In 1940 the Germans invaded and occupied France during WWII. During 1941 and the first half of 1942, Irene Nemirovsky, a French novelist of Russian Jewish descent, started writing Suite Francaise. Suite Francaise was to be a series of novels about the German occupation and French resistance. By the summer of 1942, she had finished the first two novels in the series, started outlining the third novel and had notes about the fourth and fifth. Tragically, in July of 1942, Irene was taken and imprisoned by the Germans. and was killed in a concentration camp in August of that year. Many years later, Irene's daughter transcribed the novels from Irene's handwritten notes. And finally in 2006 those first two novels were published - along with the notes and outlines for the remaining novels that were never written.
The first novel, Storm in June, follows several families and individuals as they flee from Paris during the 1940 invasion. The second novel, Dolce, is set in 1942 in a small country town in the French provinces which is occupied by the Germans. This novel is much more personal, and focuses on a smaller group of characters - some of whom were minor characters in the first novel. The interaction between the French characters and the German characters, enemies who were forced to live in very close proximity to each other, made for a great story.
The book concludes with the author's notes for the rest of the Suite Francaise series of novels. The notes are thorough enough that you are able to get a sense of what becomes of some of main characters from the previous books, which I appreciated. The final pages of the book are filled with letters written by Irene, her husband, and others from 1939-1945 - a finally a few-page summary of the life of Irene, and her family.
Obviously, if you know the author's own history, it lends a sense of pathos to the novels as you read them and might make a reader more inclined to be sympathic to the author and less of a harsh critic. But I had no idea of the author's history when I read the first two novels in Suite Francaise, and I still thought they were brilliant. When I finished the novels and read the pages covering Irene's own life, I became even more emotional.
Highly Recommended!
The first novel, Storm in June, follows several families and individuals as they flee from Paris during the 1940 invasion. The second novel, Dolce, is set in 1942 in a small country town in the French provinces which is occupied by the Germans. This novel is much more personal, and focuses on a smaller group of characters - some of whom were minor characters in the first novel. The interaction between the French characters and the German characters, enemies who were forced to live in very close proximity to each other, made for a great story.
The book concludes with the author's notes for the rest of the Suite Francaise series of novels. The notes are thorough enough that you are able to get a sense of what becomes of some of main characters from the previous books, which I appreciated. The final pages of the book are filled with letters written by Irene, her husband, and others from 1939-1945 - a finally a few-page summary of the life of Irene, and her family.
Obviously, if you know the author's own history, it lends a sense of pathos to the novels as you read them and might make a reader more inclined to be sympathic to the author and less of a harsh critic. But I had no idea of the author's history when I read the first two novels in Suite Francaise, and I still thought they were brilliant. When I finished the novels and read the pages covering Irene's own life, I became even more emotional.
Highly Recommended!
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