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The Wine of Solitude
Introspective, intense and poignant, The Wine of Solitude is the most autobiographical of all Irène Némirovsky's novels, now available in English for the first time.
Imbued with melancholy, and regret, it explores the troubled relationship between a young girl, her distant, self-absorbed mother and her mother's lover, Max. We follow the family through the Great War and the...more
Imbued with melancholy, and regret, it explores the troubled relationship between a young girl, her distant, self-absorbed mother and her mother's lover, Max. We follow the family through the Great War and the...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
October 13th 2011
by Chatto & Windus
(first published 1935)
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In The Wine of Solitude Helene is a troubled, neglected young girl with a difficult self obsessed mother, a mother who in a slightly different incarnation appears in Le Bal. It's hard not to wonder what Mrs Nemirovsy was like and how much her personality affected the young burgeoning writer that was Irene. Helene her counterpart in The Wine of Solitude is a fascinating character and very apart from those around her.
"She looked at the people around her. They didn't even see she was there, but to...more
"She looked at the people around her. They didn't even see she was there, but to...more
Mar 20, 2013
Lianne
added it
The author, who died in Auschwitz, has been rediscovered and found acclaim with her postumously published novel "Suite Francaise" that covers the Nazi invasion of France. This book is narrower in focus, and dramatizes another time of historical tumult. The story is told from the childhood point of view of Helene. Her family is dysfunctional and claustrophobic. She adores her father, a high stakes businessman who makes great sums and gambles them away. Helene hats her abusive mother, Bella, a sup...more
This the second book written by Irene Nemirovsky that I have read. Having read "Suite Francaise" a few years ago, I was interested in reading this book in order to learn more about the author. Autobiographical in nature, I found the story Nemirovsky's early life fascinating in many ways. At times, I wondered how a child raised in such an atmosphere could ever emerge to become an author of such renown as Nemirovsky did. Upon further reflection, I decided that her childhood certainly gave her much...more
I liked this book but I found it a bit disappointing. It's clearly very autobiographical, and Nemirovsky definitely captured the atmosphere of Russia and France at the time around the Great War, and of a privilged if painful childhood under the thumb of a poisonous mother. The story is of Helene Karol's journey from prickly, awkward child to ruthlessly independent young woman. Helene is not always likable. She is the kind of intense, imperious little girl who makes some adults uncomfortable--and...more
Originally published in 1935, this is Nemirovsky’s latest novel to be translated into English. Autobiographical in nature, it is very much a portrait of the artist as a young woman.
The Karol family (Boris, Bella and their daughter Helene) moves from Kiev to St. Petersburg to Finland to Paris as the events of World War I and the Russian Revolution unfold and force the family to flee. Told largely from Helene’s point of view, we see the life of a lonely girl whose only emotional stability is provi...more
The Karol family (Boris, Bella and their daughter Helene) moves from Kiev to St. Petersburg to Finland to Paris as the events of World War I and the Russian Revolution unfold and force the family to flee. Told largely from Helene’s point of view, we see the life of a lonely girl whose only emotional stability is provi...more
Di Irène, per Irène.
Ricordo ancora quando nel 2006 cominciai a notare "Suite francese" nelle librerie, nei supermercati, ovunque andassi che vendevano libri, al punto che chiesi anche a mio zio, "lettore forte" e punto di riferimento in famiglia per l'amore verso la letteratura, se l'avesse letto e se, secondo lui, fosse importante farlo.
Non sapevo niente della Némirovsky a quell'epoca, per cui, quando mi decisi dopo qualche tempo ad acquistarlo e successivamente a leggerlo, mi accostai al roman...more
Ricordo ancora quando nel 2006 cominciai a notare "Suite francese" nelle librerie, nei supermercati, ovunque andassi che vendevano libri, al punto che chiesi anche a mio zio, "lettore forte" e punto di riferimento in famiglia per l'amore verso la letteratura, se l'avesse letto e se, secondo lui, fosse importante farlo.
