Suite Francaise
Irene Nemirovsky

Description

Everyone, but everyone seems to love this book. It was a runaway success in hardback last year and now it's proving even more popular in paperback - and most of its initial success seems to be due to word-of-mouth recommendation rather than a huge publicity drive, which is always nice.

There is a tragic romance to the origins of the book - Némirovksy was a French novelist whose first novel, "David Golder" became a success in the 1920s. She wrote several further novels before the outbreak of World War II. Two years into the war, she planned and started Suite Française but only managed to draft two out of the five planned novellas before being taken to Auschwitz and killed. These drafts survived with her daughter and have only recently been published.

The first novella, "Storm in June", follows five French families as they escape Paris during the war. The second, "Dolce",  explores life in an occupied French village. 

Her first novel "David Golder" has also just been re-issued and is available in paperback at Mr B's.

Price: £7.99

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