Talk:Happening (book)

Testing for HIV/AIDS in 1963?
The article claims that Anne Ernaux was tested for HIV/AIDS in 1963. While HIV/AIDS was around in the very early 1960s, there was no test for it then, and it was not known as HIV/AIDS, but a mysterious slimming or wasting disease from Africa, and later theorized to be a "cancer".100.34.234.175 (talk) 20:18, 30 January 2023 (UTC)


 * I just read the English text which repeatedly uses "AIDS" but I checked the original French and Ernaux does talk about being given le sida, which is AIDS. However, before that she says the term used in the doctor's office is séropositivité, which is the result of a serological examination. But in general language, séropositive does mean HIV-positive. I will try to change the article. Οἶδα (talk) 20:55, 30 January 2023 (UTC)

Novel/Fiction vs. Memoir/Nonfiction
This article describes the book as an "autobiographical novel" and "fiction." However, the edition I have (in English translation from Seven Stories Press) lists it on the back as "Memoir/World Literature." All the sources I can find online, including Amazon, Goodreads, and Penguin Random House all describe it as memoir and nonfiction. In other words, the article seems to be incorrect and miscategorized. Jcb9 (talk) 01:20, 3 August 2023 (UTC)


 * I have a read handful of Ernaux's books, but would not proclaim to be an expert of her work. When I created this article, I was inspired by the corresponding French Wikipedia article, which described it as an autobiographical novel. However, I decided to research into the matter:
 * There is a longstanding literary tradition of bending the fiction narrative with autobiography (autofiction, roman à clef, creative nonfiction etc.) As PW opined, "authors can get a little obsessive about labels". But I think you will find Ernaux is frequently described as a pioneer of autofiction, a term whose definition is certainly contentious and which Ernaux rejects in favor of "autosociobiographiques". Interestingly, Ernaux spoke at length to Le Monde in 2011 about the meaning of autofiction.
 * Her first three books were subtitled "Roman" (Novel), and are described by most sources as semi-autobiographical novels. Her fourth work, La Place, was published in 1983 with no such subtitle. As Ernaux elucidated in the aforementioned Le Monde source:


 * So, it appears she completely renounced the novelistic form in 1983 with La Place, opting for a bare-bones style. Although, she had largely (with some exceptions) renounced the novel by the publication of La Femme gelée (1981). In a 1995 interview with Claire-Lise Tondeur published in The French Review, she explained:


 * Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention. Sorry in advance if you cannot speak French. With the above considerations, would you agree that the book is more accurately described as a memoir? Οἶδα (talk) 05:20, 3 August 2023 (UTC)