Publisher, HighBridge Audio (April 2006)

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PRAISE FOR THE HARDCOVER EDITION:

"Stunning . . . A tour de force of narrative distillation.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Astonishing . . . Suite Française is a surprising, transfixing book.” —Financial Times

“A valuable window into the past, and the human psyche. This is important work.” —Kirkus HC starred review

“Everything about this transcendent novel is miraculous.” —Booklist HC starred review

“. . . What leaves you breathless is the sense that you have in your hands something important, something precious and rare: a lost masterpiece.” —O: The Oprah Magazine

“Against the odds, Suite Française has survived. It does so as a triumph of indomitability and a masterwork of literary accomplishment” —The Sunday Times

PRAISE FOR THE AUDIO EDITION:

"HighBridge has chosen exceptional readers for these remarkable novellas. Oreskes [who] reads 'Storm in June' . . . handles Nemirovsky's black humor and irony with intelligence, and understates to great effect reactions from haughtiness to decency in the midst of panic and death as masses suddenly rush from Paris in the wake of Nazi bombings in 1940. Rosenblat has a husky Lauren Bacall voice that draws you into the dialectically complex relationship between French villagers and German occupiers in 'Dolce.'" —Publishers Weekly starred review

A lost masterpiece of French literature, this epic novel of life under Nazi occupation was discovered 62 years after the author’s tragic death at Auschwitz.

Irène Némirovsky was arrested soon after completing the second part of Suite Française. Ten days later, on August 17, 1942, she died of typhus in Auschwitz- Birkenau. Her husband, Michel, perished in a gas chamber on November 6. Their daughters, Denise and Elizabeth, survived, hidden in safe houses and convents, carrying a suitcase packed with clothes, photographs, and their mother’s manuscript written in tiny letters to save paper. For years, both girls thought it was a journal and couldn’t bear to read it. Then, in the late 1980s, Denise began transcribing it with the help of a magnifying glass.

Part One, “A Storm in June,” is set in the chaos and mayhem of the massive 1940 exodus from Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion. Part Two, “Dolce,” opens in the provincial town of Bussy during the first influx of German soldiers. Each part features a rich cast of characters— people who never should have met, but come to form ambiguous relationships as they are forced to endure circumstances beyond their control.

About the Author: Irène Némirovsky was born in Kiev in 1903, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish banker. She and her family fled Russia in 1918 and arrived in France the following year. Educated at the Sorbonne, well-connected and multilingual, she lived a privileged émigré life and became one of the most celebrated authors of her day. Némirovsky published five novels before being arrested by the Vichy government.