What is literary truth? More specifically: is literary truth of the same kind as scientific truth or is it a different kind? To answer this question, the work of Annie Ernaux is carefully examined. It is shown that this autobiographical work aims to restore the truth of the atmospheres encountered by its author more than the truth conceived as a matter of facts. These atmospheres form the background on which everything is revealed. From there, a difference is established between the truths that science deals with (defined as factual truths) and the truths that literature deals with (defined background truths). In this way, a new conception of the relationship between the two kinds of truth is proposed.
