Glad I Read It!!

Thanks to Kerry for selecting a fascinating book that allowed us to see into one person's very personal view of war in France.

At first I was starting to think that Suite Francaise was going to be another Marge Piercey debacle. Too many characters, nobody tied into each other and not time enough to get to know each character. After the first exodus part, I wasn't too excited to read Dolce. But I read on and I am certainly glad that I did. After the book about Eva Braun, that I recently read, Suite Francaise is the next best book I have read about World War II. It gives you the real feeling about what life must have been like under the Nazi Regime.

I consider Irene a poet. Her turn of phrase and her attention to odd details makes her writing some of the best that I have read. I realize after reading the entire book, that her idea was to write a "symphony". If she had been allowed to complete this 5 part epic, it would, in my mind, be a huge classic. What a shame, what a loss for all of us.

After reading the book, I continued on into the appendices. That actually gets a little eerie. And very sad. Her husband's search for her was heart breaking. The letters back and forth becoming more and more desperate..... it's a valuable part of the book. I am so glad that it was added because it "made" the book.

Originally, I thought that Suite Francaise was a book about Irene. I was a little disappointed when I figured out that it was just a work of fiction written by her. I now think that a book about her life would be as interesting as the work she wrote and hope someone sees fit to tackle that in the future. Or... wouldn't this make a good movie?? Linda