Pro-Abortion ‘Happening’ Novelist Annie Ernaux Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

French author Annie Ernaux, whose pro-abortion novella Happening was recently made into a movie, has won the Nobel Prize in Literature, with the award committee commending the “courage and clinical acuity” of her writing.

Annie Ernaux, who is 82, published Happening (L’événement) in 2000. The novella is based on her own experience as a young woman receiving a clandestine abortion at a time during the 60’s when abortions were illegal in France. The story revolves around a fictionalized 23-year-old university student facing a similar predicament, and the indifferent and sometimes hostile reception she receives from those around her.

The book was turned into a movie of the same name that won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival last year. The movie was distributed by IFC Films in the U.S.

“There were thousands who had been through secret abortions,” the author said in an interview with the Guardian in 2019. “I wanted to recreate the truth of it exactly as it was in the moment, ridding myself of any knowledge of the fight for women’s rights that would follow.”

Ernaux’s other novels deal with gender and social class.

“Her work is uncompromising and written in plain language, scraped clean,” Anders Olsson of the Swedish Academy reportedly said on Thursday as he announced the prize.

“And when she with great courage and clinical acuity reveals the agony of the experience of class, describing shame, humiliation, jealousy or inability to see who you are, she has achieved something admirable and enduring.”

Nobel organizers told reporters on Thursday they focused on literary merit and not politics when deciding the award.

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