Getting Lost
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- Create Date：2022-10-08 10:51:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Annie Ernaux
- ISBN：1644212196
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Summary
The diary of one of France’s most important， award-winning writers during the year she had a passionate and secret love affair with a Russian diplomat。
Getting Lost is the diary Annie Ernaux kept during the year and a half she had a secret love affair with a younger， married man， a Russian diplomat。 Her novel， Simple Passion， was based on this affair， but here her writing is immediate， unfiltered。 In these diaries it is 1989 and Annie is divorced with two grown sons， living outside of Paris and nearing fifty。 Her lover escapes the city to see her there and Ernaux seems to survive only in expectation of these encounters， saying “his desire for me is the only thing I can be sure of。” She cannot write， she trudges distractedly through her various other commitments in the world， she awaits his next call; she lives only to feel desire and for the next rendezvous。 When he is gone and the desire has faded， she feels that she is a step closer to death。
Lauded for her spare prose， Ernaux here removes all artifice， her writing pared down to its most naked and vulnerable。 Getting Lost is as strong a book as any that she has written， a haunting， desperate view of strong and successful woman who seduces a man only to lose herself in love and desire。
Getting Lost is the diary Annie Ernaux kept during the year and a half she had a secret love affair with a younger， married man， a Russian diplomat。 Her novel， Simple Passion， was based on this affair， but here her writing is immediate， unfiltered。 In these diaries it is 1989 and Annie is divorced with two grown sons， living outside of Paris and nearing fifty。 Her lover escapes the city to see her there and Ernaux seems to survive only in expectation of these encounters， saying “his desire for me is the only thing I can be sure of。” She cannot write， she trudges distractedly through her various other commitments in the world， she awaits his next call; she lives only to feel desire and for the next rendezvous。 When he is gone and the desire has faded， she feels that she is a step closer to death。
Lauded for her spare prose， Ernaux here removes all artifice， her writing pared down to its most naked and vulnerable。 Getting Lost is as strong a book as any that she has written， a haunting， desperate view of strong and successful woman who seduces a man only to lose herself in love and desire。
Reviews
©hrissie ❁ [1st week on campus-somewhat run-down]
，
Something happened today。 Something beautiful。Not only did Annie Ernaux win the Nobel Prize for Literature 2022， but I also， well — I did something somewhat mad， something of mad intensity: mere hours after the announcement， I went up to my professor – thinking: what am I doing？ – and asked him whether he would kindly allow me a few minutes during our creative writing session – part of which was dealing with memoir – to present the formidable French woman of letters to the class and share with t Something happened today。 Something beautiful。Not only did Annie Ernaux win the Nobel Prize for Literature 2022， but I also， well — I did something somewhat mad， something of mad intensity: mere hours after the announcement， I went up to my professor – thinking: what am I doing？ – and asked him whether he would kindly allow me a few minutes during our creative writing session – part of which was dealing with memoir – to present the formidable French woman of letters to the class and share with them my experience of reading Annie Ernaux， as well as some of her reflections on writing。 He said yes: we must celebrate extraordinary writers。 He is lovely。 It was lovely。 Of course， I had just finished reading Alison Strayer’s translation of Ernaux’s Getting Lost， published on September 21。 But who would have told me that Ernaux would be awarded the Nobel Prize？ Ecstatic was my state of being， and still is。 ‘This is a notebook full of sorrow， with few glimmers of wild delight。’ Whilst Getting Lost is by no means the apotheosis of Ernaux’s writing， it is of immense value when read alongside her Simple Passion， the two texts constituting the multi-layered and variously reworked experience of her intense – beautiful and annihilating – love affair with a Russian diplomat （‘S’ in GL， ‘A’ in SP） between October 1988 and November 1989， against the backdrop of the approaching Fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany， following which he returns to Russia。 