Book Club

This months reading is Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

The Book & Whine Club next meets: 

About This Book

 

Suite française was one of five planned novels by Irene Nemirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian Jewish origin. In July 1942, having just completed the first two of the series, Némirovsky was arrested as a Jew and detained at Pithiviers and then Auschwitz, where she died of typhus. The notebook containing the two novels was preserved by her daughters but not examined until 1998. They were published, in a single volume entitled Suite française, in 2004.

The sequence was to portray life in France in the period following June 1940, the month in which the invading German army rapidly defeated the defending French; Paris and northern France immediately came under German occupation on June 14th.  Nemirovsky’s notebook was turned into a single novel dipecting the German occupation of France in 1940-41 and how it affected its citizens.

I plan on  taking this to read on my trip to Germany next month. 

 

 

 

Book Discussion Questions

 

 

What I’m Reading Currently…

Book Reviews – Books I’ve Read Recently

Okay…I’m a true romantic at heart.  I want to believe in fairy tales and happy ever afters.  While the plot is some what far fetched to say the least I still found myself captivated.  So much so that I finished this book in just under five hours of reading on a late Saturday afternoon.  This book is a nice diversion from every day life.

This is an extremely quick read you are sure to enjoy.  That is if you don’t mind the crass way Chelsea talks.  Her behavior is far from “lady like”.  But I found her adventures highly entertaining.  Like several recent books I felt like the story fell apart of the end.  It just felt like they were trying to wrap everything up too quickly.  Frankly, the last chapter of this book annoyed me to death.  But despite that…I did like reading the rest of the book.  This is the type of book that’s not very thought prevoking.  Perfect for a day poolside or at the beach.

 

As you first delve into reading this book you are overwhelmed by the depth of a great tragedy.  The sadness the character feels flows through you and you can’t help but weep for all that he has lost and the injustice in this world.  Like a seed that has been planted and nurtured; the further along you read you feel this enlightenment grow.  The words and lessons learned built upon each other until you come to this deeper understanding of what it really is to be in a relationship with god.  Even for those not religious will be touched by the words of this book.  It allows the reader to develop a better understanding of the true nature of god.  For those who have struggled with why human suffering occurs in this world…this has an excellent response to that age old question.  The author weaves this theological piece without coming off religious or churchy.  I especially liked a section towards the end of the book (page 205 in the paperback edition).  Read it and see what you think for yourself.  I feel this is a must read for everyone!

The painstaking process of mixing, kneading, and baking bread may not seem an apt pastime for a woman as acerbic and impulsive as Wynter Morrison. Since graduation from college she has bounced from job to job and man to man, finally ending up as a trophy wife in a posh Los Angeles suburb. She drives a nice car, eats at elegant restaurants, dresses in beautiful clothes, and rubs elbows with high society. But it soon becomes clear that she’s been floating through this life. She’s happier in jeans than in Chanel, likes walking in the rain more than sitting in traffic, and would rather tear into a hot loaf of sourdough than pick at a fancy salad.It takes a hurtful wakeup call from her husband to make Wynter aware that their life together is not working. It also takes more than a few self-destructive drinking binges, tantrums, and harsh words for Wyn to realize that the people who truly love her aren’t always going to tell her what she wants to hear. Finally, it takes the pain, and then comfort, of solitude to show Wyn that she can be beautiful even in a flour-covered apron; that she can turn an empty shack into a home; that settling into an easy relationship can feel like a “mink padded cell”; that her father wasn’t the prince she thought he was; that she and her mother are two different people; and that she can find peace and satisfaction in a job where she is needed and appreciated.

 

 

Bread Alone is a novel every woman can savor and learn from. It’s filled with recipes for happiness, as well as for delicious foods, and it’s made even more irresistible by a secret ingredient: a headstrong, sharp-witted heroine who’s as rewarding and real as a loaf of truly good bread. 

Some authors have this unique abilty to be so fluid in their writing style.  After reading this book I want to run out and buy all the other books written by Karen White.  The author introduces the main characters and tells the story from each persons view point.  Very early on you discover that there are two big mysteries which drive you to want to read at maddening spead so you can figure out what’s going on.  This book unravels a unique sibling bond.  And addresses generational family mental illnesses.  I really enjoyed this book.  It would be a perfect book to take along to any trip near the ocean.