Les vierges et autres nouvelles by Irène Némirovsky, Olivier Philipponnat

Abstract

WORLD LITERATURE IN REVIEW ^^^^^^ l ?y I L Tubab W ?* Beltr?n Mena m ' W??KS?????SK?M ni.if r>r iiT-^^B^WHMTiTlPIr to see reality in a more open, human way. For this reason, the true jour ney, the journey of the tubab, is the opposite of the journey of the tourist, taken in comfort and safety. To trav el, in this true sense, is an experience that borders on a primordial solitary ritual. And Tubab is the narrative of that initiation. Marcelo Rioseco University of Oklahoma Ir?ne N?mirovsky. Les vierges et autres nouvelles. Olivier Philipponnat, ed. Paris. Deno?l. 2009.227 pages. 17. ISBN 978-2-20725956-6 This collection of twelve short sto ries, seven of which were previ ously unpublished, includes the last text published shortly before the author, at the age of thirty-nine, was deported and murdered at Aus chwitz in 1942. Since her unfinished series of five planned novels, Suite fran?aise, was finally published and went on to receive the Renaudot literary prize in 2004 (the only time the prize has been awarded post humously), many of the works of Ir?ne N?rnirovsky, who had been a successful novelist during the 1930s, have been rediscovered, reissued, and have reached a new genera tion of readers. In his preface to Les vierges, Olivier Philipponnat points out that N?rnirovsky, though best known for her novels, also penned nearly fifty short stories, a genre that she seems to have privileged in using personal reminiscences as the raw material for her literary output. The themes that run through this collection are familiar ones for readers of N?mirovsky's works: death, lost love, personal betrayal, emotional distance within the fami ly, and the resurgence of suppressed memories. The techniques are more varied. There is the brilliantly inven tive "Film parl?," which conveys a harrowing narrative of filial love and bitterness through a cinematic prism, mixing dialogue and back ground information with the visual transitions and stage directions of a film script: "Et c'est la nuit, un an et demi plus tard. L'?t?, la chaleur" (And now, nighttime, a year and a half later. Summertime, heat). In "Les cartes," the author uses present tense narration to propel a tale of jealousy that is unswervingly des tined to lead to murder: "Quelqu'un dans son entourage est un malheur pour elle" (Someone close to her brings her bad luck). The process of storytelling itself is turned inside out in "?cho," when a self-important writer tells a maudlin story that is meant to illustrate how distant and insensitive his mother had been toward him?"Son c ur ?tait plein d'amour et de piti? pour lui-m?me" (His heart was full of love and pity for himself)?and then immediately proceeds, with no sense of irony, to behave in a similar way toward his own son. "Magie," an autobi ographical anecdote (the year her family spent in Finland after fleeing the Russian Revolution), provides N?rnirovsky with the backdrop for a doomed love story, magically fore told yet always deferred: "Au diable le destin! Il s-'est prononc? trop tard" (To hell with destiny! Its pronounce ment comes too late). While some of these stories take on added poignancy in light of the way in which the author's life was cut short, most of them do not evoke prewar or wartime France. Only in "En raison des circonstances" is the looming threat of separation and death set against the backdrop of the war's outbreak. This collec tion provides further evidence that Ir?ne N?rnirovsky was one of the most talented French writers of her generation. Edward Ousselin Western Washington University The New Anthem: The Subcontinent in Its Own Words. Ahmede Hussain, ed. Chennai, India. Tfanquebar. 2009. x + 338 pages. Rs 3$0. isbn 978-93 80032-45-0 Notwithstanding the curious appearance of the words "The Sub continent," the title of this anthology suggests that a change has taken place in South Asian fiction; a "new" anthem is now being heard and the subcontinent is telling stories in this collection "in its own words." Ahmede Hussain...