Tuesday, April 25, 2006

France under occupation

Max Hastings, one of the pre-eminent British military historians has an interesting commentary on collobaration. He is writing in reference to Suite Francaise, which from what the reviews say an excellent book written under unbearable circumstances. The author, a French Jew, wrote the two of a planned five volumes under German occupation. She didn't finish because the Nazis caught her and sent her to Auschwitz, where she died. The book is written about life under occupation and how people act. The focus is on individuals and how they react. One Amazon review admonished us not to consider the story of the creation of the novel, but to focus on its literary qualities. I think both are worthy of note.

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