Book Of The Month June, 2007
Suite FrancaiseIrene Nemirovsky
In June 1940 France fell to the Nazis. The effects of this momentous event on the lives of ordinary Parisians and the inhabitants of a small rural community under occupation are brilliantly explored in Irène Némirovsky s gripping and heartbreaking novel. Némirovsky herself was a tragic victim of the Nazi regime but she left behind her this exceptional masterpiece. In Suite Française she conjures up a vivid cast of wonderful characters who find themselves thrown together in ways they never expected. Amidst the mess of defeat, and all the hypocrisy and compromise, there is hope. True nobility and love exist, but often in surprising places.
What We Think
Patricia Atkinson, author of La Belle Saison recommends:
‘First on my list is Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky, not particularly light summer reading for the beach I know, but I’m savouring what I know will be a brilliant, if haunting read. Philip Roth’s new novel, Everyman is also on my list, simply because he’s such a genius. Again, a little sombre, with death as the enduring theme. For a little light relief, and very much a summer read I’m told, A Much Married Man by Nicholas Coleridge has been recommended by a friend. It apparently has something for everyone, so it can’t fail. And lastly, Ava Gardner, by Lee Server, out of curiosity, and for the pleasure of a bit of Hollywood gossip.’
Patricia Atkinson has lived in south-western France for 15 years, having left her city job to work in the vineyards. Her first book, The Ripening Sun, describes her transition from novice amateur to expert, award-winning winemaker.