Irène Némirovsky

The Profile

Irène Némirovsky (1903–1942) was a Russian-born writer who wrote in French. She is best known for Suite française, left unfinished and published posthumously.

Born 1903 in Kiev (then Russian Empire), wrote in French, published notable novels in the 1930s. She was of Jewish origin, was arrested under Vichy racial laws, deported in 1942 and died in Auschwitz; Suite française (including Tempête en juin) was published posthumously in 2004.

The available review praises Irène Némirovsky's Storm in June (first part of Suite Française) as a vivid choral fresco of France in June 1940. It highlights the book's restrained prose, human detail and posthumous publication. The reviewer calls it "one of the most beautiful things" they've read.