A French writer is being recognized with one of the top literary honors. Annie Ernaux has won this year's Nobel Prize in Literature.

Anders Olsson of the Swedish Academy said "Her work is uncompromising and written in plain language scraped clean, and with courage and clinical acuity uncovers the contradictions of social experience describing shame, humiliation, jealously or inability to see who we are, she has achieved something admirable and enduring."

Ernaux incorporates her own experiences in her writing and in her fourth book, "A Man's Place", she established her autobiographical style.

She is also known for other works including "The Possession," "The Years" and what the Nobel Committee calls her masterpiece... "Happening." It's described as a clinically restrained narrative about a 23-year-old's illegal abortion.

The committee says Ernaux's works examine a life marked by strong disparities regarding gender, language and class -- consistently and from different angles.