David Fonkinos began publishing in 2001, and since then his popularity has been growing rapidly. Winner of the François Mauriac, Roger Nimier, Jean Giono and many other prestigious awards, Fonkinos was included in the top five most read writers in France in 2011. His books are published in thirty-five countries, and a film was made based on the novel “Tenderness” with Audrey Tautou in the title role. “Memoirs” is his tenth novel, and it is a novel, and not the author’s memoirs, although the narration is in the first person, and the narrator is unusually reminiscent of Fonkinos himself. A young intellectual who works as a night porter and dreams of becoming a writer, by force of circumstances, is immersed in the history of his family. At twenty years old, he is faced with the problems of the older generation and is forced to participate in solving them. The memories of his parents and grandparents form a family mythology, partly funny, partly sad, which determined his own fate. The short inserted stories also contain memories of famous people: Nietzsche, Serge Gainsbourg, Claude Lelouch and even Alzheimer. Meanwhile, the hero hopes to build a family life with his beloved girl, different from the life of his parents. The book has sold 130,000 copies, and a film adaptation is planned.