I hadn't read in French for a while, so borrowed Les Armoires vides by Annie Ernaux (published in English under the chilling title Cleaned Out) from my library. I didn't expect it to be so intense and bleak... It's definitely not the kind of book you should pick up when you're feeling a bit fragile. The narrator, a university student, reflects on her seemingly happy early childhood in her parents' café-grocery and how the course of her life brought her to this moment as she waits for her abortion to take effect. After the shock and humiliation of entering school, she gradually learned to feel shame and hatred, and came to realise that she is truly on her own. Annie Ernaux's inimitable stream-of-consciousness style make this story of a bright little girl, her ambitions, and the anchors that hold her back absolutely hypnotic. I'll be reading more Ernaux in the future!