Un roman russe

Emmanuel Carrère begins from a family secret: his grandfather, who emigrated from Georgia, was a collaborator and disappeared after the Liberation. He then recounts his research in a Russian town, Kotelnich, where a Hungarian prisoner of war was found in a psychiatric hospital after decades. Meanwhile, he records the end of his relationship with a woman, in explicit detail. The book mixes memoir, reportage and family history.

For readers of French literary nonfiction who like candour and structure that is intentionally untidy. It raises questions about what a writer can reveal and what that does to others.

Deep and inward-looking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?