Anne Pauly and Bruno Perreau: French Voices at the Boston Book Festival

Anne Pauly, visiting Boston from Paris, celebrates the English publication of Before I Forget, her debut novel shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, Prix Femina, and Prix Wepler. She will be joined in conversation by Bruno Perreau, Cynthia L. Reed Professor of French Studies at MIT.

In Before I Forget, Pauly recounts the aftermath of her father’s death and the complicated task of mourning a man who was at once a self-taught philosopher and romantic, and an alcoholic whose violence marked his family. As Anne sorts through his belongings and prepares his funeral, she tries to reconcile these contradictory versions of the man she has lost. Told with wit and tenderness, the novel is a tragicomic exploration of grief, family, class, and the complicated bonds between parents and children.

This event is part of French Voices at the Boston Book Festival(opens in a new tab), a day of engaging conversations, thought-provoking ideas, and book signings with some of today’s most exciting voices in French and Francophone literature. In partnership with Villa Albertine.

An offbeat novel for anyone who’s ever loved a monster.

When Anne’s father dies, she is left grieving a contradiction. Jean-Pierre was a man of many faces: the self-taught philosopher born into poverty; the Buddhist who marked his favorite haikus with maple leaves; the old romantic who ended every evening kissing a pixelated portrait of his late wife; and the violent bully, whose alcoholism marked his family’s life in terrible ways.

Sorting through his belongings and making funeral preparations, Anne tries to come to terms with who and what she’s lost. And what’s more, she can’t help but recognize herself in the father she spent so much of her life running from.

From Gaëlle Bélem’s vivid storytelling rooted in the history of La Réunion to Mathias Énard’s explorations of war, history, and ideology, Anne Pauly’s tragicomic exploration of family and grief, and a conversation with award-winning translators Sam Taylor and Emma Ramadan on the art of carrying a writer’s voice across languages, the program celebrates the richness and diversity of contemporary Francophone literature.

Each event will be held in English and will feature a 50-minute moderated conversation, followed by a 10-minute audience Q&A and book signing.

This is a free event, available on a first-come, first-served basis.