The Larry Kane Report

I want to tell you about a book that is one of the most unusual I’ve read in many years….

It comes to us from the grave as a poignant literary reminder of a time of yesterday that is relevant to the news of today

Irene Nemirovsky is the author. In the 1930’s this captivating young russian emigrant to france became a best selling novelist, but her masterpiece was hidden away for over 50 years. Irene, who had two daughters, was murdered by the Germans in a concentration camp in 1942, the year I was born.

Her daughters survived with the help of a good and righteous family. Years ago.. They found a manuscript… Much of it handwritten that is fiction based on reality, her insightful account of how the french reacted to the German occupation of their country. The stories are of love, hate, understanding and ignorance during a time of national and personal humiliation.

I have rarely been drawn to fiction like this but suite francaise is a study of human nature under duress that could well be situated in areas of our world today that are filled with genocide, homocide and episodes of human courage in the midst of it all.

It is highly recommended…

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If you want to read great non fiction, buy Mark Bowden’s “Guests of the Ayatollah”. The author of Black Hawk Down has outdone himself.

Bowden’s account of the 1979 takeover of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran is a riveting account of what is considered to be the first major political action of the Islamic Revolution that continues to haunt American diplomacy around the world. Bowden is a people guy. And nowhere is this is more evident than in the descriptions of the 52 hostages that survived over a year in the dungeon of horror that was the first regime of the new Iran.

As a fan of history, I was stunned by this page turner and how it is so critical to a contemporary understanding of the Islamic rage.
“Guests” is must reading. Bowden is an author who brings it alive!
LK

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