Though the journal version， Getting Lost， presents material of miscellaneous quality – references to art， music， and her literary muses; her travels for writing events and conferences – the passionate affair remains its core centre。 In her Preface to the text， written in 2000 prior to its original publication， Ernaux notes that S ‘embodied the principle， wondrous and terrifying， of desire， of death and writing’; and connotes their sexual experience to the sublime。 Very reminiscent of Simple Passion， therefore， in which the idea of ‘living this passion to the limit’， of being ‘caught between fusion and the return to self’ and remaining ‘entangled with this presence’ feature most prominently: Eros Thanatos， in other words。 Likewise spare but naked and forthright in its confessions， Getting Lost does however come across as being less given to compressed and articulate self-analysis， perhaps more sordidly repetitive。 And this in line with the daily experiencing of the Waiting – compulsive and unbearable – for his next phone call， his next visit – both increasingly spaced out， the details of his pres-absences obsessively pondered and noted in her entries。 This is not to say that she does not， say， write down lists to review and analyse her relationship with men and the extent to which she understands herself to be ‘under the rule of passion’; inhabiting the ‘hell of the senses’。 But there is， understandably， the humdrum dullness of everyday living， a less searching gaze， perhaps， though still remarkably controlled， affectively available and giving in her writing， which here also notes her dreams and nightmares， as they become one with her own trance-like existence。 Indeed， very much in the vein of her experimental， personalising and distinctive work on memoir， she also indicates – at one point – that ‘[w]hat I wrote above is not really accurate’。 She also wonders whether she ought to have added a right column with reinterpretations and enhancements to the journal entries。 Self-reflexivity， full frankness and stark sharing do return to some extent， therefore。 They re-find their way into her writing， symptomatic of a writer whose artistic project is intricately bound to her passion， to the acute intensity – alternated with ‘torpor’ and the ‘immense fatigue’ – defining this moment of Ernaux's being in the world， consumed by the passion of passions。 ‘When will I break through the paper hoop， be ready to go through the pain？’ Thanks go to NetGalley， publisher， author for granting me access to this ARC， in exchange for an honest review。 🌹 On October 6 2022， Annie Ernaux was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature， for ‘the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots， estrangements and collective restraints or personal memory。’ 🌹 。。。more
Jonathan
，
Finished this book just as Annie Ernaux was — deservedly — announced as the Nobel prize winner。 Her prose is at once painful， estranging and oddly sublime & I am very excited to read more of her work！
L’étagère de Mel
，
Un journal qui pourrait être le nôtre， une histoire dans laquelle on est， pour une fois， les analystes de la pensée d’Annie Ernaux。 Je lirai bientôt Passion simple pour comparer le discours de la romance！
Lucie
，
Sadly not my favourite Ernaux！
Tristan Sorenson
，
Perfect。 Ernaux is a genius。
Rebeca
，
Vivo para vivir， en este momento。 Para no perder nada de la vida pura， de esta pasión que va a desaparecer en verano （。。。） Al mismo tiempo， sé que esta sensación es la esencia misma del placer de vivir （o de haber vivido， o de seguir viva）。
Amanda
，
Annie Ernaux’s journal of her 18-month affair with a younger， married Russian diplomat。Powerful writing， loaded with raw emotion。 The memoir evokes the dizzying highs and lows of passion， an all-encompassing madness bringing the author’s writing career to a halt， and in which other women and even the lover’s compatriots are objects of extreme jealousy。 A passion interspersed increasingly with the agonies of waiting for the lover to come to her。Despite the ‘madness’ the author remains painfully s Annie Ernaux’s journal of her 18-month affair with a younger， married Russian diplomat。Powerful writing， loaded with raw emotion。 The memoir evokes the dizzying highs and lows of passion， an all-encompassing madness bringing the author’s writing career to a halt， and in which other women and even the lover’s compatriots are objects of extreme jealousy。 A passion interspersed increasingly with the agonies of waiting for the lover to come to her。Despite the ‘madness’ the author remains painfully self-aware， able to analyse her willingness to do anything， anytime for her lover， and to continue in a relationship when its end is too apparent。 。。。more
Sarah
，
