Hooray! You have added the first book to your bookshelf. Check it out now!
[−]
  • Search Digit-count Valid ISBN Invalid ISBN Valid Barcode Invalid Barcode

David Golder

By Sandra Smith (Translator), Irene Nemirovsky

(12)

| Paperback | 9780676979459

Like David Golder?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Sign up for free

Book Description

In 1929, 26-year-old Irène Némirovsky shot to fame in France with the publication of her first novel David Golder. At the time, only the most prescient would have predicted the events that led to her extraordinary final novel Suite Française and her death at Auschwitz. Yet the cContinue

In 1929, 26-year-old Irène Némirovsky shot to fame in France with the publication of her first novel David Golder. At the time, only the most prescient would have predicted the events that led to her extraordinary final novel Suite Française and her death at Auschwitz. Yet the clues are there in this astonishingly mature story of an elderly Jewish businessman who has sold his soul.

Golder is a superb creation. Born into poverty on the Black Sea, he has clawed his way to fabulous wealth by speculating on gold and oil. When the novel opens, he is at work in his magnificent Parisian apartment while his wife and beloved daughter, Joy, spend his money at their villa in Biarritz. But Golder’s security is fragile. For years he has defended his business interests from cut-throat competitors. Now his health is beginning to show the strain. As his body betrays him, so too do his wife and child, leaving him to decide which to pursue: revenge or altruism?

Available for the first time since 1930, David Golder is a page-turningly chilling and brilliant portrait of the frenzied capitalism of the 1920s and a universal parable about the mirage of wealth.

Critics

  • David Golder

    La trama e le recensioni di David Golder, romanzo di Irène Némirovsky edito da Adelphi. "'David Golder' è un libro che gronda odio, soprattutto verso il denaro e tutto ciò che può essere trasformato in denaro, oggetti e sentimenti, e verso le forme i ... (read full critics)

    Qlibri published on Thu, 25 Nov 2010

2 Reviews

Login or Sign Up to write a review
  • 1 person find this helpful

    I discovered Irene Nemirovsky after reading her posthumous bestseller "Suite Francaise", the novel she wrote just before she was killed by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1942.

    "David Golder" was a bestseller and critically acclaimed novel in France in 1929 when Nemirovsky was only 26. The main cha ... (continue)

    I discovered Irene Nemirovsky after reading her posthumous bestseller "Suite Francaise", the novel she wrote just before she was killed by the Nazis in Auschwitz in 1942.

    "David Golder" was a bestseller and critically acclaimed novel in France in 1929 when Nemirovsky was only 26. The main character, Golder, was a Jewish tycoon in Paris who fled Russia at 18 and worked his way up in America and Europe, mastering a fortune at the expense of others along the way. The Great Depression took its toll not only on Golder's wealth, but also on his health.

    When this book was first published, it was criticised as anti-Semitic, although Nemirovsky was herself a Jew and all she did was creating the character Golder, a ruthless, cold-blooded and much hated Jewish financier, and she did it so well. Faced with enemies on all fronts at the age of 68, Golder had only one thing to cling onto - his daughter who only loved him for his money. When I read the thoughts of Golder struggling with heart failure during his twilight years, I could almost feel his pain, loneliness and suffering. Not many authors could do that. Nemirovsky was a true rarity.

    "David Golder" is a showcase of Nemirovsky's talents, which were later manifested in a more mature manner in the masterpiece "Suite Francaise". Although not as good as "Suite Francaise", "David Golder" is still a precious literary find that cannot be missed.

    Is this helpful?

    Tracy W said on Oct 7, 2007 | Add your feedback

Book Details

  • Rating:
    (12)
    • 5 stars
    • 4 stars
    • 3 stars
    • 2 stars
    • 1 star
  • English Books
  • Paperback 176 Pages
  • ISBN-10: 0676979459
  • ISBN-13: 9780676979459
  • Publisher: Vintage Canada
  • Pub date: Mar 06, 2007
  • Dimensions: 1290 mm x 839 mm x 65 mm Just how big is that?
  • Also available as: Others
Improve data of this book

Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780676979459 Paperback $22.01 -- The Book Depository
Other editions
Added to Shelf Added to Wish List

Inline Translation Mode

Left click to navigate, right click to translate.

inline translation guide

or close

Inline translation is not ready for this page yet.

Inline translation mode.

Share this page with your friends.

The viewport has not loaded.