Emmanuel Carrère, writer: ‘There is only one rule: do no harm — and I broke it with my mother and girlfriend at the time’

Emmanuel Carrère says he crossed ethical lines by writing about people close to him, including his mother and a former girlfriend. His new book, *Kolkhoz*, combines the story of his Russian and Georgian family roots with the war in Ukraine, using his mother’s life and death to explore Russia’s history and renewed imperial ambitions.

Carrère began taking notes three days after his 93-year-old mother entered palliative care, describing her death as a momentous event that deserved to be told. She had concealed her illness and announced her death to her family ten days beforehand; he recalls immense sadness, alongside admiration for her calmness. The book opens with her state funeral, organised by President Emmanuel Macron, and portrays her as a prominent French historian whose views sometimes supported Putin and the far right.