Emmanuel Carrère delves into profound questions of identity, the construction of illusion, and the shaping of reality throughout his extensive body of work. His distinctive literary style fluidly bridges the gap between fiction and nonfiction, drawing readers into deep reflections on the human condition. Carrère masterfully weaves personal experiences with universal themes, crafting narratives that are both intimate and thought-provoking. His unique approach to storytelling marks him as a significant voice in contemporary French literature.
The diarist's father is killed and mother badly injured during an air strike, he is sentenced to 40 lashes for speaking out against a beheading, he sees a woman stoned to death. This book shows how every aspect of life is impacted - from the spiralling costs of food to dictating the acceptable length of trousers.
In Sri Lanka, a tsunami sweeps a child out to sea, her grandfather helpless against the onrushing water. In France, a woman dies from cancer, leaving her husband and small children bereft. What links these two catastrophes is the presence of Emmanuel Carrère, who manages to find consolation and even joy as he immerses himself in lives other than his own. The result is a heartrending narrative of endless love, a meditation on courage in the face of adversity, and an intimate look at the beauty of ordinary lives.
Read the definitive essay collection from the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Adversary, dubbed 'France's greatest writer of non-fiction' (New York Times) 'The most exciting living writer' Karl Ove Knausgaard Over the course of his career, Emmanuel Carr re has reinvented non-fiction writing. In a search for truth in all its guises, he dispenses with the rules of genre. For him, no form is out of reach- theology, historiography, reportage and memoir - among many others - are fused under the pressure of an inimitable combination of passion, curiosity and intellect that has made Carr re one of our most distinctive and important literary voices today. 97,196 Words introduces Carr re's shorter work to an English-language audience. Featuring more than thirty extraordinary texts written over an illustrious twenty-five-year period of Carr re's creative life, the book shows a remarkable mind at work. Spanning continents, histories, and personal relationships, 97,196 Words considers the divides between truth, reality and our shared humanity, exploring remarkable events and eccentric lives, including Carr re's own. * A New York Times Notable Book *
"A thrilling page-turner that also happens to be the biography of one of Russia's most controversial figures. This is how Emmanuel Carrère, the magnetic journalist, novelist, filmmaker, chameleon, describes his subject: "Limonov is not a fictional character. There. I know him. He was a rogue in Ukraine; an idol of the Soviet underground under Brezhnev; a bum, then a multimillionaire's valet in Manhattan; a fashionable writer in Paris; a lost soldier in the Balkan wars; and now, in the chaotic ruins of postcommunist Russia, the elderly but charismatic leader of a party of young desperados. He sees himself as a hero; you might call him a scumbag: I suspend my judgment on the matter. It's a dangerous life, an ambiguous life: a real adventure novel. It is also, I believe, a life that says something. Not just about him, Limonov, not just about Russia, but about all our history since the end of World War II." So Limonov isn't fictional--but he might as well be. This pseudo-biography isn't a novel, but it reads like one: from Limonov's grim childhood; to his desperate, comical, ultimately successful attempts to gain the respect of Russia's literary intellectual elite; to his emigration to New York, then to Paris; to his return to the motherland. Limonov could be read as a charming picaresque. But it could also be read as a troubling counter-narrative of the second half of the twentieth century, one that reveals a violence, an anarchy, a brutality that the stories we tell ourselves about progress tend to conceal"-- Provided by publisher
Cursed by a fairy. Hounded by an angry populace. Blamed for the abduction of babies. Will Cendrilla overcome her problems and get her happily ever after? When her acts of heroism backfire, Cendrilla soon discovers that no good deed goes unpunished. And the appearance of her bitter and vengeful father, Prince Evander, only complicates matters. The answer to her woes the Kiss of True Love, but who can help Cendrilla when she's estranged from both Prince Armin and Lord Bluebeard? In this final installment of the Seven Kingdoms series, Cendrilla faces new challenges and shocking revelations amid a backdrop of political upheaval. And she finally makes a decision on which of her suitors to marry. Get your copy of The Kingdom now!
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE ADVERSARY The night before the wave, I remember that Hélène and I talked about separating. It wouldn't be complicated; we didn't live together, hadn't had a child, and were even able to see ourselves remaining friends, and yet, it was sad. It was Christmas 2004. In Sri Lanka, a tsunami sweeps a child out to sea, her grandfather helpless against the onrushing water. In France, a young woman succumbs to illness, leaving her husband and small children bereft. Present at both events, Emmanuel Carrère sets out to tell the story of two families-shattered and ultimately restored. What he accomplishes is nothing short of a literary miracle: a heartrending narrative of endless love, a meditation on courage and decency in the face of adversity, an intimate and reverent look at the extraordinary beauty and nobility of ordinary lives.
This is the sort of story I dreamed of covering when I was a journalist. The sort of story for which the phrase You couldn't make it up was invented. The Adversary takes a deep, mesmerising dive into the darkness of a human soul. There were moments when I truly could not believe what I was reading. But unlike other serial killer noirs sitting on my shelves, this horror is real. And so much more chilling for that. Fiona Barton, author of The Widow
This is a book about yoga. Or at least, it was. January 2015. High on literary success and familial bliss, Emmanuel Carr re embarks on a rigorous ten-day meditative retreat in rural France in search of clarity and material for his next book, which he thinks will be a subtle, upbeat introduction to yoga. But his trip is cut short, and he is brought down to earth with a thud when he returns to a Paris in turmoil in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. From then on, Carr re's life - along with his novel-in-progress - begins to unravel in ever more unexpected ways. 'The story of how a life can fray, tighten itself into a noose, unravel... profound and moving' Geoff Dyer 'Extraordinarily compelling' Financial Times
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE ADVERSARYOne morning, a man shaves off his long-worn moustache, hoping to amuse his wife and friends.
An elegant, emotional self-examination, full of bleak but truthful insights about the lies and compromises of love The Times