Thanks to Fitzcarraldo Editions and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book。I hate giving ratings this low， as there are obviously people out there who will love this book - and who am I to judge an established writer such as Annie Ernaux？！ - but I did really struggle with it。 At first I was completely onboard because it reads like the angsty scribblings of a fifteen year old in the grips of first love （cough lust/infatuation）， and that is nothing if not ME - even at the ripe old age of 30; Thanks to Fitzcarraldo Editions and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this book。I hate giving ratings this low， as there are obviously people out there who will love this book - and who am I to judge an established writer such as Annie Ernaux？！ - but I did really struggle with it。 At first I was completely onboard because it reads like the angsty scribblings of a fifteen year old in the grips of first love （cough lust/infatuation）， and that is nothing if not ME - even at the ripe old age of 30; hence the two stars as opposed to one。 She says things like “it really makes no difference if he calls or not， the excruciating tension is the same” and “how do I go about this so that my attachment doesn’t show too quickly and so that the difficulty of keeping me becomes apparent to him， at least once in a while？” and （my favourite） “I’ll see him once again， and then break up” - which we’ve all said， haven’t we， knowing full well we won’t， even though he was/has always been a massive waste of time。 I felt not so alone or loser-y， but after realising that the entire book is the same three or four sentiments repeated over and over and over and over （you get the point） again， even I was inwardly begging her to dump him and move on。 Quite literally nothing apart from that happens， except for some weird dreams that she records and that I could probably interpret if I was a） more intellectual and b） had cared to by that point， which I really really didn’t。 Maybe I need to give one of her more novel-y titles a go？ I don’t think I’ll be attempting it any time soon though… 。。。more
Zana
，
Getting Lost' by Annie Ernaux was first published in French in 2001。 It's a diary the author kept in 1989， while having an affair with a younger， married man。 She was already an author then， and he was a Russian attaché at the Soviet embassy in Paris。In this diary， Ernaux documents the events that happened to her in the span of a year and a half in great detail。 Her passionate account of what happened during that time， her thoughts and emotions， were all written in a very raw and vulnerable way Getting Lost' by Annie Ernaux was first published in French in 2001。 It's a diary the author kept in 1989， while having an affair with a younger， married man。 She was already an author then， and he was a Russian attaché at the Soviet embassy in Paris。In this diary， Ernaux documents the events that happened to her in the span of a year and a half in great detail。 Her passionate account of what happened during that time， her thoughts and emotions， were all written in a very raw and vulnerable way。Reading her brutally honest and unedited diary entries can be gripping but also quite uncomfortable at times。 There were some truly beautiful passages in 'Getting Lost'， and at times the book almost reads as fiction。 My only critique would be that certain parts of the book and her feelings became very repetitive， but that's something you'd expect from reading someone's diary anyway。 The book was masterfully translated into English by Alison L。 Strayer。 It's a book fans of Ernaux will enjoy， but it's not one I'd recommend to people unfamiliar with her work。 Huge thanks to Fitzcarraldo Editions and Netgalley for the free digital ARC of 'Getting Lost' in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Cristina
，
Interesante lectura para comprender el proceso creativo de "Pura pasión" que leí no hace mucho。 Annie Ernaux anota en un diario los sentimientos y reflexiones que le provoca la relación amorosa que mantiene con un diplomático casado de la URSS durante el periodo que abarca desde el mes de septiembre de 1988 hasta el mes de abril de 1990 con la intención de utilizar todo este material para la escritura de una novela。Los estados de ánimo que refleja la escritora y el rol que adopta en la relación Interesante lectura para comprender el proceso creativo de "Pura pasión" que leí no hace mucho。 Annie Ernaux anota en un diario los sentimientos y reflexiones que le provoca la relación amorosa que mantiene con un diplomático casado de la URSS durante el periodo que abarca desde el mes de septiembre de 1988 hasta el mes de abril de 1990 con la intención de utilizar todo este material para la escritura de una novela。Los estados de ánimo que refleja la escritora y el rol que adopta en la relación que describe podrían servirnos para abordar temas como las relaciones tóxicas， el patriarcado， el deseo sexual， el orgullo， el egocentrismo， el narcisismo， el egoísmo， la libertad， el machismo， el riesgo， la obsesión， la reputación o el estatus。 Sorprende que， a pesar de la plena consciencia que demuestra la protagonista respecto a sus propios estados de ánimo en todo momento， no tome la decisión de romper la relación cuando debiera atendiendo a la angustia， la desesperación y la tristeza que sufre。Para mí Annie Ernaux es una escritora no de 5 estrellas sino de 20， por poner una cifra。 。。。more