Non sapevo niente della Némirovsky a quell'epoca, per cui, quando mi decisi dopo qualche tempo ad acquistarlo e successivamente a leggerlo, mi accostai al roman...more
In English - The Wine of Solitude.
The book is about a girl growing up in a Russian jewish family that rises to riches before and during WWI and is forced to leave at the start of the Russian revolution in 1917. The family ends up in Paris after having spent some time in Finland. This text is an amazing piece of work. The story has several layers to it: the description of the character of a tyrannical and adulterous mother, the solitude of the girl who grows up without friends, the young Russian...more
The book is about a girl growing up in a Russian jewish family that rises to riches before and during WWI and is forced to leave at the start of the Russian revolution in 1917. The family ends up in Paris after having spent some time in Finland. This text is an amazing piece of work. The story has several layers to it: the description of the character of a tyrannical and adulterous mother, the solitude of the girl who grows up without friends, the young Russian...more
Irene Nemirovsky was born in Kiev in 1903 of Jewish parents. Her family escaped to France in 1918. While living there, she became a successful novelist. She died in Auschwitz in 1942. A number of her books have been translated into English in recent years and have been published in the UK and elsewhere - to critical and commercial success. The Wine of Solitude is the latest such book. It is apparently a largely autobiographical novel.
The Wine of Solitude tells the story of young Helene Karol an...more
The Wine of Solitude tells the story of young Helene Karol an...more
"'I'm not afraid of life,' she thought. 'The past has given me my first experiences of the world. They have been exceptionally difficult, but they have forged by courage and my pride. And that immutable treasure is mine, belongs to me. I may be alone, but my solitude is powerful and intoxicating.'
She listened to the sound of the wind and felt she could sense, within its raging, a hidden rhythm, solemn and joyous, like the rhythm of the sea. Its sounds, shrill, raucous and piercing at first, merg...more
She listened to the sound of the wind and felt she could sense, within its raging, a hidden rhythm, solemn and joyous, like the rhythm of the sea. Its sounds, shrill, raucous and piercing at first, merg...more
The Wine of Solitude is the most autobiographical of Némirovsky's novels, and it focuses on the relationship between a daughter and her mother. Hélène Karol's family is fundamentally dysfunctional with her father working hard to earn money, then giving it to his wife (with a practically live-in younger lover) because he is afraid he will gamble it away. In turn, Hélène's mother is emotionally manipulative and in an early incident, Hélène discovers how deeply in denial the people are that surroun...more
Both of Irene Nemirovsky's books were discovered after her death and published posthumously. I absolutely loved "Suite Francaise" which covered the Nazi invasion of France and was very eager to read this second novel.
A very dark novel to be sure which left me kind of unhappy. The family characters were dysfunctional, selfish, and un~ lovable in anyway shape or form. The crossing of taboo boundaries did not seem to be a problem for these over indulged, bratty rich snobs! The central pull of reven...more
D'un ton plus noir et amer que ces autres romans, Le vin de solitude de Némirovsky s'attache à l'histoire d'une famille juive, vivant en Russie, où la pauvreté et les pogroms, marquent son quotidien. Encore enfant, l'héroïne demande asile à des lointains cousins, eux bien installés dans leur confort et leur richesse. Et c'est là qu'elle tombe éperdument amoureuse d'Harry. Lorsque sa famille fuit la Russie, espérant trouver à Paris la promesse d'une vie festive et fantasmé, la jeune femme compren...more
This is the third book of Nemirovsky's I have read after being introduced to her writing with Suite Francaise. I am glad to see her earlier novels being translated into English and reissued. The more of her I read, the more admiring I am of her abilities as a writer. Her books are not the broad epics of war, but instead she is able to observe and convey the small human details during times of great turbulence. Nemirovsky came to France as a Russian emigre when her family fled the Russian revolut...more
Knowing the history behind the author it was difficult to stop my thoughts from drifting back to her. However, the novel was exquisite in its own right. Beautifully written and translated, the imagery was superb. I was a little disappointed by the fact that the revolting Bella never really did get her comeuppance even though she had to pay her lover in the end after Max left. Max too wasn't punished enough to my mind.
