The Wine of Solitude
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
From the author of the bestselling Suite Française.
Hélène is a troubled young girl. Neglected by her self-absorbed mother and her adored but distant father, she longs for love and for freedom. As first the Great War and then the Russian Revolution rage in the background, she grows from a lonely, melancholy child to an angry young woman intent on destruction.
The Wine of Solitude is a powerful tale of an unhappy family in difficult times and a woman prepared to wreak a shattering revenge.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
N mirovsky's (Suite Fran aise) tragically short life is epitomized in this mournful yet effervescent autobiographical novel spanning WWI, the Russian revolution, and the 1920s. H l ne's passage from Kiev to Finland and finally Paris follows her metamorphosis from awkward, solitary child to beguiling adolescent and intoxicating woman. Attempting to find a haven (and save their riches) during this period of historical upheaval, the Karols eventually reach France. Observant beyond her years, H l ne fixes her laser sight on all aspects of her turbulent, nomadic existence, particularly her hedonistic mother, Bella, whom she despises with an enduring passion that is perhaps too pervasive. Blaming Bella for "ruining childhood" and provoking the loss of her beloved governess, H l ne hatches a plan to seduce her mother's lover. The ambiguous father figure of Boris Karol, a successful businessman and compulsive gambler, is a subtler achievement than Bella, in what constitutes a prequel of sorts to the author's first novel, David Golder. Beyond the waves of "sadness and venom" which characterize much of N mirovsky's coming-of-age tale, her incredible eye for detail and the naturalistic beauty of her writing make this taut narrative glow with her irrepressible love of life.
