Wednesday, March 19, 2008

on the bedstand


I've been reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky on the recommendation of Ms. 'stina. It is an incredibly well-written novel centering on the German defeat and occupation of France in WWII. For those who don't know the backstory, Ms. Nemirovsky was a fairly well known Russian writer who moved to Paris prior to WWII and was in the midst of writing what is now Suite Francaise when the Nazi's rounded her up with the other Jews in 1942 and sent her to Auschwitz, where she perished. The book was intended to be in five parts, but only two were completed. The manuscript and her handwritten notes were hidden from 1942-2004, when they were discovered; Suite Francaise was published shortly thereafter. The style of the writing, the poignancy of the storytelling and the depth of the character development destine this book for a place among the classics. I just can't say enough good things about this book and I'm disappointed for the world that the Nazi's stole this literary wonder from us far too soon.

Anyway. Now that I've finished ranting, I figured I would give you my current list of pending reads (most of which are sitting in my bedroom, waiting patiently for their turns), in no particular order:

Emma by Jane Austin
The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama*
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen

I'm pretty excited about my reading list. Feel free to let me know if you have any thoughts/impressions about any of my selections. I love discussing books.




*The only one on the list that I don't yet own. I will rectify that soon.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oooh, Water For Elephants is also next up for me!

I loved Suite Francaise, and the appendecies that contained the coorespondences at the end of her life moved me to tears, especially her husband's desparate letters to anyone he could think of after she was taken away.