Albertine Sarrazin

A literary comet, from juvenile detention to bestseller success. Born in Algiers in 1937 and passed away in 1967 in Montpellier, Albertine Sarrazin experienced a rebellious and fugitive childhood. A botched robbery landed her in prison for eight years. It was within the walls that she led her most regular life, studied, married, and became a writer. Literature provided her escape. She published her first successful novel, "L’Astragale," in 1965—a beautiful love story among criminals, experienced through hideouts, relapses, and imprisonments. The following year saw two more sensitive and popular narratives ("La Cavale" and "La Traversière"), which sold 100,000 copies each, cementing the author’s deserved national fame. A modest and insightful voice, a clear-eyed perspective, and, above all, a distinctive style. Her writing was praised by Patty Smith in a 2014 text: "My Albertine, how I adored her! Her luminous eyes guided me through the darkness of my youth. She was my guide during nights of a hundred sleeps."
(based on Le Monde and The New Statesman)