I think there's a very good chance something interesting is going on in this book, and I do like the concept of Ernaux speaking as fragmentary voice of the zeigeist, but the result on the page seemed to be a lot of pithy "this is how it was" observations that didn't do much for me. Ernaux's lines are occasionally inspired, but either this translation was a bit weak or I'm not a fan of the diaristic rhythm of her sentences.