A review by amontan
The Fires of Autumn by Irène Némirovsky

4.0

Nemirovsky is one of my favorite authors; she was sublimely talented and tragically her life ended too soon. Like her other works, this is a beautifully written novel with meticulously drawn characters and intertwining story lines. But this novel left me feeling so profoundly sad. I can't say that I identified with any of the characters or really even liked them, but I think that was the point. Nemirovsky creates a portrait of the generation, her generation, that abruptly came of age during WWI, created and reveled in the excess of the 20s and sought atonement for this excess during WWII. Like Gatsby, this novel seems to be an indictment of the Lost Generation and the world they created. Even though I will have a book hangover for days, I highly recommend this book.