Annie Ernaux: La vie exterieure: 1993-1999.

Meyer, E. Nicole

Paris. Gallimard. 2000. 131 pages 75 F. ISBN 2-07-075800-1

FOR ANNIE ERNAUX, a journal does not necessitate intimacy, but rather a series of neutral observations on "exterior" life. The RER, supermarket, shopping mall, and other aspects of modern daily life reappear throughout her journal entries, peppered among brief mentions of social and political events. Citing Vincent Van Gogh, she states, "Je cherche a exprimer le passage desesperement rapide des choses de la vie moderne." The rapidity of her own prose successfully achieves this goal and helps turn what may appear somewhat disjointed impersonal observations into universally shared experiences. In addition, American readers will find deep resonance after the events of 11 September 2001. Suddenly, Ernaux's extrapolations from the news, whether of the war crimes of Bosnia, the long life and late death of Jeanne Calment, or the terrorist acts on French soil, take on deeper meaning, especially in their juxtaposition with more common violence (the kidnapping and subsequent death of a young girl, or the angry jostling on an overcrowded subway train) of everyday life.

Ernaux's talent lies in her distinctive style, characterized by its simplicity, truthful nature, and occasional brutal violence. In the space of a few pages, she captures the reader, who is seduced by the economy of her prose. As with many of her previous works -- for instance, Journal du dehors, which La vie exterieure continues -- the social dominates over the individual or personal. In a subtle way, Ernaux raises universal questions of injustice, racism, life and death. For instance, the public's emotional reaction to Princess Diana's accidental death, when contrasted with its indifference to the brutal murder of many Algerians, exemplifies our era. Ernaux's brief analysis of a 1998 news survey stating that 42% of the French respondents replied that "Il y a trop d'Arabes" serves as a caution to us all: "Ce sondage et la facon de le presenter legitiment insidieusement le racisme. Dans l'imaginaire, ce qui n'est qu'une opinion devient une verite." Let us hope that our world political leaders heed this warning with integrity, rather than manipulate it to more violent ends.

While the neutral tone, economy of style, and preponderance of political and social events may belie any intimacy, Annie Ernaux somehow succeeds in expressing the personal, whether it be her above-cited remark on truth, a description of her terror during a tear-gas attack in the subway, or her references to the importance of the role of writing in her own life. "La vie exterieure demande tout, la plupart des oeuvres d'art, rien," she states. This work manages to escape Ernaux's condemnation of most artistic production. Indeed, it successfully compels the reader to reflect critically on our current era. In this, Ernaux joins art and politics and produces an important work of art.

E. Nicole Meyer
University of Wisconsin, Madison