Posts Tagged ‘NEMIROVSKY Irene’
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Wonderful Wednesdays is a meme run by Sam @ Tiny Library aimed at spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven’t read them recently. Each week will have a different genre or theme.
 This week’s theme is OUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS.
First things first – to be classified as one’s favourite author, does one need to have read more than one title from that author?
If the answer is YES, then these are some of my favourite authors:
Irene Nemirovsky
I have a deep appreciation for all of the Nemirovskly titles I have read to date: Suite Francaise, The Courilof Affair, David Golder and All Our Worldly Goods. Given the often confronting and sad subject matter Nemirovsky’s novels are not ‘fun’ reads but her writing style and I must say the translation by Sandra Smith is consistently outstanding. She was an extraordinary literary talent taken from the world much too soon.
Joanna Hines
Joanna Hines’ titles are almost impossible to find new, and this in itself is a mystery to me. I have enjoyed immensely the two novels I have read by her, Improvising Carla and Surface Tension. I have another of her titles, Angels of the Flood, which I picked up from eBay waiting in my TBR pile. I find her writing really strong, with just the right amount of description to add depth and mood, without slowing down her compelling mystery/thriller plots. If you’d like to find yourself a Joanna Hines novel I would recommend either BetterWorldBooks.com or Abebooks .
     
And of course, I cannot go past Stieg Larsson and his Millenium Trilogy.
If however I can call an author amongst my favourites while having only read one title from them, then these are some of my favourite authors:
To this day I rank David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas my favourite book of all time. I read this many years ago (pre-blog) yet the story stays with me to this very day. Tony @ Tony’s Reading List has written one of the best reviews of Cloud Atlas I have read. I have the deepest admiration for a talent such as David Mitchell’s that spurned this novel.
Why have I not then gone on to read all of David Mitchell’s works? It sounds really silly but the honest truth is that I’m afraid any other title I read of his is bound to not live up to the expectations set for me by Cloud Atlas.
Some other more recent authors I have read whose writing style I just love are:
Daphne Du Maurier (Rebecca)
Connie Willis (Bellwether, To Say Nothing of the Dog)
Colum McCann (Let The Great World Spin)
Muriel Spark (A Far Cry From Kensington)
Are any of these authors on your favourites list?
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
Wonderful Wednesdays is a meme run by Sam @ Tiny Library aimed at spotlighting and recommending some of our most loved books, even if we haven’t read them recently. Each week will have a different genre or theme.
This week’s theme is HISTORICAL FICTION.
Some of my more recent favourite historical fiction novels are:
Wanting by Richard Flanagan , The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton , All Our Worldly Goods by Irene Nemirovsky , To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis and Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey .
In Wanting Richard Flanagan’s writing style is artful but confronting, grabbing the reader by the shoulders and forcing them to delve into their own ideologies and beliefs on good and evil, discipline and desire, right and wrong.
Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden is an enchanting multi-generational mystery that melds the harsh reality of life with fairytales. I was engrossed for the entire 20+ hour audio book.
I also cannot go past Irene Nemirovsky when talking about historical fiction. Her lesser known novella All Our Worldly Goods deserves wider recognition and exudes a greater sense of hope than some of her other titles. It explores love in its many forms, and ultimately the inspiration and steely determination that emotion can provide.
   
To Say Nothing of The Dog is wonderful. Connie Willis’ characters, both the human and animal variety, exude such personality that one cannot help to cheer them on in this hapless yet charming romp through time and space. Ned Henry is your quintessential good-hearted underdog finding his way through a maze of Victorian manners, literary debate, domineering women and animal wrangling with absolutely hilarious consequences.
In the Man Booker Prize winning Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey casts an Alice in Wonderland type spell on readers with quirky characters and the outlandish situations they find themselves in. The imagery is so vivid and imaginatively described.
I could list many more, but have restricted myself to 5 titles for this response. 
Do any of these titles make it onto your historical fiction favourites list?
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
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| All Our Worldly Goods – Irene Nemirovsky |
Irene Nemirovsky’s novel All Our Worldly Goods reminds us that even in the darkest of times, where this is a will there is a way.
