Editions

The Misunderstanding

  • Imprint: Vintage

  • ISBN: 9780099563846

  • Length: 176  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 12mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 128g

  • RRP: £9.99

The Misunderstanding

From the author of the bestselling Suite Française.

A compelling story of infatuation, passion and self-destructive love

Yves Harteloup is a disappointed young man, scarred by the war. He returns for the summer to the rich, comfortable Atlantic resort of Hendaye, where he spent blissful childhood holidays. There he becomes infatuated by a beautiful, bored young woman, Denise, whose rich husband is often away on business. Intoxicated by summer nights and Yves’ intensity, Denise falls passionately in love, before the idyll has to end and Yves must return to his mundane office job. In the mournful Paris autumn their love founders on mutual misunderstanding and Denise is driven mad with desire and jealous suspicion until, acting on her sophisticated mother’s advice, she takes action...which she may regret forever.

  • Imprint: Vintage

  • ISBN: 9780099563846

  • Length: 176  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 12mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 128g

  • RRP: £9.99

Reviews

  • "How easy it is to be drawn into this superb period novel"

    The Connexion

  • "An irresistible talent"

    Guardian

  • "Dazzling... Extraordinary... A wonder"

    Irish Times

  • "Shows remarkable understanding of the mysteries of the human heart and the social, familial and economic pressures that pull two lovers apart, even as passion draws them closer"

    Michael Arditti, Daily Mail

  • "This is an astonishingly mature work of art. This study in the fleeting nature of happiness is immaculately translated by Sandra Smith"

    Paul Bailey, Independent

More from this Author

View all View all
View all View all

About the Author

Irène Némirovsky

Irène Némirovsky was born in Kiev in 1903, the daughter of a successful Jewish banker. In 1918 her family fled the Russian Revolution for France where she became a bestselling novelist . She was prevented from publishing when the Germans occupied France and moved with her husband and two small daughters from Paris to the safety of the small village of Issy-l'Evêque (in German occupied territory). It was here that Irène began writing Suite Française. She died in Auschwitz in 1942. Sandra Smith has translated twelve novels by Irène Némirovsky as well as a new translation of Camus’ The Outsider. Némirovsky’s Suite Française won her the French American Foundation and Florence Gould Foundation Prize and The PEN Translation Prize. Five of her translations have been adapted as radio plays and broadcast on the BBC. Suite Française is the first to become a film.

Irène Némirovsky

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.