Édouard Louis was raised in the town of Hallencourt in the North of France, which is the setting of his first novel En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule. He grew up in a working-class family touched by poverty and alcoholism, and was the first of his family to attend university, entering the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris in 2011. The book, revolving around his relationship with his coming-of-age as a gay boy in a homophobic and racist community, was the subject of extensive media attention. It was hailed for its literary merit and compelling story, published in English as The End of Eddy and now adapted on stage by Richard Brunel. In 2016, Louis published his second novel, History of Violence.
Related / Latest publication(s)
The End of Eddy (Harvill Secker, 2017)
Translated by Michael Lucey