And Their Children After Them

By Nicolas Mathieu

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1892746778
• ISBN13: 9781892746771
• Release Date: April 2020
• Publisher: Other Press (NY)
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 8.9"