Silvio is an aging man who claims to have no regrets about his life spent travelling the world, laying women instead of roots. Spending the remainder of his days in a decrepit house in the French countryside, he observes the romances of his young niece with mild bemusement. When love leads to murder, however, Silvio begins to reflect on the differences between an old man’s love and a young man’s love as he reminisces about his own romances.I would like to start by saying this novel was incredibly French, but I can’t exactly define what that means. I felt a connection to this book that I cannot properly describe, either. The narrator, Silvio, is distanced from the story, much like the reader. He observes the plot from afar, not taking it upon himself to get too involved, which leads to an interesting unfolding of information. The book itself was poetic and romantic, and the ending offered several delicious plot twists, creating a very pleasant afternoon read. Though I enjoyed this story immensely, the more interesting story actually revolves around the author’s life. I have a few of Nemirovsky’s books on my bookshelf, and I had read a good portion of Suite Francaise before leaving it in a hotel room in London years ago. I knew she was a celebrated author, but I was unfamiliar with her biography until I started to read this book. Nemirovsky was born in Russia and moved with her family to Paris as a teenager. She started writing when she was 18 and began publishing books with notable success starting in 1927. However, while her writing was on the up-and-up, Nemirovsky herself was not. Despite converting to Roman-Catholicism, Nemirovsky was still considered to be Jewish, and she was unable to publish her work. At the age of 39, she was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis. With that kind of history and this level of writing, I am sure this will not be the last Nemirovsky book I read.Fire in the Blood is an interesting book by an incredible author that is easy to get through during a slow summer afternoon. Today I enjoyed the rare pleasure of reading a book (this book, Fire in the Blood), cover to cover, in one sitting. I've read La Suite Francaise, and when I saw this other novel by Irene Nemirovsky on a friend's bookshelf, I had to read it. While La Suite Francaise is in large part compelling because of its unusual subject matter (the daily lives of french people during the exodus from Paris and the german occupation, Fire in the Blood is brilliant in its naturalness and universality. In it, Nemirovsky explores two contrasting sides of the human experience-- times of calm, comfort, peace and civility, and times of "fire" -- intense vivacity and passion. The theme, and her take on it, rang very true to me, but beyond that, I really appreciated the craft with which she illustrated it-- so well-paced and subtle as to feel remarkably natural. Told from the perspective of an aging man who has recently returned to the village of his youth after spending much of his life abroad, Fire in the Blood initially paints a rather detached picture of a country family, but as the narrator gradually becomes more intimate with the other characters, so are those characters revealed to be much more complex and fiery than they originally seemed, and ultimately cause the narrator to recognize some "fire" in himself, long forgotten.
What do You think about El Ardor De La Sangre (2007)?
My first taste of the author. Beautifully written. Great twist in the tale. Can't wait to try more.
—pala
