In The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Deborah Treisman interviews Lucinda Rosenfeld about Annie Ernaux's short story "Returns," which Rosenfeld chose from The New Yorker's archives. Rosenfeld discusses her initial attraction to Ernaux's direct prose and her focus on working-class women's lives, as well as the impact of Ernaux's Nobel Prize win. The conversation explores themes of time, social class, and the complex mother-daughter relationship depicted in "Returns," with Rosenfeld sharing personal connections to the story's themes of guilt and estrangement. They analyze Ernaux's writing style, the significance of food and objects in the story, and the multiple layers of meaning in the title "Returns," ultimately highlighting the story's exploration of memory, loss, and the challenges of familial connection.
