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Dimanche and Other Stories Audiobook
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(3.03) - 323 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A collection of never-before-translated stories by the bestselling author of Suite Française, this is a gorgeous, gemlike volume with the same attention to detail that won Irène Némirovsky so many fans. Written between 1934 and 1942, these ten stories mine the same terrain as her bestselling novels: a keen eye for the details of social class; the tensions between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives; the manners and mannerisms of the French bourgeoisie; and questions of religion and personal identity. Moving from the drawing rooms of pre-war Paris to the lives of men and women in wartime France, here is the beautiful work of a writer at the height of her tragically short career.
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"This was beautifully written in its simplicity. Nemirovsky weaves the lives of various social classes during pre-war conditions together, illustrating class differences, but simultaneously showing that these differences are irelevent in the course of human living. Highly recommended."
— Ericka (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Her latest work to be published in English, Dimanche and Other Stories, affirms her newly won reputation. Her themes are old age and dying…the misery that parents and children inflict upon one another…and the painful, perpetual estrangement of the person forever peering through the curtains…and because Némirovsky was herself born to wealth, she writes about comfortable lives suddenly upended…Yet if her themes are often dark, and if our knowledge of her fate casts its shadow over our readings, her characters and stories are so vibrant and involving that the dominant impression her writing leaves is one of happiness.”
— Harper’s magazine -
“Ten luminous and newly translated stories by Némirovsky, who died at Auschwitz, expose the miseries that undermine happy families…these accomplished tales create worlds full of secrets and treacheries…In this superlative translation, Némirovsky’s characters emerge full-fleshed, and her voice remains timeless and relevant.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Cassandra Campbell offers a fine, straightforward reading of the 10 stories Némirovsky wrote between 1934 and 1942, when she died at Auschwitz. Némirovsky’s themes are those of her bestselling Suite Française: the disintegration of France’s upper-class society, families, and individuals in Paris before the arrival of the Nazis, and Campbell’s portrayals of self-absorbed bourgeois Parisians are well defined without exaggeration and with an impeccable accent.”
— Publishers Weekly audio review -
“Director/narrator Cassandra Campbell’s clear, melodious voice is a good counterpart to the text; cool and detached, her voice emphasizes the hypocrisy, disconnectedness, and implicit irony that permeate the stories. She gracefully alters her pitch, pacing, and accent for every new point of view she adopts. Strongly recommended.”
— Library Journal (starred audio review) -
“[A] gorgeous collection…Elegant, magnetic, and devastating stories of marriage, mothers and daughters, youth and age, rich and poor. Each faceted, cutting tale exposes the barely concealed resentments and envy underlying marriages desiccated by routinely unfaithful husbands, martyred wives, and shiny, selfish children, especially beautiful daughters who hold their muted mothers in contempt…Némirovsky was an empathic, prescient, and boldly clinical dramatist in the mode of Chekhov, Maupassant, and Colette.”
— Booklist
Awards
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A 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book
Dimanche and Other Stories Listener Reviews
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" Another lovely selection from Irene Nemirovsky. Those who are fans of Suites Francaise will appreciate the depth and richness to be found in her characters. Ten short stories with different themes, some poignantly about the war that would soon take her life. I highly recommend. "
— Stacy, 2/12/2014 -
" Some of these stories are quite compelling in their keen awareness of human nature, psychology between men and women, etc. "
— Caroline, 2/10/2014 -
" Disappointing because the stories are uneven in quality. A couple are very good, the others are boring and uninspiring. "
— Esme, 2/6/2014 -
" A mix of some excellent stories and some mediocre ones. Overall an enjoyable read but not up to the level of Suite Francaise. "
— J, 1/31/2014 -
" The same wonderful read as Suite Francaise. A fine collection of stories. "
— Jo, 1/31/2014 -
" Author of Suite Francaise, a collection of short stories which I really enjoyed. Too short a life for the author who met her fate in a concentration camp. "
— Hilary, 1/29/2014 -
" A Collection of short stories comprised mostlyof simple plots. There are no super heroes here, just people doing the best they can to live their lives. I felt some stories in this collection are a bit confusing and some (like any collection of short stories) are better and more interesting than others, but Irene Nemirovsky is very good at conveying the conflicts and inner struggles of ordinary people. "
— Renee, 1/12/2014 -
" Nemirovsky is now my favorite writer. So, obviously, this was a great book, in my opinion. "
— Tish, 12/31/2013 -
" This one gets three stars because some of the stories were gems and others were mind numbingly dull. I would recommend this book but encourage you to skip ahead on the boring ones because there are great one's too come - particularly in the latter half of the book. "
— Issy, 12/27/2013 -
" I thought Suite Francaise was great, and you can see some elements of that book in these short stories. But I struggled to get through this book, probably because it's rare that short stories engage me the way novels do. "
— Anne, 10/21/2013 -
" I read "Suite Francaise", which I loved and these are a collection of short stories published after her death. This writer fascinates me. At times the translation from French to English seemed awkward. "
— Catherine, 10/4/2013 -
" I really liked these short stories very much. In fact, I liked them better than Suite francaise. "
— Melanie, 10/1/2013 -
" Depressing stories, even though well-written. I only read a few. Too pretty outside to read these! "
— Teri, 9/26/2013 -
" An excellent book of short stories that take place between 1934 and 1942. The stories examine family life and social class in France during this period of time. Through Nemirovsky's writing you feel are actually in the story settings with the characters and a part of their lives. "
— Bob, 9/2/2013 -
" Ten unrelated short stories, some better than others, but all insightful and subtly satirical, socially ironic. Especially liked Liens du sang, Le spectateur, and Monsieur Rose. "
— Ruby, 8/11/2013 -
" Very disappointing, the stories are very trite. "
— Mark, 5/8/2013 -
" another penetrating set of small studies by Nemirovsky. very fine reading. "
— Sskous, 4/10/2013 -
" short stories - well-written slices of life "
— Nancy, 1/3/2013 -
" Listen to on tape. Very wise "
— Jane, 4/25/2012 -
" Very good - this series of short stories is dark, but each is thought provoking. Best when not treated as a fast read. "
— Laurie, 6/29/2011 -
" Nemirovsky's strengths are the novella and short novel, such as the two parts of Suite Francaise she lived to complete, All Our Worldly Goods, and the incomplete Fire in the Blood. While these stories are deft enough and mostly interesting, they are not as accomplished as the longer works. "
— Cooper, 8/9/2010 -
" Too depressing. Couldn't finish it. "
— Amy, 6/29/2010
About Irène Némirovsky
Irène Némirovsky (1903–1942), was born in Kiev, Ukraine, into a wealthy banking family and emigrated to France during the Russian Revolution. After attending the Sorbonne in Paris, she began to write and swiftly achieved success with David Golder, which was followed by more than a dozen other books. Throughout her lifetime she published widely in French newspapers and literary journals. She died in Auschwitz in 1942. More than sixty years later, Suite Française was published posthumously, for the first time. It became an international bestseller, with nearly a million copies in print in the United States alone.
About Cassandra Campbell
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.