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A review by jeanetterenee
David Golder, the Ball, Snow in Autumn, the Courilof Affair by Irène Némirovsky
3.0
In this book there are two stories of about 40-45 pages each and two short novels of about 120-130 pages. I ended up finishing only the two shorter stories.
"The Ball": 3 stars for this one. It's about a French family who has recently had an upturn in fortune. The wife is desperate to be accepted into higher society and plans an elaborate ball. Her petulant and naughty teenage daughter ends up sabotaging the entire affair. As a result she discovers the power she can have over the adults in her life, especially her mother.
"Snow in Autumn": 4 stars for this one. This is rather grim and sorrowful, but that is its strength in this case. It's a very authentic-feeling story about an upper class Russian family around the time of WW I. They send their sons off to war, and ultimately have to leave behind their privileged lifestyle to flee the Bolsheviks. They go to Odessa and then to Marseilles and finally Paris, living in greatly reduced circumstances. The nanny, "Niania" who has raised two generations of the family's men plays an important role in the story as well, loyal to her employers through it all.
Irene Nemirovsky's family had to leave Russia in a similar fashion, and I could detect the first-hand knowledge of the experience in this story.
"David Golder": A great big "nyet!" on this one. Ugh! I hated it right from the start but gave it thirty pages in which to change my mind before abandoning it.
"The Courilof Affair": This one started off well enough, but gradually lost its momentum until I was no longer interested in continuing.
"The Ball": 3 stars for this one. It's about a French family who has recently had an upturn in fortune. The wife is desperate to be accepted into higher society and plans an elaborate ball. Her petulant and naughty teenage daughter ends up sabotaging the entire affair. As a result she discovers the power she can have over the adults in her life, especially her mother.
"Snow in Autumn": 4 stars for this one. This is rather grim and sorrowful, but that is its strength in this case. It's a very authentic-feeling story about an upper class Russian family around the time of WW I. They send their sons off to war, and ultimately have to leave behind their privileged lifestyle to flee the Bolsheviks. They go to Odessa and then to Marseilles and finally Paris, living in greatly reduced circumstances. The nanny, "Niania" who has raised two generations of the family's men plays an important role in the story as well, loyal to her employers through it all.
Irene Nemirovsky's family had to leave Russia in a similar fashion, and I could detect the first-hand knowledge of the experience in this story.
"David Golder": A great big "nyet!" on this one. Ugh! I hated it right from the start but gave it thirty pages in which to change my mind before abandoning it.
"The Courilof Affair": This one started off well enough, but gradually lost its momentum until I was no longer interested in continuing.