"We had gone back to address each other in that particular tone of speak - a cross between exasperation and perpetual resentment - which led people to believe, wrongly, that we were always arguing. I would recognize that tone of conversation between a mother and her daughter anywhere in the world."

lollll

what a horrible gift and a beautiful curse it is to be a daughter. in this book the author is simply recounting her mothers life as a way to process her own grief. she doesnt really go into detail about the intricacies of their relationship together, just that it was complicated but loving as all mother daughter relationships are. it was short, simple, sweet and I am happy to have read it. I now know Ernaux's mother, even just a tiny bit, and I am happy to know her. I thought about my own mom while reading this - the way I would write about her now and how I will write about her when she eventually passes. I'll write about her laugh, her anger, and her love for peanut m&ms. I also love peanut m&ms.



"It was her voice, together with her words, her hands, and her way of moving and laughing, which linked the woman I am to the child I once was."