Irène Némirovsky's story is tragic. She planned this book to be like a symphony with five movements but she had only written two when she was taken away and killed at Auschwitz. Knowing this, and the fact that the manuscript only surfaced in the nineties made the book all the more moving. It is set in France just as the Germans arrive to occupy during World War II. Everyone flees Paris for the countryside and we follow many characters from different walks of life. Némirovsky paints vivid pictures of Paris and the beautiful countryside - cool houses, lavish apartments and fragrant gardens. I became very involved with the lives of the characters and while the book is complete in itself, the notes and letters in the appendices make me wish she could have written more.
A number of copies of Suite Française are available across the Riverina Regional Library. Other available books by Irène Némirovsky are David Golder and Fire in the Blood which is an RRL Book Club book.
|