Irène Némirovsky was arrested and sent to Auschwitz before she was able to complete her five part epic, Suite Française. It is almost a miracle that the manuscript was found and published. I had high expectations of this novel and it did not disappoint.
Two novellas make up Suite Française, the first, Storm in June, chronicles the mass exodus from Paris between May and June in 1940, when the French people fled their homes as the German troops invaded the country. Dolce, the second novella, is what life in a local village is like when occupied by the German soldiers. The tone in this section is different, there is not so much chaos but an acceptance of sorts by the French people who realize they have to coexist with their invaders until the war is over.
Némirovsky's observations of people are frank and astute. She gives us a glimpse into the lives of wealthy Parisians who try to hang on to decorum even as they are fleeing, such in the case of Madame Pericand who has to move out of Paris with her young children, disabled father-in-law and servants.
What is surprising to me is that despite the dire situation the characters are facing they are not exactly sympathetic. She shows us individuals who make decisions based on the belief of every man for himself, and there seems to be a general lack of distrust among everyone. I was shocked by some of actions of the characters but then again war is not just about bombed buildings but a tearing down of a society.
Némirovsky successfully depicts a nation in chaos. It is odd to read a novel about WWII and not read about the horrors of the Holocaust and other atrocities. I was prepared to read about battle scenes and such but all of this is absent from the book which in itself presents the reader with a totally different view of what others were also living at that time.
This was remarkable book and one that I've thought about for a while long after I finished the last page. The question I have now is what would this book be like if Irène Némirovsky hadn't died before completing it?
Added 05/07