Reviews

Jezabel by Irène Némirovsky

remanso's review against another edition

4.0

"Todas las pasiones son, al fin y al cabo, trágicas, todos los deseos están malditos porque uno obtiene siempre menos de lo que soñó..."

valentinarancan's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition

4.0

I was very excited when this was finally released in an American edition. I'm a big fan of Nemirovsky, and this novel is quite similar to her other works. No one is quite as they appear, and no one is safe from showing how simple, greedy, or flawed they really are. The style is similar to her other works, and Jezebel was first published in French in the late 1930's, before All Our Worldly Goods was published and Suite Francaise was begun. The courtroom start makes the novel surprisingly modern, and the work up to the events described in the testimony are similar to watching a car wreck in reverse (in the best possibly literary way, of course!). The ending was a bit transparent, and other than Gladys' descent into emotional old age the novel could have gone to the end a bit more expediently. All in all, this novel is another addition to Nemirovsky's too early shortened literary canon.

rdebner's review against another edition

3.0

The story of a woman who will do anything to maintain the illusion of youth. Not quite a Portrait of Dorian Gray, but not too far off that mark.

darth_aubs's review against another edition

3.0

Three stars because Nemirovsky is a master of characterization. She doesn't shy away from the darker side of human nature, which makes her characters interesting, flawed, and relatable. The novel itself read more like narrative non-fiction, with too much explicit feelings-dump for me to appreciate it fully. If reworked, it would make an excellent short story.

maccymacd's review against another edition

3.0

I found myself in a bit of a rollercoaster ride with this book. It started off so well, dipped down drastically and then ending with an emotional high I hadn't expected. Initially I enjoyed the style of the writing, but after a while it became completely repetitive and I was finding it far too frustrating. The lead character fills pages and pages with descriptions of her beauty and I disliked her narcissistic behaviour immensely. She had no empathy with anyone else whether it was her daughter, her friends or her lovers, and simply droned on and on about how important it was for her to remain beautiful and how no one understood her.
A mixed bag of a book. Although to give the author a fair excuse, it may have been the translation of her writing I disliked.

diandrakrista's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

elizarapsodia's review against another edition

4.0

4.5

Esta autora ya es constante en este blog. Desde que la descubrí me propuse leer todas sus novelas y con tres libros leídos suyos (El ardor de la sangre, El baile y Nieve en otoño) no era raro que pronto cayera el cuarto y los demás pronto llegarán.

Como los lectores de esta estupenda autora sabrán, las novelas de Irène son muy trabajadas, diseccionan a los seres humanos, su psicología, motivaciones y tiene un estilo muy bello, delicado y introspectivo en la mente de sus personajes. Jezabel podría arriesgarme a decir que es la novela más atrevida o trasgresora que he leído de la autora.

Para entender el titulo de la novela diré que según la biblia, Jezabel fue una reina de origen fenicio, manipuladora y hermosa que fue considerada la encarnación misma del mal. Ese tipo de mujer seductora que arrastraba a la perdición a todo aquel que cae en su encanto. La historia dice que fue una reina de Israel enérgica y despiadada que no dudo en hacer lo que sea por lograr sus objetivos y que luchó por instaurar una nueva religión en esa tierra que no era su tierra natal y quiso imponer las divinidades fenicias en el reino. Esta referencia la tuve que buscar porque no todo el mundo la comprendería. Un título perfecto para la novela.

Reseña completa: http://rapsodia-literaria.blogspot.com/2013/10/jezabel-de-irene-nemirovsky.html

herlocksholmes's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mariar18's review against another edition

tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75