Quotes from Irene Nemirovsky

It only seems like that, Jeanne. It all seems caused by this man or that, by one circumstance or another, but it's like in nature: after the calm comes the storm; it starts out slowly, reaches its peak, then it's over and other periods of calm, some longer, some shorter, come along. It's just been our bad luck to be born in a century full of storms, that's all. They'll die down.

There are laws that regulate the fate of beehives and of people, and that's all there is to it. The spirit of the people is undoubtedly also ruled by laws that elude us, or by whims we know nothing about. How sad the world is, so beautiful yet so absurd.

Un'unione dove il cuore non ha voce è una caricatura dell'amore coniugale.

Michel was first imprisoned at Creusot, then taken to Drancy. On 6 November 1942 he was deported to Auschwitz and sent immediately to the gas chamber. There is then a two-year gap in the correspondence.

One of Balzac's characters might live here. It must have been built by a wealthy provincial notary who retired to the countryside. I imagine him, at night, in my room, counting out his gold coins.

His voice, when he spoke German, especially with that commanding tone, took on a sharp, resonant quality. Hearing it gave Lucille the same pleasure that a slightly rough kiss might –– the kind of kiss that ends with a little bite.

Christian charity, the compassion of centuries of civilisation, fell from her like useless ornaments, revealing her bare, arid soul. She and her children were alone in a hostile world. She needed to feed and protect them.

Non ho paura della vita pensò. Sono stati solo anni di apprendistato. Terribilmente duri, è vero, ma mi hanno temprata, hanno rafforzato il mio coraggio e il mio orgoglio. E questo mi appartiene, è la mia ricchezza inalienabile. Sono sola, ma la mia solitudine è aspra e inebriante.

Adieu, he said, this is goodbye. I'll never forget you, never. She stood silent. He looked at her and saw her eyes full of tears. He turned away. She forced herself to smile. Like the Chinese mother who sent her son off to war telling him to be careful 'because war has its dangers,' I'm asking you, if you have any feelings for me, to be as careful as possible with your life. Because it is precious to you? he asked nervously. Yes. Because it is precious to me.

At noon, in the noisy dining room where Arlette Corail was finishing lunch, some travellers brought news of the armistice. The women burst into tears. It seemed that the situation was rather confused. In certain places the army was still resisting and civilians had joined them. However, everyone agreed that the army had failed and there was nothing more to be done; they had no choice but to give up. The room was filled with chatter. It was stiflingly hot.

Nu limba, legile, obiceiurile sau principiile despart sau unesc fiinÈ›ele, ci felul identic în care È›in cuÈ›itul È™i furculiÈ›a.

Hubert counted nearly 200 men on the road and river bank. In his naïvety he believed that this powerful army would now confront the enemy.

The regiment was passing beneath Lucile's windows. The soldiers were singing; they had excellent voices, but the French were bemused by this serious choir whose sad and menacing music sounded more religious than warlike. "That how they pray?" the women asked. The troops were returning from manoeuvres

Nearby he saw a man, his head covered in blood, stumble like a drunkard into a thicket; he sat there between the branches in a bizarre and uncomfortable position, his knees folded under him, his chin resting on his chest. He heard an officer shouting angrily, "No doctors, no nurses, no ambulances! What are we supposed to do?

And besides, these German officers were cultured men, after all! What separates or unites people is not their language, their laws, their customs, their principles, but the way they hold their knife and fork.

Now and again he let out a sort of clipped, bitter laugh. "Good God, to have fought in '14 and then see this Ã¢â'¬Â¦

Odiava la guerra, che minacciava ben più della vita o del suo benessere: distruggeva in ogni istante l'universo della creazione romanzesca, l'unico in cui si sentisse felice, simile a uno squillo di tromba discordante e terribile che facesse crollare le fragili muraglie di cristallo erette con tanta fatica tra lui e il mondo esterno

Though the poor were just as afraid as the rich, and valued their lives just as much, they were more sheeplike: they needed each other, needed to link arms, to groan or laugh together. Day was breaking. A silvery blue light slid over the cobblestones, over the parapets along the quayside, over the towers of Notre-Dame.

My God! what is this country doing to me? Since it is rejecting me, let us consider it coldly, let us watch as it loses its honour and its life. And the other countries? What are they to me? Empires are dying. Nothing matters. Whether you look at it from a mystical or a personal point of view, it's just the same. Let us keep a cool head. Let us harden our heart. Let us wait.

Le bonheur conjugal ne ressemble pas plus au bonheur tout court que l'amour conjugal ne ressemble à l'amour. (...) Il est négatif, (...) fait d'une somme de malheurs victorieusement déjoués.

There are still many other worries such as the threat of a concentration camp, the status of Jews etc. Sunday was unforgettable

30 June 1941. Stress the Michauds. People who always pay the price and the only ones who are truly noble. Odd that the majority of the masses, the detestable masses, are made up of these courageous types. The majority doesn't get better because of them nor do they [the courageous types] get worse.

Yes! It must be done by showing contrasts: one word for misery, ten for egotism, cowardice, closing ranks, crime. Won't it be wonderful! But it's true that it's this very atmosphere I'm breathing. It is easy to imagine it: the obsession with food.

icy water that reflected the dark blue of the sky, these buckets always attracted a soldier, who would hurry over to take the heavy burden. Some of the soldiers did it to prove that, even though they were German, they were polite; others did it out of natural kindness; some because the beautiful day and a kind of physical invigoration (brought on by the fresh air, healthy tiredness and the prospect of a well-earned rest) put them in a state of exaltation, of inner strength