Summary
Emmanuel Carrère's 400-page memoir, "Kolkhoz," reviewed here, is a homage to his parents, Hélène and Louis, and their unlikely history, including Hélène's role as "perpetual secretary" of the Académie Française. The book also serves as an act of reparation towards his mother, whom he upset by publishing a forbidden work, and delves into her family's past involving stateless poverty, Russian aristocracy, and alleged Nazi collaboration.