Eena Macaspac
，
There were some lines that were so beautiful， but the tone got so repetitive for me， but then again， this was her diary and I really commend Annie Ernaux for sharing this piece with us。 There’s a line from the book that I think perfectly described my feelings when I was in the middle “…overwhelmed once again by dismayed fascination in the face of this blind phenomenon” for me this even perfectly described everything that’s happening in this book。There was awareness but you just know that if this There were some lines that were so beautiful， but the tone got so repetitive for me， but then again， this was her diary and I really commend Annie Ernaux for sharing this piece with us。 There’s a line from the book that I think perfectly described my feelings when I was in the middle “…overwhelmed once again by dismayed fascination in the face of this blind phenomenon” for me this even perfectly described everything that’s happening in this book。There was awareness but you just know that if this book is not set in the 80s-90s this will be red flagged。 It was written beautifully， but I think the fault is on me， I felt like it was too personal that I’m getting inside someone’s life and judging it unfairly。 In the end， maybe the fans of the author would love this and this shouldn’t have been my first Annie Ernaux book。Thanks to Fitzcarraldo Editions and NetGalley for letting me read the arc！ 。。。more
Cloé Lefrançois-Boyer
，
** À noter que j'ai lu l'édition de Gallimard **Dans ce livre， Annie Ernaux nous donne accès à son journal intime。 Date par date， sur plus d'un an。 Par moment， on ressent la profondeur de sa douleur。 À l'époque， je ne crois pas qu'on parlait de relation toxique。。。 En le lisant， aujourd'hui， je voyais tous les redflags se hisser bien haut。 Le genre de relation où elle est un pion amouraché d'un être égoïste。 C'est triste。 Dans ce livre， elle fait souvent référence à ses autres écrits。 Je crois qu ** À noter que j'ai lu l'édition de Gallimard **Dans ce livre， Annie Ernaux nous donne accès à son journal intime。 Date par date， sur plus d'un an。 Par moment， on ressent la profondeur de sa douleur。 À l'époque， je ne crois pas qu'on parlait de relation toxique。。。 En le lisant， aujourd'hui， je voyais tous les redflags se hisser bien haut。 Le genre de relation où elle est un pion amouraché d'un être égoïste。 C'est triste。 Dans ce livre， elle fait souvent référence à ses autres écrits。 Je crois que si je les avais lus， j'aurais vraiment aimé ces clins d'oeil。 Comme c'est la publication d'un journal intime， j'ai trouvé qu'il y avait certaines longueurs， certains détails inutiles à l'histoire。 Comme la description de ses rêves。 Il y en a tellement que， pour moi， c'est un peu du superflu。 。。。more
Aoife Cassidy McMenamin
，
I debated giving this one star but I’ve stretched to two， purely for some of the entertainment value I derived from it。 Getting Lost was my first Annie Ernaux and I probably won’t be in a rush to read her other work based on this one。 Getting Lost is the （apparently） highly anticipated book containing Ernaux’s personal diaries （unaltered） from the early 1990s detailing her passionate one year affair with a married Russian diplomat who she names S。 The author fell madly in love with S， becoming c I debated giving this one star but I’ve stretched to two， purely for some of the entertainment value I derived from it。 Getting Lost was my first Annie Ernaux and I probably won’t be in a rush to read her other work based on this one。 Getting Lost is the （apparently） highly anticipated book containing Ernaux’s personal diaries （unaltered） from the early 1990s detailing her passionate one year affair with a married Russian diplomat who she names S。 The author fell madly in love with S， becoming consumed with thoughts of him， madly jealous of other women he may have been attracted to， and living for their next rendezvous， which became all too infrequent for her as time passed。 The diary is introspective as you’d expect， quite detailed in terms of their meetings， sexual positions and activities， very repetitive and unintentionally hilarious at times， particularly with regard to the author’s disdain for S’s Russian underpants 😂。 