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A review by pmg227
All Our Worldly Goods by Irène Némirovsky
4.0
I received this as a Goodreads First Reads book. This is a book of two families in France from 1911 to 1940. It's a story of love, family expectations, and hope that never fails in spite of wars, rumor of wars, and family pressure.
Pierre and Agnes were childhood friends, though it was a friendship their parents did not encourage and marriage was unthinkable. 'the bourgeoisie didn't mingle with the lower middle classes.' However, Pierre and Agnes declare their love for each other and the book goes on to tell of their lives through the years which includes two wars and their own son's forbidden loves.
Nemirovsky did a good job of developing her characters and showing what France was like in the early part of the twentieth century and also the changes that came about in France, both in social and business settings.
As I read and felt the hope of Nemirovsky's characters, I couldn't help but think of the irony of Nemirovsky's own fate. Her family left Russia to escape the Russian Revolution. However, Nemirovsky herself was a victim of war, dying at Auschwitz, and this book was not published until five years after her death.
Pierre and Agnes were childhood friends, though it was a friendship their parents did not encourage and marriage was unthinkable. 'the bourgeoisie didn't mingle with the lower middle classes.' However, Pierre and Agnes declare their love for each other and the book goes on to tell of their lives through the years which includes two wars and their own son's forbidden loves.
Nemirovsky did a good job of developing her characters and showing what France was like in the early part of the twentieth century and also the changes that came about in France, both in social and business settings.
As I read and felt the hope of Nemirovsky's characters, I couldn't help but think of the irony of Nemirovsky's own fate. Her family left Russia to escape the Russian Revolution. However, Nemirovsky herself was a victim of war, dying at Auschwitz, and this book was not published until five years after her death.