Summary of Suite française
“Suite française” consists of two loosely interconnected novels. The first, “Storm in June” (“Tempête en juin”) follows various persons as they flee Paris in anticipation of the German army’s occupation of the French capital in June 1940. The second novel, “Sweet” (“Dolce”), portrays life in Bussy, a small provincial French town, during the first year of the German occupation. It explores how the local population tries to find a ‘mode de cohabitation’ with the occupying soldiers. The story centres on Lucile Angellier, who lives with her mother-in-law in a grand house in the town, where she becomes unwillingly attracted to a German officer stationed with them.
Reasons to read Suite française
Irène Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian and Jewish origin, was murdered in Auschwitz before she could complete her planned series of five novels about life in France under Nazi occupation. Her notebook containing the first two novels was preserved by her daughter and only published in 2004 as “Suite française”. It became an instant bestseller and was posthumously awarded the Prix Renaudot. In 2015, the novel was adapted into a film of the same name, starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Margot Robbie.
Setting: Paris & Burgundy (France)
Book set in France: “Storm in June” is set in Paris and various locations across France, while “Dolce” takes place primarily in Bussy, a fictional village likely inspired by Issy-l’Évêque in Burgundy. Irène Némirovsky took refuge there during the Second World War and wrote much of “Suite française” in that village, where she was ultimately arrested in 1942 to be deported to Auschwitz.
Original title: Suite française
Year of publication: 2004
Nr of pages: 403
