Fire in the Blood (2001)

What a heartbreaker! And what's she doing with the structure? Note to self: map this book out. Seriously, this is one of the best novels I've read in YEARS. Thanks, Franny! ( )

This is a story told by Silvio an aging (60s) Frenchmen who is currently living in his small hometown after having spent the better part of his youth in world travels. It is a tale of relationships both romantic and family and the effects romantic love can have on a person, a family, a town.

Slow and not particularly noteworthy for me. ( )

I really loved this little book that explores how love changes from youth to maturity. Who doesn't remember that "fire in the blood" that infects you when you have your first love affair? If you're very lucky perhaps you go on to have a permanent relationship with that first love but, more often, it fizzles out. Even if you have a lasting relationship the quality of the love changes. Nemirovsky obviously knows a thing or two about love and, without having to go into graphic details, she captures the fever pitch of emotions. She also captures the minute details about life in the French countryside: the seasons, the crops, the food, the clothing, the furniture, the quality of the light. It drew me from cold, snowy Manitoba to France in the years between the wars. I wanted to linger but the book was short and soon it was done. ( )

http://thenovelworld.com/2011/07/11/fire-in-blood-irene-nemirovsky-review/ ( )

BORING. There was really nothing noteworthy about this book. ( )