Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky

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 ...
...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, as a one volume book just this year.

Storm in June describes the horror and fear on the part of several ... more

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, as a one volume book just this year.

Storm in June describes the horror and fear on the part of several Parisian families, who were forced to flee Paris in June 1941, afraid that the Germans were going to occupy Paris. There are the Pericands, a mother, her elderly father-in-law and five children, who are from a wealthy family. Also the Michauds, husband and wife, who are forced to follow their boss to another city despite danger at every turn, but are frantically worried about their son who is a soldier. Another character is Gabriel Corte, a famous playwright used to getting his own way. All are horrified to see what the war reduces them to. Food is tight, lodgings are scarce; it is each to their own. This is a story of their survival against the odds, highlighting the odd glimmer of hope that appears amongst the madness.

In contrast, Dolce is set in the countryside, and describes the lives of the farmers there, both rich and poor, whose lives are not so explosively affected by the German occupation, although many of them have to provide food and lodging for German soldiers. Lucile Angellier is particularly affected. Her husband is at war and she has no idea if he is alive or dead and her mother-in-law dislikes her because of her ability to enjoy herself despite her husband's plight. Then a German soldier moves in. Mother-in-law takes to her bed and refuses to leave her room, which gives Lucy the opportunity to get to know Bruno, the soldier. The pair fall in love; but will they give into their passions knowing that they both stand on opposite sides of the divide?

I found it quite hard to care much for the characters in Storm in June, partly because there were so many of them and partly because most of them just weren't very nice. The fear that the Germans would occupy Paris causes many of those fleeing to act in their own interests only and the greed and selfishness of many of them is highlighted. Nemirovsky seems to have concentrated on the wealthy, presumably because they were of a similar background to hers, so we find out little about the suffering of those less well-off. I liked the Michauds best of all. They were poorer than most of the other characters portrayed and their main concern was for their son, Jean-Paul, who we find out was injured and recuperating in a quiet part of the French countryside. I really felt an affinity with them, that I didn't have with the others.

The characters in Dolce are much better portrayed, mainly because there are only two or three main characters. Still, I found it really hard to get under their skin - we find out a lot about Lucile Angellier, her past life and feelings, but I still didn't feel like I really understood her. I think this is because I found the writing rather stiff and formal and set up a barrier that I couldn't break down. This was a great disappointment, because better and more approachable characters, I feel, could have made this book so much more powerful.

What is interesting is Nemirovsky's portrayal of the German soldiers who occupy the village. Although it is made clear that many of the villagers despised the Germans, the author portrays the soldiers as young men who are fighting because they have been told to - but at heart, they are all very human. Bearing in mind the situation at the time, I think she must have been a very open-minded, clear-thinking woman.

I am an avid reader and can easily get through two or three books a week. This book, however, took me nearly two weeks to complete. I found it extremely thought-provoking - as a portrait of what happened in France during the war, something I know very little about, this is clearly a very important book. However, it was not an easy read. In many places, it is uncomfortable; I think it is difficult for people of this generation to stomach what happened during the war - we are all too willing to forget about such unpleasantness. It wasn't just that though; the writing was quite difficult to read - I felt as if it needed a really good edit - and as already mentioned, the characters didn't really attract my attention either. I feel a little unfair criticising the writing style - it should, of course, be remembered that the stories in this book were written under pressure of war and probably didn't receive a great deal of editing either then or before publishing. The translation could also be partly to blame; without having read the book in its original French language, that is hard to tell. Ultimately though, I found this a hard read and could happily have left it without finishing at more than one point.

What saved the book for me was the story behind it. Not just the story of Irene Nemirovsky herself, but also that of her family. In the appendices to the stories are a selection of letters which illustrate what happened to Irene and her family. I found this part of the book more vivid that the stories themselves and although not wanting to give away too much of what happens, I defy anyone to read the letters without feeling the hairs stand up on the back of their neck.

I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately, the critics' positive praise clouded my expectations of the book - I really thought it would be a lot more compelling than it is. That does not take away from the importance of the book though and it is all the more poignant with the knowledge that the author, having written these stories showing the Germans in a relatively positive light, should then die at their hands. I wonder what her last thoughts were?

I have thought long and hard about the rating for this book and have decided to give it four stars. Ultimately, it is a piece of history that I think should be read - it is as important as Anne Frank's Diary in its way and the letters in the appendices only serve to bring this home. However, I do not consider it to be the masterpiece that everyone seems to be claiming. If you bear this in mind when reading, then hopefully you won't be as disappointed as I was.

Published by Vintage, the book is available from play.com for £5.49. ISBN: 9780099488781
 

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