Name: French Lessons
ISBN: 9780345522771

Ellen Sussman

A heartbroken and pregnant woman, a neglected ex-pat housewife and the husband of a high-profile movie star experience profound life changes while exploring Paris with their French tutors throughout the course of a single day. By the award-winning author of On a Night Like This. Original. 100,000 first printing.

A Novel

French Lessons

Jennifer A.

Jessica Ford

This book was okay. I liked the story of Josie and Nico, but didn't care much for the other characters. I wish I knew French to know what they were saying to each other sometimes. For someone who knows Paris, it would probably be fun to hear about all the places they went. I don't think I would recommend this book to a friend, unless they had nothing better to read.

** spoiler alert **
           French Lessons is an easy book to digest primarily due to the luscious and tactile descriptions of Paris and the compelling storytelling. The book follows three separate stories of three Americans paired up with French tutors in the course of one day in Paris. Each character has his/her own interesting back story and I enjoyed the interaction and chemistry between the pairing of each the American student and the French teacher. The true success of this book is that it transports the reader to Paris as if you were walking alongside (and admittedly, sometimes spying on) the couples. But as much as I liked the book, I wished the author would have extended the ending because I really wanted to find out what happened with the character, Josie. Her ending never truly materialized and I just felt unsatisfied.

The only thing that lasts is love, even when it's gone. Three French tutors meet at a small café that spills out onto the sunny Parisian backstreet of Rue du Paradis. Nico, Philippe and Chantal meet here every Wednesday morning, before leading their students along the grand boulevards, winding alleyways and sweetly perfumed jardins of the city of lights. But today's lesson will be very different - and none of them are remotely prepared. Josie arrives in Paris desperate, alone, and hopeful that this trip might mend her broken heart. Ex-pat Riley is a long way from home and drifting further and further away from her husband. Could Philippe provide the distraction she craves - and can she gain the courage to break free? Jeremy is the dutiful husband of his famous actress wife. While she is busy filming on the banks of the Seine, he is content playing second fiddle. Until he meets Chantal... In the haze of a Paris summer, long-buried secrets rise to the surface and relationships are challenged. Can the lessons learned in one day change all of their tomorrows?

French Lessons A Novel

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