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Suite Francaise (Thorndike Reviewers' Choice) | 
 enlarge | Author: Irene Nemirovsky
Creator: Sandra Smith
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Category: Book
Buy Used: $29.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  361 reviews
Sales Rank: 1397603
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 715
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.9 x 1.5
ISBN: 0786291559
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.912
EAN: 9780786291557
ASIN: 0786291559
Publication Date: December 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: FREE upgrade to 1st class shipping. Prompt professional service from a librarian.
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Product Description
A lost masterpiece of French literature, this epic novel of life under Nazi occupation was discovered 62 years after the authoras tragic death at Auschwitz. Originally intended to be in five parts, the two that form this work are complete in themselves. Part One, "A Storm in June," is set in the chaos and mayhem of the massive 1940 exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion. Part Two, "Dolce," opens in the provincial town of Bussy during the first influx of German soldiers. Each part features a rich cast of charactersapeople who never should have met, but come to form ambiguous relationships as they are forced to endure circumstances beyond their control.
Download Description
Irene Nemirovsky was born in Kiev in 1903 into a wealthy banking family and emigrated to France during the Russian Revolution. After attending the Sorbonne, she began to write and swiftly achieved success with her first novel, David Golder, which was followed by The Ball, The Flies of Autumn, Dogs and Wolves and The Courilof Affair. She died in 1942.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 356 more reviews...
 Pass on this one! July 27, 2008
Really bad! I usually need to finish any book I start. Literally couldn't with this one. I put it down after 150 pages because there was absolutley no plot development and characters were static! I can't believe the overall rating was 4.5 stars! WHY??
 Don't bother July 25, 2008
I'm sorry to say this book never lived up to all the hype for me. None of the characters were appealing. Felt like I was reading short stories by a high school student. I found it very difficult to get through as there was nothing going on to keep my interest.
Gave up after 150 pages! July 21, 2008
I have to echo the sentiments of those who say there were too many characters and they're not well-developed enough to make you care about them. And what you ARE told about them makes them all completely unappealing! I was certainly expecting some unsympathetic Germans, but I was not expecting that all the French characters would be petty, snobbish and selfish -- at least, what little the author tells you about them. I thought I would love this but didn't bother to finish it.
 After the Storm July 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky would perhaps be interesting solely through the facts relating to the demise of its author: a Ukranian and Jew by birth, who after living in France for nearly a dozen years was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she shortly died. Her manuscript was kept in a suitcase for years until her two daughters, who survived thanks to friends who faithfully hid them, could come to terms with the memorial their mother had left them. It is a story that seems too fantastic to be true, yet Nemirovsky was an established author before the war cost her everything, and "Suite Francaise" is a remarkable reintroduction to her talent.
The novel, originally planned to have five parts, is complete with just the first two sections. The first section, "A Storm in June", is a far-reaching affair, filled with a wide cast of characters, as citizens endure the hardships and chaos of the exodus from Paris in 1940. Nemirovsky paints vivid portraits of all sorts - a wealthy, large family trying to save their dearest possessions, an idealistic author and his mistress, a poorer couple who long to find out information about their wounded soldier son - and interweaves their plight and attempts to reach safer areas. This exodus is sheer chaos, as cars break down and run out of petrol, as the German army advances and the French soldiers cannot hold on; it is a breathtaking, sometimes slow-building examination of what people are truly made of. Nemirovsky deftly examines the deepest seated feelings of pride and how everyone reveals their true colors in the end.
The second part, "Dolce", continues after the armistice has been signed and the German army is billeted among the families in a relatively well-to-do village. Some of the same characters who were in the first part make appearances, but do not play a large role. This story focuses on Lucile, a wife whose unfaithful husband is a prisoner of war, and the young German soldier who is staying at their house. The Germans are their enemies, but Lucile finds herself drawn to this man, and struggles with how she should treat him. "Dolce" is faster-paced than the first part, and examines the violent passions of prejudice and hate, how on the surface the townspeople accept almost numbly what is happening to them, but their inner turmoil reveals wholly different feelings. "Dolce" ends with the Germans pulling out, off to fight a new war in Russia, and that is where "Suite Francaise" comes to an end.
The ending of this book is a bit of a letdown, only because Nemirovsky crafted such compelling characters and stories out of the chaos that was her life. While the appendices offer her notes for what was to happen in the next three installments, which offer readers some insight into the fates of these characters, it is not enough. Perhaps Nemirovsky made these notes knowing that she did not have too much time left. The correspondence is a poignant look at what happened to her and her husband after they were both arrested and their loved ones searched in vain for help and information. "Suite Francaise" is a remarkable testament to the weight of war and the cost of survival.
 Fine July 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was fine. Not great, not awful, just fine. It took a bit of patience to read, but the 2nd half was much better than the first. By the time I finished I didn't care to read her notes and plans for the rest of the story. I expected something totally different, and honestly have no idea who the couple on the cover is supposed to be. The book is choppy, jumping from one family to the next and it gets irritating. I'd prefer more character development and less characters. The second half is much better, focusing mainly on one group of people. This is probably a good book for students as the right professor can talk about the author's plans for the stories and how she intended them to relate had she not died. I read this book for a couple chapters, then put it down to read "Tis" by Frank McCourt b/c it was a more interesting read. I did finish the book, but until I got to the 2nd half I kept substituting it with Tis.
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