‘Suite Française’ by Irene Némirovsky

It is impossible to write about Suite Française without mentioning Némirovsky’s background. Némirovsky was working on Suite Française during World War II; the war’s effect on the people of France is the subject of the book. Unfortunately, the book was never finished. Némirovsky was a Jew and was sent to Auschwitz where she later died. Suite Française is a wonderful fictional account of France during the war, and readers will regret never knowing the planned ending.

The book follows the lives of several families and individuals during the invasion of France by the German army and the subsequent occupation. Gradually, we see that the lives of these seemingly dissimilar people are connected in unexpected ways. I suspect that many of these personal connections would have become more pronounced as the story continues to progress.

Something that I enjoy: the author character in this book is a really unpleasant man. I get sick of authors who only want to portray authors as being nice, intelligent people. Némirovsky does an excellent job of illustrating what the stress and deprivation of war can do to people.

Beautifully written and tragic by itself and in context. I’ve read Suite Française before and I certainly do not regret revisiting it.

Our Franklin campus owns a copy – Check it out!