MAY Group Read Suite française Part 2

The thread for discussing Part 2.

Very different from the first part, the Germans are no longer a threat on the horizon, but a daily reality. Life in occupied France is brought to life here, with its difficulties, Nemirovsky also shows us the contradictions.

Poor Lucile, living with her mother-in-law, separated from a husband that she didn't love, nor was she loved by him, with a German officer staying in her home, an officer who shows her tenderness.

I've just finished reading it, and it's definitely a book of two halves! I think I enjoyed the first half more, just because those characters got more of a reaction out of me - especially the ridiculous Gabriel Corte. But it was a great book and now I can't work out why I put it down the first time around.

Like you, I put it down a couple of times having got no further than the first chapter.
I think your word ridiculous sums Corte up perfectly, vanity before sense!
I think I preferred part 2, the dilemmas it brought up.

It's a good read, but now I'm ready for part 3.

That's exactly how I felt, I wanted to know how the threads tied up.
Could another author take it on? It would be hard to reproduce her style though.

I finished this last week and forgot to come and post here. I also preferred part 2 as the storyline was easier to follow and I loved the interaction between Lucile, her mother in law and the German. I felt she introduced a few too many characters in part 1 though they were all quite memorable. I quite 'liked' the old guy, Langelet, with his porcelain collection and the abrupt ending to his story!

With part 2, Dolce, I was captivated with the way she managed to bring all the tensions together in this short novella - with the new Mayor and his obnoxious wife with her prize hens, their inevitable collaboration with the Germans. The abandoned house, the village children and the soldiers living there and the handling of the retrieval of the family's possessions. The way the village women end up helping the Germans in the preparations for the party. Amazing also to consider that she was writing the novella as she was living through the war experience.