Changes

As I read I couldn't help but feel that I knew the essence of this story. I recently read [[The Life of Irene Nemirovsky by Patrick Lienhardt, Olivier Philipponnat and Euan Cameron|a biography of Nemirovsky]] and there could be little doubt that Bella Karol, Helene's mother, is based on Nemirovsky's mother and the moves around Europe and Russia much the same as Nemirovsky's family was forced to take. Even without knowing this , you could be left in no doubt that St Petersburg, Finland and France were familiar to Nemirovsky – and that's she's capable of bringing them off the page in remarkably few words.

Sandra Smith's translation of the original text is, as ever, brilliant. She also translated [[The Misunderstanding by Irene Nemirovsky and Sandra Smith (translator)|The Misunderstanding by Irene Nemirovsky]].

I admired this book, but I'm not certain that I enjoyed it. Certain themes seemed familiar, not just from Nemirovsky's life abut also from her book [[Jezebel by Irene Nemirovsky|Jezebel]]. I also found it difficult to warm to Helene in any way. She had the worst of upbringings, knew little in the way of familial affection and the result is someone who is hard as nails. The books book is ''worth'' reading but there are other Nemirovsky novels which I'd go for first if your time is limited. My favourites are [[Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky|Fire in the Blood]], published posthumously and [[The Dogs and the Wolves by Irene Nemirovsky|The Dogs and the Wolves]], a poignant love story. For more from Finland, try [[Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto by Maile Chapman]].