Fire in the Blood

I never did finish Irene Nemirovsky’s Suite Francaise but have felt it is my duty as a reader to actually complete a book by this recently-popularized and -acclaimed author. As such, I tackled something a little smaller: Fire in the Blood.

Fire in the Blood is a short novel that takes place in provincial France, among farmers and millers. The narrator is Silvio, an older man who finds himself involved in the scandalous love affairs of several neighbors in his community, including his relatives. As the story develops, Silvio discovers that he, himself, is involved in the scandal because of decisions he made twenty years earlier.

In many ways, the tone, setting, and even plot reminds me of Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. Both books take place in farming communities; both books have young characters dissatisfied with their marriages; in both books, affairs lead to tragedy. And in each book, I felt little remorse from the characters over their basically disastrous decisions.

A lot of fuss has been made over Nemirovsky and the two books she wrote before the Nazi invasion of France. Nemirovsky was later killed in Auschwitz. I feel a bit like a heretic saying this, but I think much of the fascination with Nemirovsky is due to her interesting personal history and not an amazing writing ability. Fire is interesting and well written, but it is nothing spectacular (though the translator could be somewhat at fault for this). I no longer feel guilty for not finishing Suite Francaise.