FIRE IN THE BLOOD: Irene Nemirovksy: Knopf: 2007: General Fiction: 160Although a likable narrator, cousin Silvio is entirely emotionally removed from the lives of those around him; specifically his cousin, Helene, and her family. A scandal involving his niece forces Silvio to revisit his own past and question whether it’s not the “fire in the blood” we have as impetuous youth that makes us most truly ourselves after all.
In her own words, Nemirovsky’s novel is about “The Young and the Old. Austerity, purity of parents who were guilty when they were young. The impossibility of understanding that 'fire in the blood' (as you grow older)." Set in rural France before WWI this simple, almost allegorical, piece of fiction was published posthumously. It reads conceptually more than rich in detail and character development; nonetheless an interesting exercise in one’s shifting identity over time.
No comments:
Post a Comment