The Epic of Annette

Author's name: Anha Weber

The amazing life of a true heroine of the 20th century.
Anne Beaumanoir (Annette) was born in 1923 in Brittany, France. She joined the Young Communists and the French Resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II, and was awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal for saving two children during the war. She was sentenced to ten years in prison for participating in the war of independence alongside the Algerians, and she escaped from prison in an incredible way. She was a member of Ben Bella's government before fleeing again—this time to Switzerland—where she worked as a neurologist.
German-French writer Anne Weber chose to narrate the life of Anne Beaumanoir in a manner reminiscent of Greek epics, because her life was no less heroic than those legendary heroes, and she confirms that real heroes still exist in our time.
This novel won the German Book Prize in 2020, one of Germany's highest literary awards, and the prestigious Italian Premio Strega Award in 2021. It has been translated into several languages. We present it in Samir Gerges's esteemed translation, which preserves the form and inspiring spirit of this exceptional work.
This masterful novel spans an entire lifetime. It is a meditation on memory, cultural identity, and the relationship between existence and meaning, between alienation and the other.