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The internationally acclaimed coming-of-age story set in a forgotten, hopeless region of France—for fans of Sally Rooney and Nathan Hill
This poignant portrait of working-class teens captures the defining moments of 4 summers in the 1990s—from Nirvana to the World Cup.
August, 1992. One afternoon during a heatwave in a desolate valley somewhere in eastern France, with its dormant blast furnaces and its lake, 14-year-old Anthony and his cousin decide to steal a canoe to explore the famous nude beach across the water. The trip ultimately takes Anthony to his first love and a summer that will determine everything that happens afterward.
Nicolas Mathieu conjures up a valley, an era, and the political journey of a young generation that has to forge its own path in a dying world. Four summers and four defining moments, from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the 1998 World Cup, encapsulate the hectic lives of the inhabitants of a France far removed from the centers of globalization, torn between decency and rage.
William Rodarmor
Translated by
William Rodarmor is a veteran French literary translator, writer, and editor. His translation of Tamata and the Alliance, by Bernard Moitessier, won the 1996 Lewis Galantiere Award from the American Translators Association. His recent translations include The Book of Time trilogy, by Guillaume Prevost, Diasporas, by Stephane Dufoix (Univ. of Calif. Press, 2008), and Julien Parme, by Florian Zeller (Other Press, 2008). He lives in Berkeley, California.
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