Serge Doubrovsky has been a major contributor to the renewal of autobiography in France since the mid 1970s. Abandoning the chronological, logical, and linear narrative that characterizes traditional autobiography, Doubrovsky explores the elusive divide that separates autobiography from fiction in a new genre termed "autofiction," a word he coined to define his writing. He has anchored his work in one of the darkest periods of history and is, according to Elaine Marks, one who, having "expressed dissatisfaction with the mimetic principles that sustain the fictional and historical narratives," has chosen to "write about how to write about 'Auschwitz.'"

Julien Serge Doubrovsky was born on 22 May 1928 in Paris to Israël Doubrovsky and Renée Weitzmann. His sister, Paule, was born on 30 December 1934. His father came to France in 1912 from Chernigov, Ukraine, and two years later joined the French army to fight Germany in defense of...