Scan barcode
A review by willowbiblio
Suite Francaise by Irène Némirovsky
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
"It's a truism that people are complicated, multifaceted, contradictory, surprising, but it takes the advent of war or other momentous events to be able to see it."
--------------------
This is quite possibly one of the top 10 books I've read all year. It wasn't until I'd finished it and began reading the appendices that I realized Némirovsky was murdered in Auschwitz, and this was actually an incomplete epic work. I feel like the world and her family were robbed.
The book itself was so jarring in it's ability to see straight to the soul of everyone. It's really hard to grasp how Némirovsky attained this level of insight into what were effectively current events for her.
I loved her theme of animals as people, or people as animals. Equally I loved the way that she captured the complexity of loneliness, and the shame of accepting whatever would relieve it. Throughout, she returned to this idea of how no one could be seen to be anything less than patriotic to an extreme- for ego and to prevent shame rather than a true feeling.
I also found it interesting that for the entire first part the Germans were just a faceless mass with no individualism. It was when they entered the French homes, and hearts, that they were given unique identities, histories, and passions. Still, though, the were compared more to automatons than humans or animals and Némirovsky continually kept the reader aware that they were conquerors/occupiers.
My regret is that she wasn't able to complete this, and that she and her husband lost their lives to a pointless cause that destroyed so many lives and futures.
--------------------
This is quite possibly one of the top 10 books I've read all year. It wasn't until I'd finished it and began reading the appendices that I realized Némirovsky was murdered in Auschwitz, and this was actually an incomplete epic work. I feel like the world and her family were robbed.
The book itself was so jarring in it's ability to see straight to the soul of everyone. It's really hard to grasp how Némirovsky attained this level of insight into what were effectively current events for her.
I loved her theme of animals as people, or people as animals. Equally I loved the way that she captured the complexity of loneliness, and the shame of accepting whatever would relieve it. Throughout, she returned to this idea of how no one could be seen to be anything less than patriotic to an extreme- for ego and to prevent shame rather than a true feeling.
I also found it interesting that for the entire first part the Germans were just a faceless mass with no individualism. It was when they entered the French homes, and hearts, that they were given unique identities, histories, and passions. Still, though, the were compared more to automatons than humans or animals and Némirovsky continually kept the reader aware that they were conquerors/occupiers.
My regret is that she wasn't able to complete this, and that she and her husband lost their lives to a pointless cause that destroyed so many lives and futures.