Before Auschwitz: Irène Némirovsky and the Cultural Landscape of Inter-War France

by Angela Kershaw

This book analyses Irene Némirovsky’s literary production in its relationship to the literary and cultural context of the inter-war period in France. It examines topics of central importance to our understanding of the literary field in France in the period, such the close relationship between politics and literature; the historical, political, cultural and personal legacies of the First World War; the so-called ‘crisis of the novel’ and the attempt to create and develop new narrative forms; the phenomenon of Russian emigration to Paris in the wake of the Russian Revolution and Civil War; the possibilities for the creation of a French-Jewish identity and mode of writing; and the threat of fascism and the approach of the Second World War.

Genres: Nonfiction

234 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not an English major, so this was a rather plodding read for me as, for the most part, it's a textbook.

That said, Kershaw's research seems thorough and her thesis that critics' claims of Némirovsky being anti-Semitic, despite her having been Jewish, are well contradicted. In my mind, Némirovsky had one goal with her writing beyond its intrinsic value as a creative outlet: to get published and to generate income. She attempted to write what she thought could sell, and she pushed her stories on those she thought were most apt to publish them.

I accidentally came across Némirovsky while browsing books at a thrift store. Upon doing a web search, I became intrigued and somewhat obsessed with her unique and tragic story as a writer and eventual Holocaust victim. I bought and have read a number of her books and stories, as well as two biographies and other articles.

I get that way sometimes.

So, when I found that my local library had a copy of this critical study of her work, I picked it up. I suppose that it has taken me so long to read (it has fewer than 200 pages) because I've had a relatively busy spring with work (along with other distractions). It has been hard to really dive into it because being able to only read several pages here, and several more pages there.

While not being heavy with biographical information, the book often provides additional details regarding the atmosphere within which Némirovsky wrote.

[Päivi Brink · Rating 5 out of 5]

This research on Irène Némirovsky's oeuvre is a very well written analysis about her role and place on the literary field of the 1930s France. Kershaw writes about the reseption of her books in the 1930s and in our time. She gives a very interesting and beliavable interpretation on Némirovsky's so called antisemitism and her use of popular themes in 1930s literature.