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helgamharb's review against another edition
5.0
Misery and misfortune, misery and misfortune!...
You could smell the suffering in the air, in the silence.
Suite Française consists of two books “Storm in June” and “Dolce” both of which originally were supposed to be a part of 5 novels which were never written due to the author’s arrest and later her death at Auschwitz.
The handwritten manuscripts were hidden in a suitcase and later saved by the author's daughters.
To lift such a heavy weight Sisyphus, you will need all your courage. I do not lack the courage to complete the task. But the end is far and time is short.
In Suite Française, the author acquaints us with complex characters. Some good and kind, some selfish and arrogant. It is them that we follow in this tragedy; in the midst of the exodus and under enemy occupation, as they face difficult challenges and make perilous decisions.
Some characters we will love, some we will hate, but none we can judge.
Even so, we have to make it through . . . we have to get away, from this blood, from this mud dragging us down . . . We’re not just going to lie down and die . . . Are we, well, are we? That would be too ridiculous. We have to hang on . . . hang on . . . hang on…
“Who could we speak to?” Jeanne finally exclaimed.
“You mean you still don’t understand that nobody cares about anybody?”
She looked at him. “You’re strange, Maurice. You’ve seen people at their most cynical, their most disillusioned, and at the same time you’re not unhappy, I mean, not really unhappy inside! Am I wrong?”
“No.”
“So what makes it all right, then?”
“My certainty that deep down I’m a free man,” he said, after thinking for a moment. “It’s a constant, precious possession, and whether I keep it or lose it is up to me and no one else. I desperately want the insanity we’re living through to end. I desperately want what has begun to finish. In a word, I desperately want this tragedy to be over and for us to try to survive it, that’s all. What’s important is to live: Primum vivere. One day at a time. To survive, to wait, to hope.”
You could smell the suffering in the air, in the silence.
Suite Française consists of two books “Storm in June” and “Dolce” both of which originally were supposed to be a part of 5 novels which were never written due to the author’s arrest and later her death at Auschwitz.
The handwritten manuscripts were hidden in a suitcase and later saved by the author's daughters.
To lift such a heavy weight Sisyphus, you will need all your courage. I do not lack the courage to complete the task. But the end is far and time is short.
In Suite Française, the author acquaints us with complex characters. Some good and kind, some selfish and arrogant. It is them that we follow in this tragedy; in the midst of the exodus and under enemy occupation, as they face difficult challenges and make perilous decisions.
Some characters we will love, some we will hate, but none we can judge.
Even so, we have to make it through . . . we have to get away, from this blood, from this mud dragging us down . . . We’re not just going to lie down and die . . . Are we, well, are we? That would be too ridiculous. We have to hang on . . . hang on . . . hang on…
“Who could we speak to?” Jeanne finally exclaimed.
“You mean you still don’t understand that nobody cares about anybody?”
She looked at him. “You’re strange, Maurice. You’ve seen people at their most cynical, their most disillusioned, and at the same time you’re not unhappy, I mean, not really unhappy inside! Am I wrong?”
“No.”
“So what makes it all right, then?”
“My certainty that deep down I’m a free man,” he said, after thinking for a moment. “It’s a constant, precious possession, and whether I keep it or lose it is up to me and no one else. I desperately want the insanity we’re living through to end. I desperately want what has begun to finish. In a word, I desperately want this tragedy to be over and for us to try to survive it, that’s all. What’s important is to live: Primum vivere. One day at a time. To survive, to wait, to hope.”
udflyer's review against another edition
DNF. Just couldn't get into it. Wasn't much different from any other mediocre WWII novel.
ashs316's review against another edition
3.0
A word of advice, don't listen to this as an audio book. It was hard to keep track of characters and hang on to the story line.
meowserly's review against another edition
3.0
Well, parts of it were 4 star. It's written in different sections and each focused on a different character. However, they all intersect somehow. I suppose I just found some characters more relatable so I enjoyed their sections more.
janiebee's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'm sad it's over. I likely would have given it 5 stars if it was complete but that feeling of being left hanging is difficult--especially for me. It is so beautiful and engrossing and such an analysis of the human spirit. It gives such an interesting perspective to understand where Nemirovsky was coming from as one captured by the Nazis and eventually killed. She portrays some mean sprited, small minded, ugly characters, but these characters are seldom German. They are French.
