 In 1968 at the age of 22, Modiano published his first book "La Place de l'Étoile", a wartime novel about a Jewish collaborator, after having read the manuscript to Queneau.The novel displeased his father so much that he tried to buy all existing copies of the book.Earlier (1959) while stranded in London, Modiano had called his father to request a little financial assistance, but his father had rebuffed him.