Nathalie Sarraute was 83 years old when she produced
Enfance, her first best-seller. The cover of the 1985 Folio edition carries a delightful photograph of the six-year-old Nathalie, though the author had not intended this mark of ownership: she had very deliberately used the general title
Enfance, leaving that childhood open to all.
Sarraute was a very considerable figure on the French literary scene, having already produced eight novels and six plays, as well as her seminal critical essays. She had played an important role in the movement known as the “nouveau roman”, and was known for her radical challenging of literary convention and traditional narrative forms. Her decision to write about her childhood inevitably looked like a major change of position; it was even welcomed by some
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Citation: Minogue, Valerie . "Enfance". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 June 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=25624, accessed 21 November 2024.]
