The Life, Old Age, and Death of a Working-Class Woman

A frank and moving story . . . an urgent plea for the elderly to be treated with more respect -- Helen Brown * Telegraph *
Searingly honest . . . I found it compelling, hard to read and hard to put down -- Norma Clarke * Literary Review *
He recounts his mother’s life and death both as a son and as a sociologist . . . a genre that’s particularly suited to our age, with its growing understanding of how social class shapes life-paths -- Simon Kuper * Financial Times *
Uniquely moving... the breadth of cultural references... is stunning, and the readings of them are nuanced... His diagnosis of how old age, to nobody's benefit, is neglected in public discourse is spot on, especially in view of the decades-old debate about a sustainable British social care model -- Franklin Nelson * Spectator *
Praise for Returning to Reims -- - * : *
A deeply intelligent and searching book, one that makes you re-consider the narrative of your own life and reframe the story you tell yourself... Didier Eribon understands how deep the roots of inequality go -- Hilary Mantel
Eribon offers up a magnificent example of an enlightened life liberated by theory, written in a style that deftly moves between the intimate, the social and the political -- Annie Ernaux
Returning to Reims played a capital role in my life... I was overwhelmed by this book. I felt I was reading the story of my life -- Edouard Louis