Novel
The Notebook
Le Grand Cahier
Agota Kristof · 1986
Synopsis
During the war, a mother leaves the Big Town to entrust her twins to their grandmother, a wicked, dirty and miserly old woman who takes them in grudgingly, in the countryside. Left to themselves, the two boys learn to survive cold, hunger and the cruelty of a ravaged country. They record everything in a big notebook, with the strictest objectivity, forbidding themselves to write anything that would be a matter of feeling, such as saying that a thing is beautiful or ugly.
Context
The author's first novel, published by Seuil in 1986, the book opens the Twins Trilogy, continued by The Proof in 1988 and The Third Lie in 1991. Written in a language learned in adulthood, in short, cold and factual sentences, it received the European prize of the Association of French-Language Writers on publication. Translated into English by Alan Sheridan as The Notebook, it has appeared in more than forty languages. János Szász made a Hungarian film of it in 2013, shortlisted for the Oscar for best foreign film.
Who it is for
For a short and chilling novel whose very dryness makes one feel the violence of war and the loss of innocence.
Prizes and reception
Awarded a prize on publication, it made known all over the world a writer who came late to French.