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Review
rich in illuminating vignettes...Nemirovsky...makes us see...it's a work of great intelligence and fine sensibility' --The Scotsman
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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Review
`Nemirovsky writes with understanding about the society she describes'.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
All Our Worldly Goods is the story of the Hardelots, a family of industrialists living in Saint-Elme, Northern France. The family has established their factory and the local population, who provide all the necessary labour, and all are ruthlessly ruled over by ageing patriarch, Julien Hardelot.
The story begins in 1911 and follows the lives of Pierre, grandson of Julien, and Agnes Florent, the daughter of a local widow. Pierre and Agnes are childhood sweethearts and deeply in love, but this is still a time and a place where the petit-Bourgeois arranged marriages for their offspring and Agnes is not deemed the social equal of Pierre. Pierre is engaged to Simone Renaudin, whose dowry brings the Renaudin fortune to the Hardelots, and one can sense Julien's impatience at getting access to it so that he can invest it in the business. The engagement dinner duly takes place and the future is planned and predictable, just as Saint-Elme and Julien desire it to be.
Suddenly, however, everything changes when Pierre and Agnes meet alone in nearby woods. Knowing how this will be judged by the high-minded moral standards in Saint-Elme, Madame Florent visits Pierre's parents where she mourns the loss of her daughter's prospects in marriage. Pierre overhears the heated conversation and steps in, informing them that he will marry Agnes. Oblivious to his parent's entreaties not to, he will not be dissuaded and their lives are set on a very different course. True to form, Julien disowns his grandson and, feeling their future lies elsewhere, Pierre and Agnes move away to Paris. From then on, our story follows Pierre and Agnes and the fate of the Hardelots, as well as Simone and the town of Saint-Elme, through the First World War, that period entre deux guerres, and into 1940 and the midst of the second great conflict.
This is an exquisite, intimate portrait of love blind to any consequences, of commerce and greed, and of a society at its snobbish peak razed to the ground, literally, not once, but twice by the horrors and realities of war. One cannot help but be aware of Nemirovsky's own life when she portrays the French refugees fleeing the invading German army, redolent of her own family's flight from Russia, and yet it is not a story without hope. Love can overcome despair and give one the strength needed when such awful history unbelievably repeats itself, even reconciliation is possible.
It is a beautiful novel.
The story begins in 1911 and follows the lives of Pierre, grandson of Julien, and Agnes Florent, the daughter of a local widow. Pierre and Agnes are childhood sweethearts and deeply in love, but this is still a time and a place where the petit-Bourgeois arranged marriages for their offspring and Agnes is not deemed the social equal of Pierre. Pierre is engaged to Simone Renaudin, whose dowry brings the Renaudin fortune to the Hardelots, and one can sense Julien's impatience at getting access to it so that he can invest it in the business. The engagement dinner duly takes place and the future is planned and predictable, just as Saint-Elme and Julien desire it to be.
Suddenly, however, everything changes when Pierre and Agnes meet alone in nearby woods. Knowing how this will be judged by the high-minded moral standards in Saint-Elme, Madame Florent visits Pierre's parents where she mourns the loss of her daughter's prospects in marriage. Pierre overhears the heated conversation and steps in, informing them that he will marry Agnes. Oblivious to his parent's entreaties not to, he will not be dissuaded and their lives are set on a very different course. True to form, Julien disowns his grandson and, feeling their future lies elsewhere, Pierre and Agnes move away to Paris. From then on, our story follows Pierre and Agnes and the fate of the Hardelots, as well as Simone and the town of Saint-Elme, through the First World War, that period entre deux guerres, and into 1940 and the midst of the second great conflict.
This is an exquisite, intimate portrait of love blind to any consequences, of commerce and greed, and of a society at its snobbish peak razed to the ground, literally, not once, but twice by the horrors and realities of war. One cannot help but be aware of Nemirovsky's own life when she portrays the French refugees fleeing the invading German army, redolent of her own family's flight from Russia, and yet it is not a story without hope. Love can overcome despair and give one the strength needed when such awful history unbelievably repeats itself, even reconciliation is possible.
It is a beautiful novel.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A beautifully written book, by one of our 'lost' literary greats. Nemirovsky is most well-known for her novel Suite Francaise, a novel that not only has a poignantly sad affair at its heart, but also carries its own desperate tale as Nemirovsky never completed it. All Our Wordly Goods, translated from the French, is set against the 1914 - 18 war - from a French perspective - and tells the story of two young people and their journey through the Great War. Nemirovsky wrote this barely 10 years after the end of WW1; indeed she herself lived through some of the consequences of the war, as a White Russian fleeing the Bolsheviks in 1917 Russia. Her writing style is uniquely hers, and very poetic. A writer to discover and explore.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have pre ordered the book without knowing much of its story as I am a huge fan of Irene Nemirovsky books. I was not disappointed at all. This book holds a genuine message. WWI and WWII social impacts were never described better. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a novel which embraces history , romance and most important an excellent description on how generations repeat the same cycle of actions. Enjoy !
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A French family goes through two world wars
What is so touching in this beautifully written and beautifully translated family saga is that rare thing in fiction: a portrait of a husband and wife, Pierre and Agnès,... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Ralph Blumenau
Well-told family saga -- France 1900-1940
Reading Irene Nemirovsky's pitch perfect narrative stories is like attending a writer's seminar. She combines well-paced and evocative storytelling with three-dimensional... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Blue in Washington
A complete family saga
This book follows the same theme as 'Suite Francaise' - it describes the petty snobbery of French society in the early twentieth century. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Leicsliz
Disappointing
The book tells the story of two families, beginning just before the First World War and ending with the Second World War. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Marand
Some good parts, but not as powerful overall as Suite Francaise
I didn't think this was as good a novel as Suite Francaise. While her descriptions of the fear and dread and sense of hopelessness and helplessness in France in the run up to war... Read more
Published on 13 May 2010 by John Hopper
Disappointing
I loved Suite Francais and was looking forward to reading this. However I found that the characterisation was shallow and the story jumped forward in time far to quickly without... Read more
Published on 23 April 2010 by S. E. Sewell
Nemirovsky
The author Irene Nemirovsky is a real find. I love her gentle but compelling prose, the qiet but very observant characterisation, following multi nuances in relationships. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by David Kernow
Poignant family saga
So much is contained within the modest pages of this book. A complete family saga, with all the passions, jelousies, misunderstandings, joys and sorrows that life entails. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2009 by old joanna
Another Little Gem
It's the same theme as previous books with the same dynamics,but inspite of that it is a marvellous read. Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2009 by D. Glowacki
less of the passion
Most people reading this novel will have read Suite Francaise, and so like me they may think it disappointing. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2009 by francophilip
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