Annie Ernaux's memoir The Years is no doubt one of the most unique books ever written. Though Ernaux's book is a memoir, it is written from a third-person point of view. Ernaux said that she did this to write a memoir for herself and for the "collective" of people who went through similar things like Ernaux.
The Years chronicles Ernaux's life from 1941 to 2006. Despite covering such a long period, Ernaux does not utilize a typical chapter structure and does not utilize a table of contents. Instead, Ernaux tells her story in a chronological fashion.
In the first section of The Years, Ernaux introduces herself — and the basics of her life — to readers. To do so, Ernaux uses photos from her life as a framing device so that she could explore her memories. In this section, Ernaux tells readers about her happy but poor childhood in a small provincial French town. She also details her parents, their attitudes about certain things (including sexuality and social status), as well as Ernaux's time in school.
Then, in the next section, Ernaux details her adolescence. In fact, she was given the opportunity to leave her home and go to school in a place far away from her home (and then, she went to college far away from her home). While away, Ernaux learned quite a bit about herself, the world around her, and just how poor she and her family really were. In college, Ernaux also explores sides of herself that she never got a chance to explore previously, including sexuality and sex more generally. Ernaux also begins to show more interest in journaling and in politics.
While in college, Ernaux met a man to whom she got married. The couple then very quickly had children and their lives were radically transformed. In May of 1968, however, Ernaux's life changes forever. There were massive protests across France that month. But those protests were short-lived and their impact was negligible.
After the protests, France begins to change. At the same time, Ernaux must wrestle with her feelings toward her family, whom she wants to leave. She decides to leave her husband and children and begins to lead a more solitary life.
As Ernaux ages, she confronts a number of family and personal problems — including a bout with cancer for which she is forced to get chemotherapy. While aging, Ernaux begins to ponder if she should write a memoir. She also questions if she should write her memoir in the third person. After considering the question for a long time, Ernaux ultimately decides to write her memoir, which is the end of The Years.
In The Years, Ernaux uses photos, books, T.V., headlines, and writing from her voluminous diaries as a way to explore her memories through the years. They are, in essence, used as a framing device so that Ernaux can examine and explore what happened to her throughout her life.
The book, which Ernaux said is written in an "unremitting continuous tense," is meant to mimic the experiences of many people who are similar in age to Ernaux. This tense also mimics how people experience life: quickly and oftentimes without any discernible structure. Additionally, people experience time chronologically, and the book's structure reflects that.
The novel is intended to be a "collective" autobiography for Ernaux's generation (as well as Ernaux herself). To that end, the book explores themes related to aging, class, sexuality, and change in a country like France over time.
