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A review by bella_mckinnon
Le Bal & Snow in Autumn by Irène Némirovsky
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
La Bal:
* well-written
* sharp, intense, fierce
* related to the angsty teen struggle of a child who despises their parent, thought it was clear and on-the-nose
* Antoinette’s lines about being so alone and knowing that things will get better one day while acknowledging her current situation is hopeless, was also painfully relatable and i though sensitively done
* good wit about the story
* sweet touch with the ending, on a surprising empathy and increased understanding of a petty woman going through her own struggles and projecting them on others
* good, enjoyable, quick read
* 5/5
Snow in Autumn:
* sharp, harsh
* paints vivid image of a cold, desperate, bleak living for a struggling family
* tragic
* loved the historical setting, their pov of the impact of the Bolsheviks
* excellent vivid descriptions of everything from the weather, to feelings, to despair, to human faces, and so on
* enjoyed the continuation of what seems to be a pattern in Nemirovsky’s works; sharp, straightforward characters hardened by lifetimes of misfortune
* as a lover of history, I pondered on this for a while “Death. He wasn’t afraid of it. But to leave this earth in the turmoil of a revolution, forgotten by everyone, abandoned…It was all so absurd…” — thought this was really interesting. It’s true we learn more about the drama of the revolutions and then how Bolshevism led to Lenism, Trotskyism and Stalinism, then the USSR and all that…amidst all that drama, we forget about the indivisible stories of the people who were immediately affected by the Bolshevik revolutions and later Russian history. Loved this line of thought.
* harder to follow than La Bal as there were more characters and the names were foreign to me so they took longer to get to, but this is no complaint really, just need to read a little bit more methodically
* really enjoyed, good read again — I feel like Nemirovsky could have had a lucrative career had she not been lost to us due to the horrific events of the Holocaust. Really tragic, she had immense potential.
* 4.75/5
* well-written
* sharp, intense, fierce
* related to the angsty teen struggle of a child who despises their parent, thought it was clear and on-the-nose
* Antoinette’s lines about being so alone and knowing that things will get better one day while acknowledging her current situation is hopeless, was also painfully relatable and i though sensitively done
* good wit about the story
* sweet touch with the ending, on a surprising empathy and increased understanding of a petty woman going through her own struggles and projecting them on others
* good, enjoyable, quick read
* 5/5
Snow in Autumn:
* sharp, harsh
* paints vivid image of a cold, desperate, bleak living for a struggling family
* tragic
* loved the historical setting, their pov of the impact of the Bolsheviks
* excellent vivid descriptions of everything from the weather, to feelings, to despair, to human faces, and so on
* enjoyed the continuation of what seems to be a pattern in Nemirovsky’s works; sharp, straightforward characters hardened by lifetimes of misfortune
* as a lover of history, I pondered on this for a while “Death. He wasn’t afraid of it. But to leave this earth in the turmoil of a revolution, forgotten by everyone, abandoned…It was all so absurd…” — thought this was really interesting. It’s true we learn more about the drama of the revolutions and then how Bolshevism led to Lenism, Trotskyism and Stalinism, then the USSR and all that…amidst all that drama, we forget about the indivisible stories of the people who were immediately affected by the Bolshevik revolutions and later Russian history. Loved this line of thought.
* harder to follow than La Bal as there were more characters and the names were foreign to me so they took longer to get to, but this is no complaint really, just need to read a little bit more methodically
* really enjoyed, good read again — I feel like Nemirovsky could have had a lucrative career had she not been lost to us due to the horrific events of the Holocaust. Really tragic, she had immense potential.
* 4.75/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Mother is pretty verbally abusive to her daughter in 'Le Bal; gives me very narcissistic parenting vibes so if that's a trigger, fair enough.