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laurpar 's review for:
Fire in the Blood
by Irène Némirovsky
Silvio is an aging man who claims to have no regrets about his life spent travelling the world, laying women instead of roots. Spending the remainder of his days in a decrepit house in the French countryside, he observes the romances of his young niece with mild bemusement. When love leads to murder, however, Silvio begins to reflect on the differences between an old man’s love and a young man’s love as he reminisces about his own romances.
I would like to start by saying this novel was incredibly French, but I can’t exactly define what that means. I felt a connection to this book that I cannot properly describe, either. The narrator, Silvio, is distanced from the story, much like the reader. He observes the plot from afar, not taking it upon himself to get too involved, which leads to an interesting unfolding of information. The book itself was poetic and romantic, and the ending offered several delicious plot twists, creating a very pleasant afternoon read.
Though I enjoyed this story immensely, the more interesting story actually revolves around the author’s life. I have a few of Nemirovsky’s books on my bookshelf, and I had read a good portion of Suite Francaise before leaving it in a hotel room in London years ago. I knew she was a celebrated author, but I was unfamiliar with her biography until I started to read this book. Nemirovsky was born in Russia and moved with her family to Paris as a teenager. She started writing when she was 18 and began publishing books with notable success starting in 1927. However, while her writing was on the up-and-up, Nemirovsky herself was not. Despite converting to Roman-Catholicism, Nemirovsky was still considered to be Jewish, and she was unable to publish her work. At the age of 39, she was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis. With that kind of history and this level of writing, I am sure this will not be the last Nemirovsky book I read.
Fire in the Blood is an interesting book by an incredible author that is easy to get through during a slow summer afternoon.
I would like to start by saying this novel was incredibly French, but I can’t exactly define what that means. I felt a connection to this book that I cannot properly describe, either. The narrator, Silvio, is distanced from the story, much like the reader. He observes the plot from afar, not taking it upon himself to get too involved, which leads to an interesting unfolding of information. The book itself was poetic and romantic, and the ending offered several delicious plot twists, creating a very pleasant afternoon read.
Though I enjoyed this story immensely, the more interesting story actually revolves around the author’s life. I have a few of Nemirovsky’s books on my bookshelf, and I had read a good portion of Suite Francaise before leaving it in a hotel room in London years ago. I knew she was a celebrated author, but I was unfamiliar with her biography until I started to read this book. Nemirovsky was born in Russia and moved with her family to Paris as a teenager. She started writing when she was 18 and began publishing books with notable success starting in 1927. However, while her writing was on the up-and-up, Nemirovsky herself was not. Despite converting to Roman-Catholicism, Nemirovsky was still considered to be Jewish, and she was unable to publish her work. At the age of 39, she was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis. With that kind of history and this level of writing, I am sure this will not be the last Nemirovsky book I read.
Fire in the Blood is an interesting book by an incredible author that is easy to get through during a slow summer afternoon.