Disappointing
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Contrary to other reviewers, I found this book rather boring. Indeed, I have shelved the book whilst only two-thirds of the way through. Perhaps it lost something in translation as I found the narrative rather naïve and the constant use of parentheses irritating and unnecessary.
I wonder if the fate of Irene Nemirovsky merely served to hype the book rather more than it deserved.
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Tragically unfinished
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Suite Francaise consists of two short novels, originally intended to be part of a set of five. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, was a Russian Jew living in France, and was tragically killed in Auschwitz before her project could be completed.
The first of the two, 'Storm in June', is concerned with a variety of characters fleeing Paris as the Nazis occupy France as part of World War II. The second, 'Dolce', is about the German occupation of a small village in central France. Some characters feature in both stories, and it is clear that, had Nemirovsky lived to complete all five, the storylines of this disparate group would probably have come together.
The characters are realistic although often not particularly likable - certainly Nemirovsky draws on her first hand knowledge to depict the strange way human beings behave in extraordinary circumstances. There is a sense of bitterness underlying much of the narrative, particularly in the merciless depictions of the selfish upper class characters.
Knowledge of the circumstances in which the books were written adds to their impact. I felt that they were more realistic than many war stories, perhaps partly because I knew they were written by someone as they lived through it, but also by the many small details included. The hardcover edition includes two appendices containing Nemirovsky's plans for the other books, her correspondence, and the remarkable story of her life and how her manuscript survived the war when she did not. This is well worth reading as it enhances the overall experience of the book and serves as an important reminder of the sheer horror of the treatment meted out to Jews by the Nazis.
The two stories do seem a little unfinished - although given that Nemirovsky could have had few opportunities to revise them, are more polished than might be expected. It is a great sadness that she never had the chance to complete the other three books as I believe the final five-volume work would have been greater than the sum of its parts. Having been introduced to the characters there isn't much chance to get to know them before the book's premature end.
However, it is worth reading and has the same haunting effect as the Diary of Anne Frank.
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French Manners and Morals!
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This book is truly amazing and being able to read it can be considered a priviledge. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, a White Russian, was born in Kiev in 1903. Her father was a successful Russian banker and the family enjoyed a life of luxury in Russia, but at the start of 1918 the family fled the Russian Revolution, leaving their fortune behind. They spent a year or so in Finland, then Sweden, before arriving in France in 1919, where the author became a bestselling novelist at the age of 26. The book is really two stories in one: the two parts that make-up the novel, plus the notes and letters that tell us the tragic story of the author and her husband (Michel Epstien) during their final months. Suite Francais is the first and second parts of a planned five-part, 1,000 page novel (although each part is complete in itself), but Irene Nemirovsky never wrote the remaining parts, as she died in Auschwitz in August 1942. It's a story written with such insight and honesty, regarding the way people from different walks of life and with differing attitudes, respond to the deprivations of war. What I also found remarkable was the fact that although the Germans were her tormentors, the story she tells contains no condemnation of the German Army, as we might expect, simply objective observations woven into the fabric. We're priviledged not only because it's an excellent read, but also for the fact that the story survived to be told at all! Following the author's arrest, her husband was arrested 3 months later, but the couple's two daughters were hidden by friends and mercifully survived the rest of the war. We learn how the eldest daughter, Denise, thinking that the notebook was her mother's diary, took it as a momento and it travelled with her from hiding place to hiding place; neither girl, however, ever attempted to read it. After the war, the girls discovered that their parents had in fact perished; they found it too painful to even open the notebook. It was many years later that they decided to entrust it to an organisation dedicated to documenting memories of war, but before doing so Denise decided to type a copy. To do so required the use of a magnifying glass, as the writing was so tiny, but on undertaking this painstaking job it soon became apparent to her that the contents were not a diary, but a work that conveyed a vivid snapshot of France and the French just before and during the occupation. She sent the manuscript to a publisher and 64 years after her mother's death, this book was published. We are also indebted to Sandra Smith for her translation that enabled us English-speakers to read this wonderful book.
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WW2 novel
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This isn't the typical WW2 story that focuses on the troops and various battles etc. Instead it looks at the effect of the German advancement into France from the perspective of several different characters - rich and poor, young and old, men and women, in the city and countryside. What is fascinating is how most of them are connected in the story in the most innocuos ways - they pass each other on the street, stay in the same house etc. Worth noting is that the story doesn't build up into any grand climax. It just details the day to day affairs of living in a country at war from the perspective of people like you or I who unwittingly get caught up in it. It's emotional and thought provoking as opposed to gripping and action packed. If you're easily bored this may be one to avoid.
The book is divided into 2 parts, the first deals with the panic surrounding the news of the Germans entering France and heading towards Paris with ease. The second part is about the occupation and examines the peoples reaction to it. The book also contains an appendix with the authors notations and diary extracts about the 5 part book she was hoping to write but couldn't. Finally there is a bit sbout the authors as a life before and during the war and how the book got to being published 60 years later.I thought this was a good touch as it is a moving tale in itself.
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Reading Suite Francaise in French
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel in French. The plot is quite complicated with so many characters but I kept a piece of paper with the book and wrote down who was where and what had happened to them which really helped. Wikipedia has a good resume of the plot too.
It was an ideal book to read in French as I could not put it down and the flight from Paris in the first part is very exciting.
Some friends were critical of her attitude to the characters, feeling that she did not like people in general, but I found her portrayal of the characters very realist, and their motivations in relation to the occupation were interesting and complex.
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