I loathed how the father was so pathetic to the point that he was horrible to H...more
I loathed how the father was so pathetic to the point that he was horrible to H...more
A depressing but very good book about a girl growing into woman-hood in Ukraine, Finland, and then Paris under an abusively neglectful mother and rich but gambling-addicted father. I like this author, previously read her posthumous Suite Francais. How tragic that this brilliant writer with so much to say about life died at the hand of the Nazis. One interesting thing about The Wine of Solitude is how, throughout, the weather replicates Helene's moods and life events. When an intricately describe...more
Irène Némirovsky tarzı çok değişik. buradaki helene'nin duyguları çok değişik hissettirmişti bana. sevgisiz bir ailede rusyanın savaş zamanında yahudi bir ailenin kızı olarak büyümüş, annesine beslediği nefreti kullanmış ve sonunda herşeyi bırakarak kendi özgürlüğüne ve yalnızlığına kavuşmuş ilginç bir karakterdi. güzel kitap vesselam. çok sürükleyici değil. dikkat ederek okumak gerekli.
not: yazar bu arada auschwitz kampında soykırımda öldürülmüş. fransız suiti adlı romanını da okumuştum. o yar...more
not: yazar bu arada auschwitz kampında soykırımda öldürülmüş. fransız suiti adlı romanını da okumuştum. o yar...more
Une amie parisienne m’a conseillé ce livre il y a trois ans, je l’ai tout de suite acheté, mais je ne viens de le lire qu’il y a neuf mois. J’ai tout de suite commandé tous les livres de cette écrivaine très douée. Je cite quelques mots de ce livre extraordinaire :
« Quand elle se parlait à elle-même, Hélène usait de mots de grands personnes, de mots savants et mûrs qui lui venait naturellement aux lèvres, mais elle eût rougi de s’en servir autrement qu’avec elle-même, comme elle eut trouvé ridic...more
« Quand elle se parlait à elle-même, Hélène usait de mots de grands personnes, de mots savants et mûrs qui lui venait naturellement aux lèvres, mais elle eût rougi de s’en servir autrement qu’avec elle-même, comme elle eut trouvé ridic...more
Normally Nemirovsky's work speaks directly to my emotional heart. I consider her one of my favorite writers and was disappointed with this book. This book is described as semi-autobiographical and so I went in ready to be taken on a real journey. Instead I was treated to stilted and loosely connected snapshots of a young girl through to her young adulthood hating her mother. Set against the backdrop of war. Where was the magic? The large jumps, albeit in chronological order, were irritating and...more
This is a really powerful story about the rich and/or aristocratic as they play their way through life until the stock market crash in the 20s. It's hard to be sympathetic about her characters, and the author isn't, making even the daughter narrator quite analytic about her bad motives. In the end the daughter goes off to find her own way in life, when her father dies, abandoning her mother who she has hated from childhood. It's a bitter story, sadder because it is supposedly autobiographical. S...more
3.5 Said to be her most autobiographical novel, the reader first meets Helene when she is only seven. The daughter of a narcissistic and extremely self involved mother and a father she loves but is himself addicted to gambling. He loves his wife to the point of self delusion. We follow Helene as she ages, learns to hate her mother, the only love in her life is from her governess Madame Rose. This is a novel about the quest for revenge against the backdrop of the Great War and the Russian Revolut...more
Ritroviamo in questo romanzo alcuni dei temi tipici della Nemirovsky come l'infanzia infelice rovinata da una madre egoista ed insensibile e dalla totale indifferenza degli altri familiari, l'ipocrisia, la falsità e la sostanziale immoralità del bel mondo russo ed europeo della Bella Epoque, la paura della vecchiaia e della decadenza. Sicuramente questo libro è il più autobiografico e tra le pagine si percepisce il dolore e l'odio che la scrittrice maturò nei confronti della madre e che ha carat...more
‘Vi de solitud’ es una novela de Irène Némirovsky profundamente autobiográfica. Es la historia de Hélène, una niña nacida en Russia, pero educada con una institutriz francesa, con una madre que sólo se preocupa por coleccionar amantes y en un padre que sólo se preocupa por ganar dinero y luego jugárselo a las cartas o en la bolsa. La niña odia a su madre e idolatra a su padre, aunque éste tampoco le hace mucho caso, así que crece faltada de afecto, porque la única persona que se lo da es su inst...more
Mar 10, 2012
Teresa Esteban
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
french-lit,
20th-century
