Summary

Ernaux describes the photograph of a woman wearing blush with several young people, who are her sons and their partners. The group is visiting Trouville in 1999 and the woman imagines her own mother would be so surprised to see how the boys have grown. She thinks that her nurturing role is limiting, and she still craves sexual intimacy. Now, she is seeing a much younger man who makes her feel she is reliving her own student days. Her confusion at the passing of time and the seemingly unrelated fragments of events and memories encourages her to want to record everything in her book.

Then, the year 2000 arrived and passed. People felt everything leading up to the moment was their ‘last’ chance or ‘last’ opportunity. Yet, the event itself proved unworthy of the apocalyptic atmosphere preceding it. The events of September 11th, 2011, however, attracted...