Another thing I enjoyed was Nemirovsky's ability to describe so vividly--to paint a picture in your mind--either so picturesque and lovely that you can taste the strawberries, smell the wild flowers, and feel the spring wind blowing. Or you can imagine the horror of trusting someone for just a moment so you can rest when you are exhausted, only to find out this person as stolen all your gas leaving you and your fiance stranded gauranteeing all your worldy possessions will be lost as you leave your car behind, that you are in for a world of hurt as you walk and walk who knows where, and that your risk of being hurt or bombed and just increased exponentially.
She let's you into peoples' mind as few writers have the ability to do.
Another thing I enjoyed was Nemirovsky's ability to describe so vividly--to paint a picture in your mind--either so picturesque and lovely that you can taste the strawberries, smell the wild flowers, and feel the spring wind blowing. Or you can imagine the horror of trusting someone for just a moment so you can rest when you are exhausted, only to find out this person as stolen all your gas leaving you and your fiance stranded gauranteeing all your worldy possessions will be lost as you leave your car behind, that you are in for a world of hurt as you walk and walk who knows where, and that your risk of being hurt or bombed and just increased exponentially.
She let's you into peoples' mind as few writers have the ability to do.
toomanyfingees's review against another edition
2.0
I am having a hard time getting through this book. Do not read it if you don't want to be absolutely depressed or if you don't want to become a misanthrope- so far there isn't a single likable character. The writing is wonderful, its just the content that I find myself slogging through.
faintgirl's review against another edition
4.0
Suite Francaise is an amazing novel of resilience and humanity in the face of the loss of your culture and way of life to a foreign regime. Set during the early days of the Nazi Occupation of France, it follows a string of characters from every walk of life as they flee from and adapt to life alongside German soldiers. The amount of dignity in the face of enormous loss is stunning, and the stories take a back seat to the general sentiment of this ambitious novel.
It is even more exceptional when the history of Nemirovsky is taken into account. A European Jew, she wrote the first two parts of this novel, before being removed by the Nazi's. Despite the efforts of her publishers and French dignitaries she was moved from ghetto to concentration camp, and died in Auschwitz. The fact that she saw so much light in the face of reality, is something quite incredible.
It is even more exceptional when the history of Nemirovsky is taken into account. A European Jew, she wrote the first two parts of this novel, before being removed by the Nazi's. Despite the efforts of her publishers and French dignitaries she was moved from ghetto to concentration camp, and died in Auschwitz. The fact that she saw so much light in the face of reality, is something quite incredible.
cafedenuit's review against another edition
5.0
very real account of nazi germany's occupation of paris, told from the viewpoint of all sorts of parisians. depressing, but excellent.
nicolegiordano's review against another edition
2.0
This book has received a lot of great reviews but I honestly didn't care for it. It is supposed to depict the impact of the very early years of WWII on various people in France during the German occupation. In my opinion, there were too many characters and the story lines tended to be boring. I wasn't able to identity and care about any of the characters because they were all really short lived in the book. It just wasn't what I expected.
efimerabonhomia's review against another edition
3.0
3,5
El 4 de junio de 1940 marca el inicio de la novela, cuando fuerzas nazis alemanas se preparan para invadir Francia y relata hasta el 1 de julio de 1941, cuando estas tropas abandonan Francia y se dirigen a la nueva lucha, en este caso la Unión Soviética. Esta novela guarda entre sus páginas una ficción y una realidad. La novela consta de dos volúmenes donde se nos presentan a personajes y sus familias y la situación que los abduce la invasión nazi en Francia. Pero también se integra con ella la historia de la autora, Irene era una ucraniana que vivía en Francia y que fue arrestada durante la invasión nazi por tener ascendencia judía, fue trasladada al campo de Auschwitz el 13 de julio de 1942 y se murió en agosto de ese mismo año. Eso puede significar que la autora escribió el libro prácticamente a la vez que estaban ocurriendo los sucesos que relataba. El libro funciona casi como un diario de los hechos, desbordante de ironía.