3.5
It's a very good book. It basically goes around the main character's childhood and teenage years , which are completely spoiled by an unloving family and a growing sense of loneliness. Through her clever eyes, she sees the world around her and depicts the various members of her family and their evolution throughout the years. This description is not only very acute, portraying all the complexities of human beings, but also reveals her own personality. Since the very beginning of her life, Hél...more
It's a very good book. It basically goes around the main character's childhood and teenage years , which are completely spoiled by an unloving family and a growing sense of loneliness. Through her clever eyes, she sees the world around her and depicts the various members of her family and their evolution throughout the years. This description is not only very acute, portraying all the complexities of human beings, but also reveals her own personality. Since the very beginning of her life, Hél...more
You can find a longer review at my blog. I really liked this book. I thought the language was beautiful. In some ways, it was like wine--rich, I wanted to drink it.
The themes were fascinating to me-womanhood, motherhood, love, family. I love these kinds of books.
While this book wasn't perfect, it was really great and worth the read.
The themes were fascinating to me-womanhood, motherhood, love, family. I love these kinds of books.
While this book wasn't perfect, it was really great and worth the read.
I very much enjoyed Suite Francaise so I looked forward to the release of The Wine of Solitude. Unfortunately, I had a terrible time connecting with this novel or caring about the characters.
I wanted to like it. I find Nemirovsky's writing incredibly clear and she was a brilliant storyteller. Nevertheless, it was quite frustrating if you read some of her other works, including "Suite Francaise" and "Le Bal". Essentially, it's the same story, told with different names. Like a said, I wanted to like it, but I found that it was far too predictable for my liking.
There isn't enough I can say about this author! Originally penned in French in 1935, & recently translated in English. It is hard for me to decide what I enjoyed more, the subject or the prose. This is an autobiographical novel, which is what makes it so powerful & creates such an impact with the reader. It is a dismal, very real novel. Not for someone looking for a quick weekend read! This is about pain that is endured for many years throughout a young woman's life without a happy endin...more
Ever since reading Suite Francaise I've wanted to experience the artistry at the heart of that tragic story. This novel presents a central character who thrives despite the repressive narcissism represented by her mother and the historical vulnerability of her cultural backdrop. It's both romantic and bold - and thoroughly enjoyable.
Well-written but not compelling. Traces life of Russian-born girl from age 8 pre-revolution until she was a young woman living in France (1930s). Vain mother reminded me of Snow White's mama. Father was a self-absorbed gambler and business man, but the girl adored him. All-in-all, mostly about her search for revenge against the mother and love from her father. Not nearly as good as "Suite Francaise."
I read this because it is said to be the most autobiographical novel by the author of Suite Francaise, and it was fascinating for that reason. Not a book I would have read otherwise, I think, but a good read -- she was a good writer, but since I read it in translation, that means the translator was a good writer, too, so my thanks to Sandra Smith!
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Irène Némirovsky (born February 11, 1903, Kiev, died August 17, 1942, Auschwitz, Poland) was a Jewish novelist and biographer born in the Ukraine, who lived and worked in France.
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“When you love someone as much as that, you don't believe they can die. You think your love protects them.”
—
12 people liked it
“But she loved studying and books, the way other people love wine for its power to make you forget. What else did she have? She lived in a deserted, silent house. The sound of her own footsteps in the empty rooms, the silence of the cold streets beyond the closed windows, the rain and the snow, the early darkness, the green lamp beside her that burned throughout the long evenings and which she watched for hours on end until its light began to waver before her weary eyes: this was the setting for her life.”
—
4 people liked it
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Dec 04, 2012 05:29am