And Their Children After Them

Winner of the 2018 Prix Goncourt, this poignant coming-of-age tale captures the distinct feeling of summer in a region left behind by global progress.

August 1992. One afternoon during a heatwave in a desolate valley somewhere in eastern France, with its dormant blast furnaces and its lake, fourteen-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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Other Press (NY)
Published: 04/07/2020
ISBN: 9781892746771
Pages: 432
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 1.20d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 02/01/2020
Publishers Weekly 02/03/2020