French
Chapter 2: Sorbonne
Enrolled in Russian literature at the Sorbonne at the end of 1920,then in comparative literature at the end of 1922, Irène Némirovsky makes friends with René Avot, son of an industrialist from the Pas-de-Calais, and especially with her sister Madeleine, whom she floods with mischievous letters, witnesses to her life of bamboche. «I am unforgivable for not having written to you for so long. My excuse, if I have one, is very annoying, it’s called the Sorbonne. No kidding, I could sing “My only joy, my only happiness, is the Sorbonne” to the tune of ‘My man”. We work a lot, we don’t get too bored there – we are a friendly group, young people and young girls, all Russian. Flirtations begin in the shadow of dictionaries if I dare to express myself like that. You can see it from here!".
Lettre Madeleine Avot [1922 ]. © Fonds Irène Némirovsky/ IMEC
