Who Killed My Father

Note the lack of a question mark in the title of this slim volume by the French writer Edouard Louis about his father. It is a scathing indictment of successive governments of France, starting with Chirac and running through Macron, for their treatment of the underclass. Louis's father, injured and disabled in his factory job, was made to travel dozens of miles to sweep streets to qualify for his pittance of disability. Louis here adds depth to the tough story of his upbringing that appeared in fictionalized form in The End of Eddy. The father, like many others in his position, blamed immigrants for his problems but now believes France needs a revolution. Louis deftly blends tenderness for his father with an unflinching look at his family's dysfunctions. His new book, about his mother, I expect will be as good.