When

was published in 1984, it received not only critical acclaim and a literary prize (the Prix Renaudot), it was also a best-seller and has remained the best-known of Annie Ernaux’s fifteen published works, having sold approximately half a million copies and been translated into sixteen languages. A short and deceptively simple autobiographical narrative,

tells two interwoven stories: the death of Ernaux’s father, and the experience of both Ernaux and her parents of moving from one social class to another, and how this affects their relationships with one another. In the case of the parents, this involves moving from their previous jobs as agricultural labourers and/or factory workers to become small business owners, running a moderately successful

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Citation: Fell, Alison S.. "La place". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 July 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23255, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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