Irene Nemirovsky

Advantages: Fascinating, bearing in mind the background
Disadvantages: A slow, painful read

...Many will have heard about this book, which has been hailed by French and English critics alike as a 'masterpiece'. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, a Russian Jew living in France, was a highly acclaimed authoress before the Second World War. Once war was declared, however, she lost the support of her publishing house and many of her fans because of her Jewish background, although she was actually Catholic. Fleeing to the country with her husband and two daughters, she wrote two parts of what was supposed to be a series of books about Occupied France during the war. Before she could complete any more, she was arrested and eventually died at Auschwitz in 1942. One of her daughters held on to her manuscripts for sixty five years without knowing what they were; eventually this led to the publishing of two stories, Storm in June and Dolce... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: research, good descriptions
Disadvantages: miserable

...Have you ever been mislead by the blurb on the back of the book and the book was different to what you expected. I was with "Like Venus Fading" by Marsha Hunt, former model, singer and lover of Mick Jagger The blurb says the book is about Irene O'Brien, a fictional black Marilyn Monroe who cheats death in 1965 after an accidental overdose to change her identity and live in relative obscurity. The book is based around the "fictional" Irene O Brien recalling her memories of the different stages and personas of her life. On the face of it I found the book very interesting but very depressing. The book is a rags to riches and back to rags tale about the perils of fame. It starts off when Irene is 8 years old in 1929. The book takes us on a journey of a black person's experience of American history in the 20th century covering events... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Opens ones eyes to horrors that occured in Chile
Disadvantages: confusing at times, slow moving

...This is Isabel's second novel and written in almost a journalistic style. It is set in Chile and deal with the shocking crimes commited by Dictator Pinochet. The author tells the story of lives changed and controlled by acts of evil. This evil that dramatically affects the lives of thousands of innocent people. The book really is a valuable history lesson, in that it highlights to the world the torture that took place over many years. Allende perfectly captures the fear and emotions present at the time. In the midst of all this, the book is about a couple destined to be together called Irene and Francisco. who navigate a whole series of dramatic twists and turns and become closer due to traumatic events that befall them along the way. At one point Irene is shot and Francisco tenderly helps her get better. Luckily, love conquers all... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful