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  • book 1 is an excellent, lyrical story of the exodus from Paris ahead of the Nazi army's invasion, following a number of different people and family groups as they leave; book 2 is an account of village life which conveys the mixed attitudes--hatred, camaraderie, love, lust, admiration, etc.-- of Fre ... Continue

    book 1 is an excellent, lyrical story of the exodus from Paris ahead of the Nazi army's invasion, following a number of different people and family groups as they leave; book 2 is an account of village life which conveys the mixed attitudes--hatred, camaraderie, love, lust, admiration, etc.-- of French townspeople and farmers toward their German occupiers, and vice versa, with some overlap of characters from book 1. Made all the more poignant because of the author's subsequent arrest and murder in Auschwitz.

    Be sure to read the "Preface to the French Edition," which in my copy is at the end of the book. Then read the Appendix II--Nemirovsky's husband's heart-wrenching and increasingly-frantic correspondence chronicling his frustrated efforts to find and help his wife after her arrest and deportation.

    

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• ― Lynn (lparmoc) said on Jan 16, 2009 about the Hardcover edition| 1 feedback| 1 feedback

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  • Just finished the first part of the book. Not as good as I thought it should be.

    

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• ― Cherie Hsu said on Nov 23, 2009 about the Paperback edition| Add your feedback

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  • The writing may drive you a bit crazy, but the story of how this book came to be is compelling, which makes it a worthwhile read.

    

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• ― Bjj11 said on Oct 22, 2008 about the Hardcover edition| Add your feedback

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• Historical FictionFictionfrancenaziparisvichyvillageworld war IImulti-partevacuation
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