Another phenomenal book by Némirovsky! I can’t get enough of her novels, her writing and her talent. It’s truly a shame she died before she could write more, because I would love to see what she could have done later on in her life. I grab any book by her I can get, and recommend you all do the same. This book was particularly well done, and I enjoyed it more than David Golder which I recently read by her. The writing style in this book and the characterization is on the same level as it was with Suite Française and has some haunting similarities when explaining the evacuation process during both of the wars. The emotions that went into it, the emotions waiting for the loved ones of all the characters to return safely home, and the emotions of returning back to your home town, after it’s been bombed were stunning. Her ability to create such a beautiful setting isn’t limited to a war setting either, all of the images she is able to paint, leapt off the pages, she really did have a beautiful, poetic ability to set up the scene with what seems to be little effort. For example;
It was a November day; the skies wept softly; the wind danced in the bride’s veil; the carriages crushed the last reddish leaves (page 32)
The story also follows a bit of “forbidden love”, the aristocratic families who disapprove of it, and all the struggle and journey’s that come with it. Although the idea behind two lovers marrying despite their rich, snobbish parents wishes is found in a lot of novels, Némirovsky handled it well, creating more dimension in her characters then what I’ve seen in similar books. Another thing that impressed me was how she was able to cover such a wide span of time in just under 200 pages. Even with poetic passages like the example above and a long span of time she was able to cover all of what she needed to tell a wonderful story, without allowing the reader to get bored. There were some parts that I found to be a little repetitive (the grandfather’s hatred, disapproval etc) but that is what made the characters who they were, and made the reader either love them, hate them or want to them to disappear off the pages for good. Overall another fantastic novel by Némirovsky and yet another book that will added to my “Books I need to Own” list!

Also on my review blog: http://juliebooks.blogspot.com/2009/0... ( )

This book makes me wish I could read French with ease. I would love to be able to read it as the author intended, that aside, I think that the English translator, Sandra Smith, and the editor, Rebecca Carter, must be thanked for their contribution to this astonishing work.
It is an insightful portrayal of ordinary people's lives going through, at times, extraordinary events. Told with wisdom, in only 200 pages so much was conveyed. It is remarkable considering that much of this was contemporary writing and did not always have the benefit of hindsight.
If you enjoyed "Suite Francaise", I'd highly recommend this book. ( )