The discussion for the book of month January 2009
Posted by bangkokbookclub on February 6, 2009
“Suite Francaise” by Irene Nemirovsky
This novel provided a fascinating glimpse into the lives of several families and characters in German occupied France during the Second World War. Nemirovsky’s observations and descriptions of the existing social behaviours, attitudes, idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies of the time were exquisitely drawn, with great attention to detail. Though some characters seemed extreme in temperament and action/behaviour, the author seemed able to engage readers with interesting and entertaining insights that kept them within the realm of acceptable plausibility. The consistency of her writing in this regard is astonishing, considering she was writing as she was experiencing these events. Unfortunately, she was unable to complete the next 3 parts (her original idea was for “Suite Francaise” to have 5 parts) as she was sent to Auschwitz II in 1942, where she died.
