Suite Française in Reading 1001

Oct 30, 2007 Tiffany rated it it was amazing

Shelves: persephone-authors, paris, fiction

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. The touches of humor are so realistic and appropriate, the insights about human behavior so keen...I loved everything about it.

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Jul 09, 2011 Jgrace rated it really liked it

Shelves: holocaust, france, audio, translated, europe, judithg, women-writers, ww2, jgrace, historical-fiction

Suite Francaise – Irene Nemirovsky
4 stars

“If I want to create something striking, it is not misery I will show but the prosperity that contrasts with it.”

When I read novels dealing with a known disaster, I often feel as if I want to reach into the pages to rescue the doomed characters. With this story, it wasn’t the characters that I wanted to protect; it was the author. Irene Nemirovsky was able to develop the first two parts of her planned novel, before disaster overtook her. It’s clear fro Suite Francaise – Irene Nemirovsky
4 stars

“If I want to create something striking, it is not misery I will show but the prosperity that contrasts with it.”

When I read novels dealing with a known disaster, I often feel as if I want to reach into the pages to rescue the doomed characters. With this story, it wasn’t the characters that I wanted to protect; it was the author. Irene Nemirovsky was able to develop the first two parts of her planned novel, before disaster overtook her. It’s clear from the notes in the book’s appendix, that even these published portions would have probably been revised had she lived.

The story, as it exists, is concerned with the German invasion and occupation of France. The first section, Storm in June, introduces various characters as they attempt to evacuate Paris ahead of the German invasion. The second section, Dolce, is concerned with the German occupation of the provinces. Nemirovsky was using the idea of a musical composition to structure her work so it reads like a series of character sketches with all of the inner thoughts and flaws of each individual exposed. She seems more interested in revealing the inequities and hypocrisies of class distinctions than in making demons of each German soldier. I did not find one reference in the text concerning treatment of the Jews.

For me, the appendixes to this book were far more interesting than the fiction. The first appendix is taken from Nemirovsky’s handwritten notes, pertaining to the situation in France, and her plans for the novel. She’s very ambitious, but she clearly knows that she may not be alive to complete her work. It’s a fascinating look at her persistent dedication to her art under such difficult circumstances. I laughed when I saw her self-critiquing note,“Death of the priest – schmaltzy”. I thought exactly that when I was reading it. Her justifiably cynical point of view is expressed clearly in her notes.

“My God! What is this country doing to me? Since it is rejecting me, let us consider it coldly, let us watch as it loses its honour and its life.” ...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Anita Pomerantz rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books

Suite Francaise takes place in Nazi occupied France in the 1940's. It focuses on the lives of various different people - - wealthy, poor, and middle class - - as they react to the prospect of Paris being bombed. It then moves on to a single town and paints a detailed portrait of what it was like to live in a village with the Nazi soldiers right there beside the French.

If I were merely evaluating this book on the writing alone - - well it would be five star PLUS. Goodness, this woman can craft a ...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Mindy aka serenity rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: french-literature, serenity-s-1001-challenge

This unfinished and recently discovered novel by Nemirofsky was found years after she was transported to Auschwitz and died. It paints the picture of several families who connect with each other because of the flight from Paris and the subsequent armistice and occupation by Germany. The prose is absolutely beautiful-she really has a way to bring you right into the story alongside her well developed characters. The book is in 2 parts (there would have been 5): Storm in June and Dolce. The Storm i ...more

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Nov 05, 2008 Rachel N. rated it liked it

This was a book club book. It's hard to rate this book knowing the author only got to tell two of the five parts of the intended story. The first part, telling of the French fleeing Paris when the Germans invade, was rather scattershot. Lots of characters introduced but not much followthrough. The second book deals with one town being occupied by the Germans. A more coherent story but too sympathetic towards the Germans for my taste. ...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Chinook rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001

"2 June 1942 Never forget that the war will be over and that the entire historical side will fade away. Try to create as much as possible: things, debates... that will interest people in 1952 or 2052. Re-read Tolstoy. Inimitable descriptions but not historical. For example in Dolce, the Germans in the village. In captivity, Jacqueline's First Communion and Arlette Corail's party." ...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Pippin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: guardian-1000, boxall-1001

Even though it is a venus de milo (sp?) - missing several important limbs - what remains is a work of art. But i kind of like unfinished objects because they let me ponder what the rest of the story might be like.

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