- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Oak Books, Ouyen, VIC, AustraliaOak Books
AbeBooks seller since January 30, 2026
Condition: Used
£ 8.06
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Add to basketItem description from seller
Yves Harteloup is a disappointed young man, old money fallen on hard times, who returns for the summer to the rich, comfortable Atlantic resort of Hendaye, where he spent idyllic childhood holidays. He becomes infatuated by a beautiful young woman, Denise, whose rich husband is often away on business. Yves seduces Denise and leaves her intensely, jealously in love, as he returns to the office at the end of the summer. Yet in the mournful Paris autumn their love flounders. As Denise is driven mad with desire and suspicion, Yves seems to back off emotionally and, suffocated by her passion, he asks her to leave him alone for a while. This moment of misunderstanding is the turning point: he believes she has understood his needs, but beneath the surface she is delirious with anguish, now mixed with a sour bitterness. With a biting satirical eye and a characteristic perception for the fault lines in human relationships, Irene Nemirovsky's first novel shows sure signs of the brilliant novelist she was later to become. These are USED books. Please only purchase if you are happy with that. Images & Editions We use stock images and database descriptions based on the ISBN. The image shown may NOT be the actual book cover you will receive. Covers, editions, printings, and publishers may differ. If you need a specific cover, edition, or printing, please contact us before purchasing. What "Used" Means Because these books are pre-owned: Colouring books may be coloured in Textbooks may have answers filled in, highlighting, notes, or underlining Workbooks may have writing inside Access codes, download codes, CDs, DVDs, or online content are usually missing or already used Books that originally came with toys, inserts, maps, cards, or bonus items will usually NOT include them Pages may be folded, marked, or show normal signs of use If you are buying a book for anything other than reading (e.g. colouring, study use, collecting, gifts, specific covers, bonus items, or digital access), used books may not be suitable. Condition All books are listed as Used - Good Books are clean and readable but not new Some books may have: Writing, highlighting, or markings Folded pages or minor wear A small warehouse or inventory sticker on the spine Original retailer stickers (we do not remove them) Our Process We purchase books by the pallet and scan thousands at a time. For this reason, we cannot photograph or individually inspect every book. Acknowledgement By purchasing, you acknowledge that: You understand the book is used You accept the condition and limitations described above Stock images and descriptions may not exactly match the item received Thank you for supporting Oak Books and helping give books a second life.…
Seller Inventory # AD90_AZ1
- Title
- The Misunderstanding
- Author
- Nemirovsky, Irene
- Publisher
- Vintage 9/1/2012
- Publication year
- 2012
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0701186755
- ISBN 13
- 9780701186753
The Misunderstanding is Irène Némirovsky's first novel, written when she was just twenty-one and published in a literary journal two years later. An intense story of self-destructive and blighted love, it is also a tragic satire of French society after the Great War.
Yves Harteloup, scarred by the war, is a disappointed young man, old money fallen on hard times, who returns for the summer to the rich, comfortable Atlantic resort of Hendaye, where he spent blissful childhood holidays. He becomes infatuated with 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 flounders on mutual misunderstanding, in the apparently unbridgeable gap between a life of idle wealth and the demands of making a living, between a woman's needs and a man's way of loving. As Denise is driven mad with desire and jealous suspicion, Yves, too sure of her, tortures himself and her with his emotional ambivalence. Taking her sophisticated mother's advice, Denise takes action...which she may regret forever.
With a sharp satirical eye and a characteristic perception for the fault lines in human relationships, Irène Némirovsky's first novel shows sure signs of the brilliant novelist she was to become.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Sandra Smith is the translator of all 14 novels by Irène Némirovsky available in English, a new translation of Camus's The Outsider; and The Necklace and Other Stories: Maupassant for Modern Times, Inseparable by Simone de Beauvoir (Ecco Press, USA), among many others. Her translation of Nemirovsky's Suite Française won the French-American Florence Gould Foundation Translation Prize for Fiction, as well as the PEN Translation Prize. Her translation of But You Did Not Come Back by Marceline Loridan-Ivens won The National Jewish Book Award. She currently teaches at NYU.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Oak Books
Ouyen, VIC, Australia
AbeBooks seller since January 30, 2026
Shipping rates from Australia to U.S.A.
| Item | 7 to 14 business days | 3 to 7 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 24.61 | £ 40.27 |
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📚 About Us Oak Books is a socially responsible book business operating from regional hubs across Australia. Our mission is to reduce waste, create jobs, and make reading more accessible.
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P & J INNOVATIONS PTY LTD
38 Oke Street
Ouyen, VIC Australia 3490
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