The Ball

I enjoyed both of the stories in this edition but particularly the first, Le Bal. A tale of a couple trying to climb the Parisian social scale, grudgingly bringing their daughter in tow. Nemirovsky's portrayl of the brilliantly odious and quite frankly rather evil mother is sublime.

I particulary like the character development of the girl, who experiences a watershed maturation over the short course of the story. The girl learns from her mother as she ascends toward womanhood and the impact of her parental treatment starts to show.

I read this over a train journey, and deliberately stayed on after my stop in order to finish it!

The second story, Snow in Autumn, I found much more subtle, sad and restrained. It tells of a family who flee show more Russia for Paris with their faithful servant, and while they shift and adapt, she is lost in the new world.

Both stories explore the position of those pulled along by other people's change, and their experience of being out of place in Paris, but they are quite different. There is also a lovely symmettry in the respective rise and fall of the young and old protagonists.

A gem. show less

Two very different tales are in this slender volume. [[Irene Nemirovsky]] was a master at creating vivid characters and settings.
The first tale [Le Bal] takes place in 1930's Paris. 14 yearold, Antoinette is bridling from the constant criticism of her overbearing mother. Her nouveau-riche parents are hoping to gain acceptance in Paris society by hosting a ball. Antoinette's excitement is shattered when she is informed she is to young to attend. In a fit of pique she decides to sabotage her mother's plans.
Snow in Autumn takes us to Russia where two sons of the aristocracy are being farewelled as they go off to war. We observe the family through the eyes of the nanny who has been with the family for 51 years. The family is forced to show more flee to Odessa first, leaving Nanny to close up the house. She witnesses a shocking event and travels to join them before they continue their flight to Paris.
I was immediately drawn in to both of these stories and despite their brevity they were nonetheless satisfying to read. These snippets of history were crafted with a deft hand. show less

non so com'è, non ho mai voglia di leggere la Nemirovsky. Poi, quando mi decido, la trovo quasi sempre folgorante. Anche questo brevissimo racconto, carico di di tensione e di disprezzo riesce, con pochissimi tratti, a ricreare la rabbia infantile dell'adolescenza e, dentro di quella, l'istante straordinario in cui, di colpo, ci si accorge di essere diventati adulti.
Emozionante.

Un racconto breve ma intenso, pieno di frustrazioni, malignità, rancori, speranze disilluse. Némirovsky indaga la parte più oscura della natura umana, mostrandoci (dice bene Maria Nadotti nell’introduzione) gli esseri umani quali sono. Una breve ma bella lettura, un’autrice che devo sicuramente approfondire.

http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodileggere/17757

A short but intense tale, full of frustration, malice, rancor, unfulfilled hopes. Némirovsky explores the darkest side of human nature, showing us (as Mary Nadotti wisely says in the introduction) human beings as they are. A short but good read, an author must definitely look into.

El baile
Irène Némirovsky
Publicado: 1930 | 45 páginas
Relato Drama Psicológico

Instalados en un lujoso piso de París, los Kampf poseen todo lo que el dinero puede comprar, excepto lo más difícil: el reconocimiento de la alta sociedad francesa. Así pues, con el propósito de obtener el codiciado premio, preparan un gran baile para doscientos invitados, un magno acontecimiento social que para el señor y la señora Kampf supondrá, respectivamente, una excelente inversión y la soñada apoteosis mundana. Pero no todos comparten el mismo entusiasmo. Antoinette, de catorce años, observa con amargura los agitados preparativos del baile y siente que ha llegado la ocasión de enfrentarse a su madre, afirmarse a sí misma y realizar su show more propia entrada en la edad adulta. Con un breve gesto, tan impulsivo como espontáneo, provoca una situación absurda que culminará en un final dramático y revelador. Dotada de una afilada percepción psicológica, Némirovsky condensa en pocas páginas una historia donde la difícil relación madre-hija y el ansia de reconocimiento social se funden con la pasión por la vida y la búsqueda de la felicidad. Una obra indispensable de uno de los grandes escritores del siglo XX. show less

La Némirovsky è sempre brava, in pochissime pagine sa raccontare una storia e delle intere vite, ma questo non è certamente fulminante come, per esempio, Il calore del sangue. Forse i personaggi sono troppo antipatici, le ragioni che li muovono troppo meschine per gli adulti e troppo indefinite per la figlia adolescente. O forse in così poche pagine - è in realtà un racconto, più che un romanzo sia pure breve - non è possibile entrare con la dovuta passione. Per carità, ottima scrittura e ottimo tratteggio, ma un libro che per me è stato indifferente.

A disturbing short story about social arrivistes, the inhumanity and artificiality of social relations, and the cruelty of youth. All encapsulated in a brief week in the life of a recently enriched parisian bourgeois family between the wars.