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Collapse: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26From “one of the most important, politically vital and morally bracing writers of his generation” (The Guardian), an unflinching account of Édouard Louis’s brother’s life and death.
Édouard’s brother spent much of his life dreaming. He lived in a poor, working-class world, where he imagined that he would become one of the finest butchers in France, that he would travel, that he would make his fortune, that he would restore cathedrals, and that his father, who had disappeared, would return and love him.
But there was no way to escape, no one who could show him how, and everything about him—his drinking, his violence, his behavior with women and with others—condemned him.
At thirty-eight, after years of failure and depression, he was found dead on the floor of his small studio apartment. This book is the story of his collapse.
Édouard Louis traces the life of a man who was in many ways violent, misogynistic, homophobic, brutal. But where might understanding begin, and how far can it extend? In Collapse, Louis pursues every angle for answers—newly consulting writers and psychoanalysts and questioning his siblings, his mother, his brother’s partners, and himself. From an outpouring of memory and pain comes a radical gesture of dignity and forgiveness.
Édouard’s brother spent much of his life dreaming. He lived in a poor, working-class world, where he imagined that he would become one of the finest butchers in France, that he would travel, that he would make his fortune, that he would restore cathedrals, and that his father, who had disappeared, would return and love him.
But there was no way to escape, no one who could show him how, and everything about him—his drinking, his violence, his behavior with women and with others—condemned him.
At thirty-eight, after years of failure and depression, he was found dead on the floor of his small studio apartment. This book is the story of his collapse.
Édouard Louis traces the life of a man who was in many ways violent, misogynistic, homophobic, brutal. But where might understanding begin, and how far can it extend? In Collapse, Louis pursues every angle for answers—newly consulting writers and psychoanalysts and questioning his siblings, his mother, his brother’s partners, and himself. From an outpouring of memory and pain comes a radical gesture of dignity and forgiveness.
208 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 2, 2026
87 people want to read
About the author
Édouard Louis
33 books3,801 followersÉdouard Louis is a French writer born October 30, 1992. Édouard Louis, born Eddy Bellegueule, grew up in Hallencourt (Somme) before entering theater class at the Lycée Madeleine Michelis in Amiens. From 2008 to 2010 he was a delegate of the Amiens Academy to the National Council for High School Life, then studied history at the University of Picardy.
From 2011, he is pursuing sociology studies at the ENS in the rue d'Ulm. In 2013, he obtained a name change and became Édouard Louis.
The same year, he directed the collective work Pierre Bourdieu. Insubordination as a legacy to the PUF, a work in which Bourdieu's influence on critical thinking and on emancipation policies is analyzed. In March 2014, he announced that he would direct a collection, "Des mots", devoted to transcripts of conferences, interviews and short texts, for this publisher.
In February 2014, at the age of 21, he published En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule, a novel with a strong autobiographical influence. Very commented on in the media, and widely praised for its qualities, the book also gives rise to several controversies, notably on the way in which it depicts his family and his social background.
After the publication of the book, the themes it addresses are worth to Edouard Louis to receive in March 2014 the Pierre Guénin price against homophobia and for equal rights: the press release from the SOS homophobia association notes that “Édouard Louis makes you aware of the impregnation of homophobia in the daily lives of LGBT people.
From 2011, he is pursuing sociology studies at the ENS in the rue d'Ulm. In 2013, he obtained a name change and became Édouard Louis.
The same year, he directed the collective work Pierre Bourdieu. Insubordination as a legacy to the PUF, a work in which Bourdieu's influence on critical thinking and on emancipation policies is analyzed. In March 2014, he announced that he would direct a collection, "Des mots", devoted to transcripts of conferences, interviews and short texts, for this publisher.
In February 2014, at the age of 21, he published En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule, a novel with a strong autobiographical influence. Very commented on in the media, and widely praised for its qualities, the book also gives rise to several controversies, notably on the way in which it depicts his family and his social background.
After the publication of the book, the themes it addresses are worth to Edouard Louis to receive in March 2014 the Pierre Guénin price against homophobia and for equal rights: the press release from the SOS homophobia association notes that “Édouard Louis makes you aware of the impregnation of homophobia in the daily lives of LGBT people.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
Review of advance copy
Not Louis’ best book. The language is affected and the references to great writers and philosophers feel forced. How many times does he need to tell us that he reads Joan Didion? The themes are familiar — I hope he soon finds new material to write about. But easily read — you breeze through it.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I dont know why this is Said to be non-published. It is published in Danish. Great book like previous work☺️ Bought it at Louisiana Literature Festival.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews