Customer Rating:  
Summary: Expected to love it, gave up on it.
Comment: I had heard such great things about this book, so was really looking forward to reading it. I read to chapter 22, then quit. I thought it was extremely boring and very slow moving. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the author's situation and the subsequent discovery of her manuscript was so intriguing, I expected the book to be the same, but I was very disappointed.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unfinished masterpiece
Comment: Suite Francaise sat on my permanent "mountain" of waiting-to-be-read books for about a year, unopened. Had I only known...
The Holocaust claimed the lives of innumerable people. Irene Nemirovsky was among them. She died at Auschwitz a year after writing the first two novels (out of intended five) belonging to Suite Francaise. "Storm in June" and "Dolce" were re-discovered decades after she died and subsequently published, adding a further and unusual insight to the tragedy of war. The world lost a very talented writer, already successful and well known at the time of her death.
I think it is important however to discern the actual BOOK from the extraordinary CIRCUMSTANCES surrounding its discovery and the personal history of its author, as it would have been, in my opinion, a great literary success regardless. No doubt this is easier said than done, especially after turning the last page having read not only the book but all the following appendixes, which clarify the author's frame of mind and personal turmoil at the time of writing, as well as several points about the manuscripts that were still pending and awaiting a definite closure, a task possible only after the end of WW2, primary background of the entirety of Suite Francaise.
Having said this, the book itself is a standout. The first novel, "Storm in June" recounts the exodus from the city of Paris due to the advancing Nazi invasion. Different characters from different backgrounds feel Paris is not safe any longer and decide to leave everything behind and flee, seeking refuge in the French countryside. Coming to terms with the lurking spectre of war generates the most varied reactions and perturbates minds and souls, revealing the true nature of each individual.
A few characters mentioned in "Storm in June" reappear, but only just, in the following novel, "Dolce" (and that's because some connections were meant to be further developed in the never-written but intended sequels). Set in a small town in the French countryside, the Germans have already arrived and impose their rules and regulations to the locals, often occupying their homes for accommodation. Everyone is bitter, resentful and scared about the imposed presence of the Nazis, from the farmers to the lords of the manor so to speak. As in the first novel, the true nature of each character reveals itself in this time of need, fear and confusion.
What the two novels have in common is the wonderful characterization. It is clear that the author wanted to project people and their feelings most of all. No matter how rich, poor, famous, noble, sweet or arrogant, no matter their different backgrounds, they all have one thing in common: fear. And one target: survival. For themselves and their loved ones. The momentous events reveal the true nature of the characters involved and the disruption it causes to their life, merging into a form of cowardice and malignancy for some and humility, courage and hope for others.
And no, this is not "another one" of those books about war or the Holocaust. It is war felt and lived through by different characters with diverse points of views, and that includes the German soldiers, depicted especially in "Dolce". Definitely a different perspective, and an original one, of WW2.
Original language hues are sometimes lost in translation, I cannot know if this was the case, however the narrative here is captivating and has an erudite quality which speaks for itself; it is in any case extremely accessible and easily readable. Sad of course, although funny remarks are included too, sparsely distilled here and there befitting certain situations. Even the least important character -just like settings and surroundings- is etched vividly reflecting the multifaceted reality of war times. If this book was not brought to an end and feels a bit disjointed, it is not something that spoils the reading. Its essence is pristine and the message conveyed a tug at the heart. Need I say more? I loved it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wanted more and more!! .such a tragedy she is gone...
Comment: A book like this only comes around once in a while and touched me greatly and even though the author died tragically at Auschwitz in 1942 she will be in my memory forever.. Thank god her daughter got this book published. I fell in love with all the characters who were written so vividly I thought I was there...So descriptive, with both humor and sadness. The next part "Captive" was not yet written only in bits and pieces before her death. I cried on the last two pages regarding her life and death. Such a talented writer. Rest in peace Irene..
Customer Rating:
Summary: Subtle, Powerful, Unfinished - An Astonishing Survival
Comment: Perhaps the miracle of this manuscript is that it survived the internment and death of its author and all the mischances of World War II to achieve publication. Even in its unfinished condition (only two sections out of the author's intended three or four), this novel paints an unforgettable portrait of France in defeat.
The first section, Storm in June, follows a number of people who flee Paris ahead of the German Army. The author hopscotches from character to character, trying to show the reaction of many different classes and types of people. The most poignant story was that of a middle-class, middle-aged couple who both work at the same bank. They report to the bank as ordered, only at the last minute the bank director decides to take his mistress in his car so he tells the couple that they are to report to Tours tomorrow or face losing their jobs! They have to walk and their faith with one another and their worry about their son in the army makes for affecting reading.
The second section, Dolce, is set in a farming community under occupation. The tensions between the occupiers and the occupied are deftly delineated. The subtle choices faced by those who willingly collaborate and those who do so reluctantly are played upon. The author does this in such human terms, showing the relationship that grows step by step between Lucille, a woman trapped in a loveless marriage to a man now held captive, and the German officer quartered with her and her mother-in-law.
These two sections, plus some of the author's notes, are all we have--this in itself is a tragedy and waste of war. Had this novel been finished we would be hailing it as one of the supreme works of literature. As it stands, it is like a great cathedral gutted by a bomb. The ruined shell still soars to heaven, a reminder of the human spirit triumphing despite human destructiveness.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the best, by far.
Comment: When a friend handed me her copy of Suite Francaise my first thought was that it would not be my sort of thing, with its 1940's movie character cover and "secret manuscript hidden away by author's daughters for more than 60 years" backstory. How wrong I was! This is one of the very best books I've ever read. It is so beautifully translated that you catch your breath over its wonderful phrasing, elegant descriptions, perfectly paced plot, and characters all too human. Impossible to overstate the emotional impact of the loss of this powerful writer to the evil Nazi regime.
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