I found it very hard to take it seriously as a piece of literature， Anna Karenina and Proust quotes notwithstanding。 Honestly， it bore a greater resemblance to the ramblings of a melodramatic， lovesick teenager than it did to a literary legend。 I say this with the greatest of respect。 Kudos to her for publishing these diaries unaltered on the one hand， but on the other hand， why？ Perhaps those who have read Ernaux’s work， in particular Simple Passion which was her work of （auto） fiction based on the real life affair， might have a greater appreciation for the literary value in these diaries。 I read this for #womenintranslation month （the book is translated into English by Alison L Strayer）。 Many thanks to @fitzcarraldoeditions for the eARC via @netgalley。 Getting Lost will be published on 21 September。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
Usually love her work but she comes across like a desperate lovesick teenager in this and it's lowered my opinion of her sadly。 Usually love her work but she comes across like a desperate lovesick teenager in this and it's lowered my opinion of her sadly。 。。。more
Mary
，
Review to follow
Catherine
，
La lecture que j’aurais dû avoir pour palier à toutes les peines d’amour que j’ai eues 🥀
Dave
，
I'm sorry I gave up。 It's just the same thing over and over， a woman waiting for her lover to call or show up and the repetition is too much。 With so many references to Ernaux's other books in both the text and some footnotes， I wonder if the intent is to fill in missing details and that they are required reading。 I went back to it several times but on hitting close to half way through， I just had to stop。 I'm sorry I gave up。 It's just the same thing over and over， a woman waiting for her lover to call or show up and the repetition is too much。 With so many references to Ernaux's other books in both the text and some footnotes， I wonder if the intent is to fill in missing details and that they are required reading。 I went back to it several times but on hitting close to half way through， I just had to stop。 。。。more
Cristina
，
"¿Estoy enamorado？ Sí， porque espero"， dice Barthes en Fragmentos de un discurso amoroso。 La espera es común a todos los enamorados， y por eso no hace falta una situación idéntica a la que vive Ernaux para poder sentirse identificada con su pasión y su desgracia。 Creo que lo que más me ha gustado es la irracionalidad que describe al darse cuenta de que su amado no es perfecto， que de hecho es inferior a ella en múltiples aspectos， pero que aún así no puede evitar sentirse totalmente arrastrada p "¿Estoy enamorado？ Sí， porque espero"， dice Barthes en Fragmentos de un discurso amoroso。 La espera es común a todos los enamorados， y por eso no hace falta una situación idéntica a la que vive Ernaux para poder sentirse identificada con su pasión y su desgracia。 Creo que lo que más me ha gustado es la irracionalidad que describe al darse cuenta de que su amado no es perfecto， que de hecho es inferior a ella en múltiples aspectos， pero que aún así no puede evitar sentirse totalmente arrastrada por sus sentimientos hacia él。 "Quizás lo que más me une a S。 es la incomprensión hacia sus comportamientos"， afirma。 Todo el libro es un constante: "pero tía， ¿qué haces？" que es al fin y al cabo todo lo que decimos y lo que se nos dice cuando somos presas de una pasión semejante。 Quizás es por eso que no podemos evitar seguir leyendo， porque， aunque sabiendo el final de antemano， guardamos también un poquito de esperanza insensata。 Por supuesto， al acabar de leer el libro lo primero que hice fue escuchar illicit affairs de Taylor Swift！！ 。。。more
MJ RU1Z
，
Leí este diario al enterarme de que eran los pensamientos escritos día a día en los que la autora se basó para escribir la novela 'Pura pasión'， que me encantó y sobrecogió a partes iguales por verme muy reflejada en sus pensamientos。 Y es que a veces pasa que algunos libros parecen haber sido escritos para que una misma los lea y se dé cuenta de que no está sola en el mundo， de que hay otras personas que pasan por cosas muy parecidas y que experimentan sentimientos casi calcados a los propios。M Leí este diario al enterarme de que eran los pensamientos escritos día a día en los que la autora se basó para escribir la novela 'Pura pasión'， que me encantó y sobrecogió a partes iguales por verme muy reflejada en sus pensamientos。 Y es que a veces pasa que algunos libros parecen haber sido escritos para que una misma los lea y se dé cuenta de que no está sola en el mundo， de que hay otras personas que pasan por cosas muy parecidas y que experimentan sentimientos casi calcados a los propios。