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• Suite Francaise
Irene Nemirovsky

Vintage, 2007 - 448 pages

average customer review:based on 374 reviews
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   highly recommended  highly recommended




Moving and poignant reflection on the persistence of humanity

When I started "Suite Francaise," I thought it would take a lot of time and effort to complete. Happily, I was wrong. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. The novel is actually composed of two novellas, "Storm in June" and "Dolce", which Nemirovsky had intended to be the first of a five-part epic.

"Storm in June" was a strong opener and conveyed the proverbial horrors of war for the invaded civilians, but on a personalized level. This story lacked the fully developed emotions and characters of the second story, "Dolce", but it was nonetheless excellent. A number of the characters in "Storm in June" were rather despicable, but I think that actually enhanced the story by adding nuance, as opposed to a simple "pity them for their circumstances" approach.

"Dolce", in turn, was one of the more moving stories I've ever read. The sheer range of emotions Nemirovsky conveys through the characters is nothing less than magical and beautiful. The added poignancy of knowing Nemirovsky's ultimate fate makes the story even more remarkable. Lucile's torment at having to choose between love for her country and her desperate need for the human connection of romantic love nearly brought me to tears.

"Suite Francaise" is deserving of all the praise it has received, and would be even if Nemirovsky's own story had not been so tragic. The way she captures the persistence of the more mundane aspects of life in the middle of such horrible circumstances is unparalled. I especially recommend this book for fans of Daphne du Maurier. "Suite Francaise" will stay with me for a long time.


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Suite Francaise

Suite Francaise captures the weakness of humanity during WW2 rather than the horrors of war - a unique approach which engenders great admiration for the author. The publication could be improved by placing the preface and appendices at the front - this would add greatly to appreciation of the work.









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Patience

Patience is key with this book. I found the first part, Storm in June, rather boring as it focuses so narrowly on so many different people, many of which are so similarly characterized. Makes you want to say "I get it, move on with the story." The second part, dolche, finally finds a focus on one person--Lucille, and tells the story around her. At this point the book finally gets interesting and makes you feel like reading the first part was worth it. The fact the author didn't get the chance to finish the other 3 parts the story was meant to be composed of is intensely disappointing. The book ends right as its about to reach the climax and the story is about to become a page turner. The plans for the third book in the appendix, are a tease. Its too bad it was never written.


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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14



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