Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Set in France during World War II, this is actually two novellas. The first, Storm in June, tells of the evacuation of Paris when the Germans arrive. All classes of people flee. The second, Dolce, tells of the German occupation of one small village in France. This was intended to be a five-novel cycle, but the author, a Russian-born Jew, was arrested and shipped to Auschwitz in 1942, where she died a month later. I have read many books about World War II, but none (that I remember) set in France. I liked Dolce better than Storm in June, although both were very well written. I rate this book 4 out of 5.
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3 comments:
Hi Scrappy,
Thank you for your comment. I checked out your blog and I love it. I have rss'd you and will be a regular now.
Lovely art; wonderful inspiration - thank you - A - xxx
I recently read your post about Irène Némirovsky and wanted to let you know about an exciting new exhibition about her life, work, and legacy that opened on September 24, 2008 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage —A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City. Woman of Letters: Irène Némirovsky and Suite Française, which will run through the middle of March, will include powerful rare artifacts — the actual handwritten manuscript for Suite Française, the valise in which it was found, and many personal papers and family photos. The majority of these documents and artifacts have never been outside of France. For fans of her work, this exhibition is an opportunity to really “get to know” Irene. And for those who can’t visit, there will be a special website that will live on the Museum’s site www.mjhnyc.org.
The Museum will host several public programs over the course of the exhibition’s run that will put Némirovsky’s work and life into historical and literary context. Book clubs and groups are invited to the Museum for tours and discussions in the exhibition’s adjacent Salon (by appointment). It is the Museum’s hope that the exhibit will engage visitors and promote dialogue about this extraordinary writer and the complex time in which she lived and died. To book a group tour, please contact Tracy Bradshaw at 646.437.4304 or tbradshaw@mjhnyc.org. Please visit our website at www.mjhnyc.org for up-to-date information about upcoming public programs or to join our e-bulletin list.
Thanks for sharing this info with your readers. If you need any more, please do not hesitate to contact me at hfurst@mjhnyc.org
Bet the nazis didn't know she was leaving a story about them behind! That's only fitting. Did you know at least as many Christians were killed by Hitler and his nazis as jews. Think just how many people this man was responsible for killing. My sadness comes in the fact that we don't seem to stop this stuff. Not in cambodia, in China during Mao's years coming to power and not now in Darfur. I don't quite know how we do the stopping but it seems we should be able to do more than we do.
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