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Le Vin de solitude
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Wikipedia article
'Le Vin de solitude', published in English as 'The Wine of Solitude', is a novel by Russian Jewish author Irne Nmirovsky (1903 1942), who was murdered in the Holocaust. It is considered to be partly autobiographical and tells the story of the protagonist, Hlne Karol, who shares much of Nmirovsky's early history. 'Le Vin de solitude' was originally published in France in 1935. Following the success of Nmirovsky's posthumously published work 'Suite Franaise' in 2004, it was translated and published in English in 2011.
Plot
'Le Vin de solitude' tells the story of a dysfunctional middle-class Jewish family living in Kiev in the Ukraine during the early years of the 20th century. The father comes from humble origins, but makes a fortune from banking in Imperial Russia. Hlne hates her vain mother, Bella, with an intense but well-hidden passion. As she grows into her teens, the rage increases, fed by her mother's criticisms, extravagance, and lavish, romantic life with her young lover, Max. She pities her absent, gambler father, Boris. She eventually takes revenge on her mother by seducing away her lover, even though she does not actually want him.
At the time of the Russian revolution, the family flee to Finland and eventually arrive in Paris as migrs. Hlne has an admiration for France inculcated by her childhood French governess, Mademoiselle Rose.
Hlne's moral integrity in the novel centres on the dawning realisation that the forces which drove her hated mother's behaviour also exist within her and she must transcend them if she is not to repeat the life of her mother.
Bibliography
* 'The Wine of Solitude' (Sandra Smith trans., Chatto & Windus 2011) (1935).
Notes
References
Category:1935 novels
Category:Novels by Irene Nemirovsky
Category:Novels set during World War I
Category:Chatto & Windus books
Category:Novels set in Ukraine
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