Me ha gustado muchísimo ver los miedos， las sensaciones y reacciones de una parte de esta 'polémica' relación。 Me ha encantado ver que los seres humanos somos tan parecidos y que hay mujeres que sienten muy similar。 Ver de primera mano lo que pasa por la cabeza de alguien durante una relación amorosa es todo un privilegio y una valentía inmensa por parte de Annie Ernaux。Me hubiera gustado saber también los pensamientos de la otra parte comprometida， pero eso ya es otra historia。 En cuanto a este libro， me ha absorbido tanto como el otro， a pesar de que el formato diario sea más 'duro' de leer。 Estoy completamente rendida a esta escritora y deseando volver a leer algo más de ella， aunque dejaré pasar un tiempo para rebajar un poco la intensidad sentida por mi alma。 。。。more
C
，
Some good lines about writing。 Although a lot of it was depressing。 You can tell the author tried to write the depression in a better way to make it beautifully written。Don’t get me started on the sex scenes and the details of that。
Bob Hughes
，
Having read a fair few Ernaux books this year， I was very excited for this book， and it didn’t disappoint。 It fits in very neatly with her other books， and references them a few times， but I think also works as a standalone。 We hear Ernaux here both through her diary entries and her later comments on them， giving us the immediacy of her desperation and joy， and her considered musings， as she details an affair she had with ‘S’， her Russian lover who it becomes clear was mostly just using Ernaux f Having read a fair few Ernaux books this year， I was very excited for this book， and it didn’t disappoint。 It fits in very neatly with her other books， and references them a few times， but I think also works as a standalone。 We hear Ernaux here both through her diary entries and her later comments on them， giving us the immediacy of her desperation and joy， and her considered musings， as she details an affair she had with ‘S’， her Russian lover who it becomes clear was mostly just using Ernaux for sex， whilst she falls in love with him。 Ernaux is unafraid of showing us the ugly side of this relationship- her jealousy and despair are front and centre in this book， and makes for uncomfortable reading， but in the most insightful and balanced way。 I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Kerry
，
I love a translated novel， and this was no exception。 Ernaux's 'Simple Passion' published in 1993 is the basis of this collection of journal entries: a story of her affair with a younger man。 Translated by Strayer， the prose is stark， smart and detached which made for a kind of voyeuristic sense of peeking into someone's private， immediate and personal thoughts。 Fascinating。 What was also fascinating was the way in which the backstory of previous affairs and her failed marriage was conveyed and I love a translated novel， and this was no exception。 Ernaux's 'Simple Passion' published in 1993 is the basis of this collection of journal entries: a story of her affair with a younger man。 Translated by Strayer， the prose is stark， smart and detached which made for a kind of voyeuristic sense of peeking into someone's private， immediate and personal thoughts。 Fascinating。 What was also fascinating was the way in which the backstory of previous affairs and her failed marriage was conveyed and the narrative style gives an impression of self-analysis。 This， combined with the journal form and the clear intelligence of the writer， I think， makes for a highly compelling read。 As an academic， I loved the mention of Proust， Foucault， Borges and Tolstoy。 Highly recommended， and has made me want to read more works by this writer/translator。My grateful thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this novel。 。。。more
Astronauta de Nubes
，
Me ha gustado bastante， aunque sí que es verdad que al tratarse de un diario algunas partes se me hacían algo repetitivas， pero entiendo su razón de ser。 Habla del dolor del recuerdo， de lo punzantes que pueden llegar a ser los deseos y del vacío。 También me transmite la idea de como cuando creemos estar enamoradas lo estamos más de los sentimientos que salen de nuestro interior que de la otra persona， aunque poco te ayude eso a apaciguar el dolor y llenar el vacío de la ausencia。
Angela
，
Read a galley of this thanks to the folks at the Seven Stories Press booth at the American Library Association conference for giving me the copy along with my first experience of Ernaux。 Such mesmerizing and vulnerable journals。
Carlton
，
