The Life Before Us by Romain Gary (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of The Life Before Us by Romain Gary. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, including aging, childhood and love. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 25-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Romain Gary
• Presentation of The Life Before Us
• Summary of The Life Before Us
• Character study
  • Momo
  • Madame Rosa
  • Dr. Katz
  • Mr. Hamil
  • Arthur
  • Madame Nadine
• Analysis of The Life Before Us
  • Momo’s language
  • A novel of origins and the future
  • How to sublimate reality

About The Life Before Us

The Life Before Us was first published in 1975. It tells the story of 11-year-old Momo and his relationship with the former prostitute he lives with, a woman called Madame Rosa. One of the main features of the novel is the language it is written in – Gary uses a very colloquial style which perfectly evokes the speech of a child.

Although Gary is the author of The Life Before Us, this was only discovered after his death in 1980. The book had been written under the pseudonym Émile Ajar and, in order to complete the illusion, Gary had asked a close relative to play the role of the fictional writer for the public.

About Romain Gary

Romain Gary was a French novelist of Jewish origin. He was born in Lithuania in 1914 and came to France when he was 14 years old. He is well known for his penchant for mystery: he wrote both under the name of Romain Gary and under the pseudonym Émile Ajar. This is the reason why he is the only French writer to have received the Prix Goncourt on two separate occasions: once for The Roots of Heaven, and once for The Life Before Us. He committed suicide in Paris in 1980.