Book Review: "Simple Passion" by Annie Ernaux

This is one of those books that I saw was being talked about online and I kept putting off reading it. In fact, I've had it on my Kindle for an awfully long time and never bothered to open it. As one of my resolutions is to read more authors that I have never read before, I thought it would be a great idea to give this a go now in order to fulfil that. I have to say, I was more confused than anything else and I didn't think that an uninteresting love affair could be dragged out for several pages. However, I did like the writing style which definitely reflected the mundane qualities of everyday life juxtaposed brilliantly with her insatiable obsession. Perhaps this is going to be a good review after all...

The story centres on the unnamed narrator’s affair with A., a married man of foreign origin. From the outset, the relationship is marked by its transience and imbalance. A. controls the rhythm of their encounters, visiting her apartment at irregular intervals, often without warning. Despite this uneven dynamic, the narrator becomes wholly consumed by him, allowing her life to revolve entirely around the fleeting moments they share.

Ernaux captures the all-encompassing nature of obsession with unrelenting precision. The narrator’s life narrows to a single focus: waiting for A. She abandons hobbies, friendships, and even her intellectual pursuits, immersing herself in a state of suspended animation. Every detail of her day is imbued with anticipation—what she wears, how she arranges her apartment, and even the timing of her errands are dictated by the hope of his arrival. Through this obsessive focus, Ernaux paints a vivid picture of the disorienting power of desire, where rationality and self-preservation are eclipsed by longing. Honestly, even though I didn't think this was much of a reflection of real life, I did think it was interesting to read about. The writing often consists of these random thoughts that pop into the narrator's head concerning the subject of obsession as she reflects things she did to try and hide it from others.

Time is a recurring motif in the narrative, reflecting the disjointed nature of the affair. The narrator experiences time as fragmented and uneven, punctuated by A.’s unpredictable visits. Her days are characterised by a relentless cycle of waiting, fulfilment, and longing, creating a distorted sense of duration. Ernaux’s prose mirrors this rhythm, blending moments of acute intensity with stretches of introspective stillness.

The novel is also deeply rooted in memory, as the narrator reflects on the affair after its conclusion. Ernaux examines how the passage of time reshapes her perception of events, transforming raw emotions into a more detached, analytical understanding. Through this lens, the narrator attempts to reconcile her past self—dominated by obsession—with her present perspective, which is tinged with a sense of loss and self-awareness. This interplay between memory and identity forms one of the novel’s most important themes. There is a definite change between the self that is involved in the affair and the self that is longing for it afterwards. These two characters are both impacted by the unpredictable nature of these obsessions and meetings that are both fleeting and wholly meaningless.

As the affair inevitably comes to an end, the narrator is left to grapple with the void it leaves behind. The final pages of the novel capture her attempts to reclaim her sense of self and rebuild her life. While she acknowledges the pain of her loss, she also begins to recognise the ways in which the experience has shaped her understanding of love, identity, and desire. In reflecting on her affair, the narrator achieves a sense of liberation, not from the memory of A., but from the constraints of societal judgment and self-doubt. Ernaux’s exploration of this process is deeply moving, offering a nuanced portrayal of the ways in which love and loss can coexist as sources of both suffering and growth. I thought that the involvement of no real climax in the book was quite smart. There's no 'big reveal' and no 'spoiler'. The reader is almost certain of what will happen purely based on the beginning. The final pages are a confirmation of this, and all we want is to understand the narrator.

All in all, the book may not be understandable and universal as a topic or an emotion, but I do think Ernaux makes those of us who cannot understand it become intertwined with the story all the same - going on the same journey, looking at the same woman from multiple angles. This short book definitely captures the fleeting flavour of what is a meaningless physical relationship which comes to change every fibre of her being.