I am an unabashed fan of Nemirovsky’s (and hence translator Sandra Smith) works having previously read and thoroughly enjoyed her titles Suite Francaise, The Courilof Affair and David Golder. Just as in each of these works, Nemirovsky uses All Our Worldly Goods as a vehicle to convey a powerful message which remains relevant to this day.
Nemirovsky is probably best known for her courage in shining light on some of the darker sides of the elite society of her time. Although never nearing what one would call a ‘rose-coloured glasses’ view of the world, All Our Worldly Goods is from the very first line exceedingly hopeful.
They were together, so they were happy. Even though the watchful family slipped between them, separating them gently but firmly, the young man and woman knew they were near one another; nothing else mattered.
The young man and woman are star-crossed lovers in the bent of Romeo and Juliet, although Pierre Hardelot and Agnès Florent are considerably more endearing. The interactions between these characters and their families are subtle and genuine; the prose elegant and evocative but never indulgent.
There is a very appealing undertone of revolutionary zeal in Nemirovsky’s All Our Worldly Goods.
We follow the characters on their life journey in a tug-of-war between hope and obligation, through shocking loss and moments of joy. This novel explores love in its many forms, and ultimately the inspiration and steely determination that emotion can provide.
Ultimately uplifting, All Our Worldly Goods is a novel that is hard to put down, with an extremely valuable message. If you are looking for an introduction to the works of Irene Nemirovsky, this novel is an excellent place to begin.
BOOK RATING: The Writing 5 / 5 ; The Story 4.5 / 5
BOOK DETAILS: All Our Worldly Goods (The Book Depository), All Our Worldly Goods  (Amazon); All Our Worldly Goods (Audible)
Genre: Literature, Drama
Other Reviews: Suite101.com ; AS Byatt (The Guardian) ; California Literary Review
Saturday, May 8th, 2010
BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5; The Writing 5 / 5
BOOK REVIEW: Absorbing. David Golder, published in France in 1929 was Irene Nemirovsky’s break out novel. In it she dares to explore the dirty undercurrents of greed and power in the financial markets of the day, with a depth and maturity well beyond her age of 26 years at the time she wrote it.
The lead character David Golder is a powerful and ruthless Jewish financier, who has worked his way up from meagre beginnings in poverty stricken Russia. Readers join him at a time in his life where he is facing his mortality and reassessing his life and its meaning. He is paralysed by his inability to control the situation and brooding over what his legacy will be. While the lead character is not one that readers may ordinarily identify with or feel supportive of, the superficiality and greed of the other characters in Golder’s life are even less worthy of respect.
Nemirovsky expertly illuminates the shades of grey in one’s opinion of what is right and wrong and shows us that greed and ruthlessness can take many forms. This story can take a reader on a powerful journey of self reflection – and in that respect this story is timeless, a mark of excellent literature.
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
 BOOK RATING: The Story 4 / 5 ; The Writing 5 / 5 BOOK REVIEW: Powerful. Don’t let the lack of words used (only 168 pages) fool you – Nemirovsky delivers a powerful message through the telling of this story. In her usual beautiful prose (credit must also go to translator Sandra Smith) she does much more than relate historical events and experiences of our narrating character at the dusk of his life – she evokes a mood. (I should point out I’m avoiding using the word protagonist because Nemirovsky presents characters that are not intended to gain the readers empathy, their actions are not to be glorified.) Nemirovsky uses the tale to shine a stark light on terrorism and its futility - no matter how just a cause’s beginnings. She explores the frailty of human society and how the roles of assailant and target can be easily interchanged. This historical tale is one whose themes and message remain very much relevant today.
This is the second title by Irene Nemirovsky I have simply devoured and been immensely moved by. The first was Suite Francaise ( see my review). Have you reviewed this book? If so, add the direct link to your review here:
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Friday, September 18th, 2009
 BOOK REVIEW : An absolute masterpiece – this book really does deserve all the praise its received and its position on the bestseller lists! This is such a beautifully written story, a piece of art – at times I re-read passages just to admire the way Nemirovsky describes the scene, finding joy and beauty in the most dire of situations (a real credit to the translator Smith also). This evocative recounting of such dark times in European history and the strength of the human-spirit is something that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading. Brilliant.
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