Lives Other Than My Own is a deeply moving work of literary non-fiction that blurs the boundaries between memoir, reportage, and philosophical inquiry. The narrative centers on two devastating tragedies that occurred within months of each other: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which Emmanuel Carrère witnessed while vacationing in Sri Lanka, and the terminal illness of his partner’s sister back in France. Through these interconnected stories, Carrère explores the profound randomness of life-altering events and the fragility of human existence.
The first half of the book provides a haunting, firsthand account of the tsunami’s aftermath, focusing on a French couple who lost their four-year-old daughter to the waves. Upon returning to France, Carrère turns his attention to Juliette, a young judge and mother of three who is succumbing to a long battle with cancer. Rather than a simple wallow in grief, Carrère investigates the "wealth of human solace" that follows loss, detailing Juliette’s meticulous planning for her family’s future and her professional partnership with Étienne, a fellow judge and cancer survivor.
Precise, sober, and emotionally astute, Lives Other Than My Own is a meditation on the "extraordinary beauty and nobility of ordinary lives". A strong discussion angle for the group is Carrère’s role as a "witness" and how he uses the suffering of others to interrogate his own capacity for love, commitment, and empathy.
Winner of the 2010 Globe de Cristal for Best Novel/Essay.
The book group meets at the organizer's apartment. The directions, door code, telephone number, etc., are sent in the 7-day and 1-day reminder emails, following registration.
Two spaces are reserved for new WICE members. If no new WICE members have registered before 15 March, those two spaces will become available to the general WICE membership.
Registration for the April meeting opens on Saturday, 21 March.
