la autora deber铆a, para haber sido un libro bueno, haber rele铆do y haber pasado a limpio el libro. Ha impreso el borrador y eso le quita estrellas y calidad al relato. Hay notas sin explicar y tambi茅n muchos apuntes de "extender esta idea" que hacen del libro un mero borrador.
Por otro lado: 驴qui茅n soy yo para juzgarla? Se trata de la muerte de su madre, est谩 bien as铆.
Un diario, un relato como el residuo de un dolor. Sab铆a a lo que me enfrentaba, un relato sobre la degradaci贸n de una madre aquejada de Alzheimer contado por su hija. Es una historia dura para quien la sufre, y creo no es un libro para cualquier lector. Mi puntuaci贸n no se basa en la historia, en la enfermedad, (todo lo que conlleva y provoca), no me refiero a lo que narra la autora, sino c贸mo est谩 narrado. Quiz谩s sea yo, o no era el momento de leer este relato, pero a m铆 no me ha llegado, no me ha transmitido, sinceramente me ha dejado fr铆a.