Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (chosen by Domestic Goddess)
Domestic Goddess chose this book after M suggested it with a hearty endorsement. (Domestic Goddess has decided to no longer enlist her husband's support in making book choices after the reception of the last few he had input to!)
Irène Némirovsky was born into a wealthy banking family in Kiev in 1903 and emigrated to France during the Russian Revolution. Her first novel, David Golder, was published when she was 26. Several other novels followed. In July 1942, she was arrested by the French police and died in Auschwitz in August, aged 39 (she was Jewish by descent, but had converted to Catholicism in 1939). Her husband, Michel Epstein, was arrested shortly after and was sent straight to the gas chambers in Auschwitz. They had two daughters, Denise and Elisabeth (then aged five and ten), and they were able to remain hidden and flee in the care of a family friend/nanny, Julie Dumot. (biographical details from here)
Description of Suite Francaise from Random House website:
SUITE FRANCAISE has all the ingredients of a major bestseller: the story behind its rediscovery is extraordinary; the life of the author is fascinating and moving; but, most importantly, it is a hugely compelling work of literature, elegantly, subtly and simply written, with astounding insight into the moral complexities of the human condition. It comprises two parts of what might have been a four or five-part work had Irene not been taken to Auschwitz. She conceived of it as a symphony - or her War and Peace. In the first part, Storm in June, she tells of the exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion. Bourgeois and working-class characters alike pack up their belongings and flee, forced to rub shoulders in traffic-jams on the crowded roads south, some behaving with dignity, others with nauseating selfishness. In Part Two, Dolce, we meet several of them again in a small French village where Nazi soldiers are billetted, and watch Lucille's story unfold as she tries to resist the attractions of a sensitive German officer, and takes the risk of defending a young farmer who joins the resistance. The intertwining stories of all these utterly engaging and vivid characters combine to produce a unique portrait of France at that time, and of the subtle calibrations that exist between collaboration and resistance.
What we discussed about the book:
- How essential the reading of the appendices is to the overall experience of the book.
- The sense of desperation in the letters Michael Epstein wrote to try to find Irene after her arrest (included in the appendices).
- Was the description of the death of Phillipe a comment on civil war?
- The use of the Bach suite to provide a framework and rhythm to the work as it was intended.
- How were class issues represented?
- Does the book read like a draft (which it is)?
- The author's notes provide an enlightening insight into the author's thinking. Rare glimpse of the writing process.
- "Dolce" = sweet and soft. How this related to the second part of the book.
- Is the book primarily an artefact of history or a work of fiction?
- How well it portrayed the impact of occupation on common people. Was it a rosy-coloured portrayal of occupation?
- Does the story of the author overshadow the writing itself?
- Is the magic of this book is the exposure of the process?
Then we were sidetracked into:
- How difficult it would be to harbour someone during wartime. Could we personally do it?
And in other news, we discussed:
- The growth expectations of goldfish. Are KE's goldfish freakishly large for their bowl?
- How many of us are blood donors?
Ratings
Average: 7.3
Range: 7 to 8
Next book: Theft: A Love Story by Peter Carey
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