And Their Children After Them

About This Book

The internationally acclaimed coming-of-age story set in a forgotten, hopeless region of France—for fans of Sally Rooney and Nathan Hill This poignant portrait of working-class teens captures the defining moments of 4 summers in the 1990s—from Nirvana to the World Cup. August, 1992. One afternoon during a heatwave in a desolate valley somewhere in eastern France, with its dormant blast furnaces and its lake, 14-year-old Anthony and his cousin decide to steal a canoe to explore the famous nude beach across the water. The trip ultimately takes Anthony to his first love and a summer that will determine everything that happens afterward. Nicolas Mathieu conjures up a valley, an era, and the political journey of a young generation that has to forge its own path in a dying world. Four summers and four defining moments, from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the 1998 World Cup, encapsulate the hectic lives of the inhabitants of a France far removed from the centers of globalization, torn between decency and rage.