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Suite Francaise

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Suite Francaise

By: Irène Némirovsky, Sandra Smith - translator
Narrated by: Carole Boyd
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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 heartbreaking 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. 20th Century Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking War Military
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Critic reviews

A beautifully observed, devastating critique of French society on the brink of war (Catherine Taylor)
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Yes I don't think this book would appeal in anyway to the average bloke! If it is not a true story it certainly reads like one. The author, who was tragically murdered at Auschwitz by the Nazis, writes about the Parisiennes fleeing from the German Occupation. Packing up their treasures, organising their children, locking up their homes and carrying food for the journey.. The reader is there with them in the muddle of hundreds of refugees searching for a safe place to travel to but there is limited petrol and the menfolk, who would have helped, are away fighting at the Front.
Meanwhile the Germans have arrived in France and have been billeted on to the French people in their homes. Of course the soldiers are most unwelcome although they try to be friendly and helpful. They don't want the war any more than the French.
Lots of little vignettes of various families but I suppose the main one is where a French girl whose husband is away fighting falls in love with a German officer. Tut! tut! Beautifully written you will not be disappointed.

Dare I say this?? A woman's book!

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An extraordinarily, vivid, contemporary and moving account of the aftermath of the French collapse during the Second World War .
Published sixty years after the authors death.

A masterpiece

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I was totally gripped my this by this wonderful reading of and didn’t want it to end.

Perfect performance of a masterpiece.

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There has been a lot said about his book, it's author and how it came to be published. What many have failed to highlight was the story of the people displaced by war and those who would pilfer from a neighbour rather than ask. The story of how life is a struggle for the locals left to get on with an occupying force. Love. Hate. Murder. It's all in this book which has made the leap from paperback to audiobook beautifully.

A story of the people left behind

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Vivid characters, non judgemental account of how different French people responded to the Nazi invasion of France.

Learnt a lot

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