Hardback. A Book of the Month club edition.

from the inside sleeve:
Written in 1941, the manuscript of Fire in the Blood was entrusted in pieces to family and a friend when the author was sent to her death at Auschwitz. The novel - only now assembled in its entirety - teems with the intertwined lives of an insular French village in the years before the war, when "peace" was less important as a political state than as a coveted personal condition: the untroubled pinnacle of happiness.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

RABCK

Sent to a MN BCer because the women's basketball team at Minnesota State - Mankato won the Division II championship tournament. Wasn't on the Wish List but noticed that the BCer had read and enjoyed the author's Suite Francaise and thought this might be acceptable.

Oh my gosh! Thank you, Thank you!!!!!!! What a welcome and unexpected surprise! I absolutely loved Suite Francaise, and just never thought to add her other books to the wishlist, but I'm looking forward to reading this one to see what her writing is like when edited.

Thanks for thinking of me. Lots of Mankato happiness around here with the women's win!

This short novella was an interesting read, especially so because I had already read Suite Francaise and enjoyed it so much. However, I don't think it was nearly as good or compelling, and I think that it was only half formulated in the author's head. It seemed that, in places, she formulated scattered thoughts, meant to be expanded upon, perhaps researched and tweaked - but never finished, of course, as she was hauled off to Auschwitz to her death.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending to Mrgaskell as a RABCK; hope you enjoy the book!!!

Fire in the Blood arrived safely today. I loved Suite Francaise too, so really looking forward to reading another book by this author. Thank you istop4books! And I love the "Chocolat" bookmark!

Suite Française was an outstanding novel so I wasn’t expecting this book to be as good. It’s not but it is still a worthwhile read and I enjoyed it. It does feel incomplete in some ways, as if it needed some rounding out and a bit of polishing. Having said that, it was interesting and the writing was excellent. Némirovsky’s descriptions enable one to really visualize this small rural French community and its inhabitants. Silvio, having now attained middle age, is content to live a quiet isolated life in relative poverty after the passion of his youth and the squandering of his family property.But he is about to be drawn into events. His young cousin Collette is soon to be married, and hopes to emulate the perfect married happiness of her parents. However, one senses that there are secrets in the past and tragedy in the future...

Thanks for sharing this istop4books. I will probably take it to the next meeting of the Winnipeg bookcrossers.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Taking this to the monthly Winnipeg Bookcrossing meet-up at The Park Theatre Cafe. If it doesn't get taken home by one of our members, it'll be left on the shelf of the OBCZ (Official Book Crossing Zone).

True to her word mrsgaskell delivered this to the meet-up. I waited until near the end, but no-one else expressed a desire in it, so I grabbed it. I had no idea it had started in North Carolina. I'll have to see if I can't move it along when I'm done with it.

Thanks to waterfalling and istop4books and mrsgaskell for keeping it moving.

I really loved this little book that explores how love changes from youth to maturity. Who doesn't remember that "fire in the blood" that infects you when you have your first love affair? If you're very lucky perhaps you go on to have a permanent relationship with that first love but, more often, it fizzles out. Even if you have a lasting relationship the quality of the love changes. Nemirovsky obviously knows a thing or two about love and, without having to go into graphic details, she captures the fever pitch of emotions. She also captures the minute details about life in the French countryside: the seasons, the crops, the food, the clothing, the furniture, the quality of the light. It drew me from cold, snowy Manitoba to France in the years between the wars. I wanted to linger but the book was short and soon it was done.

I'm not sure what my plans are for this book. I'm sure I'll find a willing reader soon.

Dunzy saw my review for this book and offered a trade for it so I'll be posting it to Vancouver very soon.

This should get in the mail this afternoon. Hope you enjoy it Dunzy.

Thanks, gyppo -- I look forward to reading this as a pendant to "Suite Francaise".

My reaction at very first riffle was : "Bitsiness and all, why hasn't this hit the screen yet?" (or SF itself, for that matter).

It's a bit rough and a bit of a potboiler, but this is a poignant work to read in the light of the author's fate.