In 1993 Ernaux published Simple Passion about an affair she had in 1988-89， and in this book （2001） Ernaux published the contemporaneous journals that she wrote about the same affair。 Ernaux writes （and Strayer translates） about her passion with emotional detachment， and indeed she writes in her journal: “If one day people read this journal， they’ll see that there was indeed ‘alienation in the work of Annie Ernaux，’ and not only in the work but even more so in her life。”I found this book frustra In 1993 Ernaux published Simple Passion about an affair she had in 1988-89， and in this book （2001） Ernaux published the contemporaneous journals that she wrote about the same affair。 Ernaux writes （and Strayer translates） about her passion with emotional detachment， and indeed she writes in her journal: “If one day people read this journal， they’ll see that there was indeed ‘alienation in the work of Annie Ernaux，’ and not only in the work but even more so in her life。”I found this book frustrating and fascinating， probably in equal measure， and overall I found Ernaux’s craft beguiling。Frustrating as Ernaux is only looking for a “passion”， which she has clearly had several times in the past， as she compares her sensual pleasure to other affairs， and as she writes disparagingly about her failed marriage。Fascinating because of her ability to write about her feelings in such a detached and analytical manner， and with such apparent candour。 It is this analytical detachment， this picking over one’s feelings and thoughts with such attention， that made this book so involving。 Not the subject matter， but the style， although the form is inextricably entwined with the content。I have already read a couple of other autobiographical books by Ernaux， and this undoubtedly increased my enjoyment of this book。 I would not recommend it as your first autobiographical work by Ernaux。I was reading this on a Kindle， and highlighted numerous （over one hundred） passages， it is full of illuminations， even if self evident:To explain a life， you’d also need to have everything that influenced a person， all that they had read; and even then something remains concealed that cannot be exposed。I wanted to make this passion a work of art in my life， or rather this affair became a passion because I wanted it to be a work of art （Michel Foucault: the highest good is to make one’s life a work of art）。I cannot place where her sons， Eric and David （about 20， but still living at home） fit in the narrative as they are mentioned in passing from time to time， but not with any emphasis。 I suspect authorial reserve is exercised over them， but this grated for me， even allowing for Ernaux’s intense focus on herself， creating the life to make into art。For reference， she mentions books by Proust， Tolstoy （Anna Karenina unsurprisingly）， Mitchell， Grossman， Calvino， Borges， Kundera （disparagingly） and de Beauvoir， all of which I have read。I received a Netgalley copy of this book， but this review is my honest opinion。 。。。more
Marimartxu
，
Un bucle de emociones
Matthew Ted
，
76th book of 2022。2。5。 This was okay， maybe not the best place to enter Ernaux's work。 I've had a copy of The Years for。。。 years， but haven't read it yet。 I couldn't resist this advance copy for Getting Lost which isn't published till September， though。 It is a long-awaited， so I hear， translation of Ernaux's diaries detailing an affair with a Russian man known simply as S。 If you are a fan of Ernaux already then perhaps you'd get more from this， 'know' her a little more and so maybe care a litt 76th book of 2022。2。5。 This was okay， maybe not the best place to enter Ernaux's work。 I've had a copy of The Years for。。。 years， but haven't read it yet。 I couldn't resist this advance copy for Getting Lost which isn't published till September， though。 It is a long-awaited， so I hear， translation of Ernaux's diaries detailing an affair with a Russian man known simply as S。 If you are a fan of Ernaux already then perhaps you'd get more from this， 'know' her a little more and so maybe care a little more。 I almost gave it three because there are some good lines about writing， about the self， but the whole thing does read like a diary。 There is lots of being depressed， crying， it's 200 pages of telling。 Ernaux never tried to write this in a beautiful way， I suppose; it's her diary。 She prefaces it slightly by saying （warning？） that she changed/removed nothing from the diaries when writing them up。 I'm with her on that， I wrote one of my Master's essays on unconscious writing。 I appreciate the unabashed honesty of the whole thing。 There is a lot of sex involved and describing her positions， what she did， anal， the like， there is a lot of Proust quoting， Anna Karenina mentions。 By the end it becomes more of a dream diary， at which point I began to check how far I was from the end。 Some good lines （none of which I can quote because this is an advance copy） but overall felt a little pointless。 Ernaux fans will enjoy it more than me。 I'm now going to have to backtrack with my reading of her。 Thanks to Fitzcarraldo for the ARC。 。。。more
