Suite Francaise
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Suite Francaise
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Narrated by:
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Carole Boyd
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By:
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Irene Nemirovsky
About this listen
In June 1940 France fell to the Nazis. The effects of this momentous event on the lives of ordinary Parisians and the inhabitants of a small rural community under occupation are brilliantly explored in Irène Némirovsky’s gripping and heart-breaking novel. Némirovsky herself was a tragic victim of the Nazi regime but she left behind her this exceptional masterpiece. In Suite Française she conjures up a vivid cast of wonderful characters who find themselves thrown together in ways they never expected. Amidst the mess of defeat, and all the hypocrisy and compromise, there is hope. True nobility and love exist, but often in surprising places.
©2006 Irene Nemirovsky (P)2011 Random House AUDIO GOListeners also enjoyed...
Would you listen to Suite Francaise again? Why?
I'm not sure I would listen to it again but I did enjoy it the first time around.Who was your favorite character and why?
Lucille. She does not prejudge anyone. She has an innate sense of what is good and decent about people and can see through their veneer.Have you listened to any of Carole Boyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?
No, I have not so cannot compare this one to any other.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The part when you realise that Benoit is going to end up in the home of Jean Marie, the man whom his wife loves.Any additional comments?
Its a well written book that in time will become a must read classic.A good read.
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Would you listen to Suite Francaise again? Why?
I would because the writing is frank and intimate, creating rounded characters through a mixture of internal perspectives. Carol Boyd reads it beautifully, and doesn't attempt French accents for the characters but gets under their skin to express their emotions.What did you like best about this story?
Learning more about the occupation of France during WWII which I didn't know too much about beforehand. It is obviously and tragically an unfinished novel, and one can't help but yearn for the planned third part to see what the author had in store for her many characters.Which character – as performed by Carole Boyd – was your favourite?
Lucile in the second half because we see everything from her perspective and can relate to her as the main protagonist, her life completely upheaved by war, causing her to reconsider her choices and commit brave actions.If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Occupied territory, lonely hearts.Any additional comments?
I have read the paperback and was disappointed that this audiobook doesn't include the appendices - letters written by Irene Nemirovsky to her agents, and to her family once she was captured; and from her husband to her agents, desperately asking after her whereabouts and welfare. They provide crucial background and context as to why the novel was never completed, and painfully document how a successful novelist and her family were torn apart by the Holocaust, like so many.Unfinished but unforgettable
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However everything else is a 3, and that's me being generous. The story is split into two parts, firstly "Tempête en Juin", set In Paris when everyone is ordered to flee following German bormbardment and subsequent occupation of the capital. In my opinion, there were very long chapters and too many characters - I felt it didn't amount to much. That said, I listened to most of it at bedtime; it sent me to sleep easily, but I could never remember anything when I woke up. I backtracked a few chapters and tried again during my commute, but it made me want to sleep again! I just could not easily immerse myself in it. Deep down I feel I owe it to myself to try again from the beginning but even the thought of that makes me groan with despair. Maybe I will try reading it instead.
Meanwhile, the second part, "Dolce" travels to the countryside wherein scandals lie - mainly the obvious love affair between Bruno, a German soldier billeted in a house with Lucille, a French (good as single) housewife and her difficult mother-in-law. The sexual tension builds continuously but results in a disappointing anticlimax, and a subplot takes over, involving an escaped French POW who returns to the village, marries his fiancée and eventually shoots a German officer billeted in their house. It reminded me of a soap opera, and not in a good way. I wanted to stop so many times but I don't like leaving things unfinished so I forced myself to carry on listening. Suffice to say, I enjoyed /found Dolce easier to follow than Tempête, but I was relieved when the book ended. Even though the final line is quite open ended.
I wanted to like Suite Francaise so badly as WW2 is a great interest of mine, but I could not get to grips with execution of how this story was written and subsequently performed. Even the basic plot synopsis on Wikipedia painted a thrilling picture but no dice. Sorry Irene.
This went on and on... much like wars do.
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Would you consider the audio edition of Suite Francaise to be better than the print version?
Don't know - didn't read the print version, but generally, print is better.What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
As the occupation of France continued, an uneasy peace broke out between the invader and the invaded, but the peace was fragile. There were too many characters for my linking, and I'd have preferred to focus in on a few of them.A flavour of France during the Second World War
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Any additional comments?
Vivid characters, non judgemental account of how different French people responded to the Nazi invasion of France.Learnt a lot
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Fantastic Performance by Carole Boyd
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Excellent
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amazing portrait
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Beautiful Story
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Published sixty years after the authors death.
A masterpiece
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