Lessons in Obsession

Warning: I tried keeping this smooth and simple, but this remains quote-heavy. Trust me though—Ernaux writes about sex and obsession in ways that transform romance novel devotion into something uncomfortably real, like reading someone's unfiltered therapy session about a toxic ex you're not over yet. A deeply touching read I wanted to share for anyone drawn to this type of topic

Nobel Prize Winner Annie Ernaux chronicled her burning affair with an unnamed Soviet diplomat in two extraordinary works: A Simple Passion and Getting Lost. For two years, this man occupied her every thought while leaving her emotionally unfulfilled. Both tackle the subject in their own ways, between immediate personal diary entries and reflective outlook laid down later on, with the confusion of someone who has felt too much.

I initially found her work difficult to get into because of the bluntness of her retelling, the way intimate details of her past are laid bare with such honesty. It felt brutal. Like a stranger who hadn’t been properly invited in, it took me some time to feel welcomed and at home between her lines. While some passages could send you on a crusade for a story with even a fraction of the passion she felt, others may propel you down a spiral of transposed heartbreaks.

“He left at 11:00 p.m. It’s the first time I’ve made love for so many hours in a row, without a lull. At ten thirty he gets up. Me: Would you like anything? Him: Yes, you. Back to the bedroom.”

Her account of her brief relationship with A. is nothing short of electrifying. She lives, sleeps, breathes this man whom she actually knows little about. A visceral desire for both sex and tenderness animates her every move. If her body’s cravings are partially answered, she remains completely love-starved.