Roman Clodia
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This journal will have been a cry of passion and pain from start to finish。What a courageous act on Ernaux's part to release this uncensored journal （'I neither altered nor removed any part of the original text'） charting her inner turmoil， suffering and joy while embarked on a two year love affair with a married Soviet diplomat， the story of which she has also written in her autofictional Passion simple。 The journal format structurally reinforces the repetitive nature of the - of any？ - aff This journal will have been a cry of passion and pain from start to finish。What a courageous act on Ernaux's part to release this uncensored journal （'I neither altered nor removed any part of the original text'） charting her inner turmoil， suffering and joy while embarked on a two year love affair with a married Soviet diplomat， the story of which she has also written in her autofictional Passion simple。 The journal format structurally reinforces the repetitive nature of the - of any？ - affair that will always stay as an affair with no development and no future: the waiting， the agonising， the fear that it is over， the jealousy， the rapture， the disappointment， and then the repetition of the whole cycle over and over。 Ernaux is brave in her transparency， and her recognition of the themes even here that are foundations of her more shaped writing: the way time expands and contracts， the role of memory in desire， the connections between love， desire and writing。 On one level， this is an exposure of the self in all its vulnerabilities， in what and who we are when we're unseen; on another， it speaks to the ways in which supposedly 'private' writing （diaries， journals， personal letters） are always themselves sites of self-fashioning and never as innocent as they strive to appear。Compulsively readable， horribly recognisable， it's fascinating to read this both as the raw material that became Passion simple， and as a piece of women's writing charting interiority and obsession。 Many thanks to Fitzcarraldo Editions for an ARC via NetGalley 。。。more
Paeandbooks
，
Sometimes we don't fall in love with person， but the idea of the person is。 Sometimes love is just a wishful thinking I picked this up hoping that it would be another Eve babitz or Joan didion memoir style- lighthearted， scandalous ， and maybe with some juicy celebrity culture info， But in end I was left in shambles。 Maybe some shudder too。Getting lost originally written in French about Annie Ernaux herself， in a relationship with much younger guy， S。 It was a hard time; S is a married man， and Sometimes we don't fall in love with person， but the idea of the person is。 Sometimes love is just a wishful thinking I picked this up hoping that it would be another Eve babitz or Joan didion memoir style- lighthearted， scandalous ， and maybe with some juicy celebrity culture info， But in end I was left in shambles。 Maybe some shudder too。Getting lost originally written in French about Annie Ernaux herself， in a relationship with much younger guy， S。 It was a hard time; S is a married man， and a Russian diplomat。 Every memory， moments I encounters and relations were documented in diary format， with long， beautiful proses。 Check out below excerpt:“The same goes for today， when again I won’t see him。 I weep from desire， this all-consuming hunger for him。 He represents the most ‘parvenu’ part of myself， the most adolescent too。 He’s that ‘man of my youth，’ blond and unrefined （his hands， his square fingernails）， who fills me with pleasure。 “What makes this more scandalous is， Annie was divorced woman with 2 children， which was a big deal back in 70s。 Oh， and she was in her 50s。This relationship lasted for almost 2 years。 But the relationships goes thru so many details （can’t type here， community guidelines gonna hunt me down） but from the excerpt， you’ll get the gist。 It was an ultimate raw writing; all her trauma about the ex husbands， her past poking thru。Also I’m tempted to to read Simple Passion thanks to this。Thank you Netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more
Emma Hardy
，
An interesting read。 Not always an easy one， and does on occasion seem a tad repetitive。 but the diary form shows the narrative and reveals more internal thoughts。Unusual， in a good way。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Getting Lost
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Getting Lost&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Getting Lost&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0