Here's what I wrote in 2009 about this read: "Really like this author (recall Suite Francaise). Sees, and helps us see, our multi-facetness that makes us human. Given the time period and cultures in which she wrote (Russia, France) offers insightful views into different cultures and different times. A Russian nanny who must emigrate with her aristocratic family following the revolution, the Russian Minister of Education who's hired a doctor is marching toward a public assasination." ( )

The Ball:

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/a-coming-of-age-tale/

Snow in Autumn:

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2015/04/27/haunted-by-the-past-2/

The Courilof Affair:

https://kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2015/05/24/the-nature-of-terror/ ( )

In these four novels, as in Suite Francaise, Nemirovsky proves that she is a literary master, an artist. These stories were a more satisfying read than Fire in the Blood, which simply reminded me of Suite Francaise and made me want to read it again; they are different enough in setting and character, but her literary style is clearly established, and she shows her striking insight into a variety of characters. Beautiful. ( )

So, as noted earlier, this was really difficult for me to get into. That surprised me, especially because of how much I've enjoyed Nemirovsky's other work.

The novellas collected in this volume are earlier works, and thus less polished than the later material. It was interesting to see such a marked evolution in her style, but that's about all I can say about three of the four stories in here. The Snow in Autumn, however, was really well done, and is definitely a precursor of the brilliance on full display in works like Suite Francaise. ( )

One has to wonder if Nemirovsky was born old. Reading her works makes me think that there may be more to the idea of "old souls" than I would normally believe. Whether Nemirovsky's writing reflects eons of countless reincarnations or simply the hardship of growing up among Jewish Russian exiles in France, she without a doubt writes like someone who has had a long life, who has already parted with a lifetimes worth of illusions and who has watched the world change around her.

Nemirovsky's power in these short works is fierce. Of particular note is her skill at capturing people, their foibles and petty ambitions, and the way their interactions can serve as fields of combat. Some moments in these stories made me laugh, while others made me want to cry, and others chilled me to the bone. ( )