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Title: L'Affaire by Diane Johnson, Blair Brown ISBN: 0-7393-0769-X Publisher: Random House Audio Publishing Group Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 5 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.38 (16 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: "A L'AFFAIRE To Remember"
Comment: European culture clashes head-on with American attitude in the delightful "L'AFFAIRE" by entertaining storyteller Diane Johnson. Award-winning author of Le Divorce tells the story of a young woman in search of a little excitment in her life so she leaves California for a ski resort in the French Alps, but (by the skin of her chin) surviving an avalanche on her first afternoon at the ski resort is not exactly what she had in mind on her quest for excitment...nor was falling in love a part of the equation. (Fun Story...Fun Writer!)
Rating: 3
Summary: Have "L'Affaire"
Comment: After experiencing "Le Divorce" and "Le Mariage," readers can experience "L'Affaire," the latest Henry-James-does-chick-lit book on France by Diane Johnson. "L'Affaire" is a fun read with some witty insights, though it putters out near the end.
Amy is an American dotcom exec who has become a millionaire, but she feels oddly guilty about her newfound wealth. She vacations in Hotel Croix St. Bernard, a ski lodge in Valmeri, France, and encounters an odd gaggle of people including a lustful count, likable poet Robin, and sexy TV executive Emile. But things take a nasty turn when an English publisher, Adrian Venn, and his young wife are nearly killed in an avalanche.
When it seems that Venn is probably going to die, his assorted children show up, including an illegitimate daughter married to Emile, who is having a fling with his wife's half-sister. Now it's a fight between the French and the British -- the inheritance will be divided differently, depending where Venn dies. Amy, trying to do a good deed, ends up ensnaring herself in a bitter family feud.
Diane Johnson seems to have a bit of a love-hate relationship with France -- love everything about it except the attitude towards Americans. Blaming American planes for an avalanche is only the start; the cultural clashes between France, England and the United States are at the core of the novel, adding spice to a typical family feud.
Johnson's writing is fresh and detailed, and for much of the novel she intrigues with stories of sexy Eurotrash, chic ski lodges and extended families linked by one loathed man. And she manages to wriggle in some cultural insights: how different cultures are seen across the world and how those viewpoints can be wrong -- like lumping all Americans into one big group.
Unfortunately, things start unravelling near the end. The plot simply starts meandering, as if Johnson couldn't figure out what to do to wrap up the storyline. There's a shocker lawsuit and divorce thrown in to maintain tension, but "L'Affaire" simply runs out of plot twists. So it grinds to a halt in a flurry of legalspeak.
Johnson tends to create characters by type: the French tend to be calculating and obnoxious, the Brits tend to be bitter, and the Americans nice but a bit dumb. Amy seems like a nice if bland character, until she starts sleeping around for no good reason. The supporting characters tend to be rather obnoxious, except for well-meaning teenager Kip, who just wants his sister and nephew to be all right.
"L'Affaire" loses steam at the end, but it's an amusing light read with a twisted family and a young woman just trying to help. A flawed yet entertaining social commentary novel.
Rating: 1
Summary: I agree with 'plodding and dull' from Amherst, MA
Comment: It's plodding and dull. The premise had potential, which is why I picked it up, but was bored and zipped through it just to get it over with. Too bad.
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Title: Le Mariage by Diane Johnson ISBN: 0452282268 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: 10 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Le Divorce by Diane Johnson ISBN: 0452277337 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: January, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: A Venetian Affair by ANDREA DI ROBILANT ISBN: 037541181X Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Great Fire: A Novel by Shirley Hazzard ISBN: 0374166447 Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Amateur Marriage: A Novel by ANNE TYLER ISBN: 1400042070 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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