Al leer la novela con la perspectiva de pensar que ella estaba describiendo a escasos meses de que ocurriría todo por lo que había vivido acompañada de personajes ficticios que enfatizaran de alguna manera la humanidad. Con estas circunstancias te sientes casi como en una película en el medio de la batalla. Sería no ser realista por mi parte comentaros que pese a que comprendo la magnitud que tuvo para Irene escribir esta novela mientras todo estaba ocurriendo, no me ha llegado. Todo esto viene provocado a que siento que la segunda guerra mundial es un tema tremendamente explotado y siendo que es un libro que he leído antes. Eso sí, aunque ahondes en lo que hay detrás y que al final Irene fue una víctima más del genocidio, se crea ese morbo innecesario de las catástrofes históricas mundiales.
Valoro el libro como un esfuerzo de la autora por mostrar el trágico suceso que estaba viendo y literalmente viviendo, pero no consiguió enseñarme algo que no hubiera sentido antes con otros libros que tratan el conflicto. Pese a que la vida amorosa de los personajes depende del bloque del libro en el que te sitúes es más o menos relevante, no consigo que me importen más. Al leer las páginas sentía que quería mirar por la ventana y que me explicaran lo que estaba sucediendo fuera, no quería distraerme con los personajes. Por eso el libro me parece que pierde poder.
Toda esta crítica no minimiza el hecho de que Irene fue capaz de escribir un libro magistralmente en un momento de tensión máxima, con miedo y angustia e ironizar y sacar conclusiones que a muchos le llevaron años.
Los conflictos mundiales no están para ser romantizados. Son memoria histórica que se conserva para no repetirse.
El 4 de junio de 1940 marca el inicio de la novela, cuando fuerzas nazis alemanas se preparan para invadir Francia y relata hasta el 1 de julio de 1941, cuando estas tropas abandonan Francia y se dirigen a la nueva lucha, en este caso la Unión Soviética. Esta novela guarda entre sus páginas una ficción y una realidad. La novela consta de dos volúmenes donde se nos presentan a personajes y sus familias y la situación que los abduce la invasión nazi en Francia. Pero también se integra con ella la historia de la autora, Irene era una ucraniana que vivía en Francia y que fue arrestada durante la invasión nazi por tener ascendencia judía, fue trasladada al campo de Auschwitz el 13 de julio de 1942 y se murió en agosto de ese mismo año. Eso puede significar que la autora escribió el libro prácticamente a la vez que estaban ocurriendo los sucesos que relataba. El libro funciona casi como un diario de los hechos, desbordante de ironía.
Al leer la novela con la perspectiva de pensar que ella estaba describiendo a escasos meses de que ocurriría todo por lo que había vivido acompañada de personajes ficticios que enfatizaran de alguna manera la humanidad. Con estas circunstancias te sientes casi como en una película en el medio de la batalla. Sería no ser realista por mi parte comentaros que pese a que comprendo la magnitud que tuvo para Irene escribir esta novela mientras todo estaba ocurriendo, no me ha llegado. Todo esto viene provocado a que siento que la segunda guerra mundial es un tema tremendamente explotado y siendo que es un libro que he leído antes. Eso sí, aunque ahondes en lo que hay detrás y que al final Irene fue una víctima más del genocidio, se crea ese morbo innecesario de las catástrofes históricas mundiales.
Valoro el libro como un esfuerzo de la autora por mostrar el trágico suceso que estaba viendo y literalmente viviendo, pero no consiguió enseñarme algo que no hubiera sentido antes con otros libros que tratan el conflicto. Pese a que la vida amorosa de los personajes depende del bloque del libro en el que te sitúes es más o menos relevante, no consigo que me importen más. Al leer las páginas sentía que quería mirar por la ventana y que me explicaran lo que estaba sucediendo fuera, no quería distraerme con los personajes. Por eso el libro me parece que pierde poder.
Toda esta crítica no minimiza el hecho de que Irene fue capaz de escribir un libro magistralmente en un momento de tensión máxima, con miedo y angustia e ironizar y sacar conclusiones que a muchos le llevaron años.
Los conflictos mundiales no están para ser romantizados. Son memoria histórica que se conserva para no repetirse.