Le Vin de solitude

Le Vin de solitude, published in English as The Wine of Solitude, is a novel by Ukrainian Jewish author Irène Némirovsky (1903 – 1942) who died in the Holocaust. It is considered to be semi autobiographical and tells the story of the protagonist, Hélène Karol, who shares much of Némirovsky's early history. Originally Le Vin de solitude was published in France in 1935. Following the success of Némirovsky's posthumously published work Suite Française in 2004 it was translated and published in English in 2011.

Outline

It tells the story of an dysfunctional middle class Jewish family living in Kiev in the Ukraine during in the early years of the 20th century. The father comes from humble origins but makes a fortune from banking in Imperial Russia. Hélène hates her vain mother, Bella, with an intense, but well-hidden passion. ^[1] As she grows into her teens, the rage increases, fed by her mother's criticisms, extravagance, and lavish, romantic life with her young lover Max. She pities her absent gambler father Boris.^[2] She eventually takes revenge on her mother by seducing away her lover, even though she does not actually want him. ^[3]

At the time of the Russian revolution the family flee to Finland and eventually arrive in Paris as émigrés. Hélène has an admiration for France inculcated by her childhood French governess Mademoiselle Rose.^[2]

Hélène's moral integrity in the novel centres on the dawning realisation that the forces which drove her hated mother's behaviour also exist within her, and she must transcend them if she is not to repeat the life of her mother.^[1]

Bibliography

• The Wine of Solitude Chatto & Windus ( 2011) Le Vin de solitude translated into English by Sandra Smith, ISBN 0-7011-8557-0

References