62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Princess Diary, March 11, 2004
This review is from: C'est la Vie: An American Conquers the City of Light, Begins a New Life, and Becomes--Zut Alors!--Almost French (Paperback)
I'm a sucker for the move-to-Paris (Provence, Tuscany, Spain, etc.) genre, with one caveat. I like the stories where the writer has actually moved to Paris or wherever, and is not just buying a summer home and expects to become a native. In other words, I liked A Year in Provence, and was not so fond of Under the Tuscan Sun.
In C'est la Vie, Suzy Gershman has indeed sold her house in the States and moved to Paris. She is newly widowed, which adds a slightly different twist to this story. Gershman tells how she managed to get an apartment and furniture, how she dealt with the French bureaucaracy without speaking much French, how she coped with losing her husband, and how she got back into the dating game. She keeps an upbeat attitude in spite of all the obstacles and becomes, as an acquaintance tells her, "almost French."
C'est la Vie has everything going for it, and yet, I feel as if I should have enjoyed it more than I did. Granted, I was not aware of Gershman's Born to Shop series of books, so I ended up skimming the frequent and detailed shopping interludes. Apparently, she is also a celebrity of sorts, so she does a bit of name-dropping. She doesn't flinch at popping for regular trips to London to have her hair and nails done, so I'm afraid we run in different economic circles.
C'est la Vie reads more like a fantasy than like a travel memoir. I guess I was expecting to identify with Gershman, but after the affair with the wealthy Count, the New Year's Eve assignation with a handsome Italian at the Ritz, the purchase of a summer home in Provence. . .
Although I did enjoy C'est la Vie, I also recommend Almost French by Sarah Turnbull. It's written by an Australian journalist who travels to Paris, falls in love with a French man, and stays. Somehow, I found her story much more real.
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23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
That's Life? Perhaps, But Not for Everyone..., May 24, 2004
This review is from: C'est la Vie: An American Conquers the City of Light, Begins a New Life, and Becomes--Zut Alors!--Almost French (Paperback)
I suppose some widowed women could afford to move to Paris and live the kind of privileged life that Gershman enjoys...then again, not everyone has the financial resources to lead such a glamourous life.
The above is the main difficulty I had with this otherwise amusing little book. Gershman writes as though she is telling her readers "how to do it". ("It" being moving to Paris and beginning a new way of life in a new cultural environment). But I think she writes for someone other than women of "average" financial means.
Ah, well! Taken for what it is ("A Princess Diary" as another reviewer called it), Gershman's book is informative and even humorous at times. Francophiles and armchair travelers will most likely enjoy her descriptions of things French. And a few well-heeled widows may actually be able to use her book as a "how to" manual.
For the rest of us, it is an enjoyable fantasy read.
Reviewer: Linda Painchaud
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Paris in depth, but where's the author's?, May 29, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: C'est la Vie: An American Conquers the City of Light, Begins a New Life, and Becomes--Zut Alors!--Almost French (Paperback)
As an admitted Francophile, I loved the descriptions of Paris and the Parisians and appreciated the tips. But I was disappointed in the shallowness of the author's descriptions of her emotions following the loss of her husband of 25 years. One would think that after 25 years of marriage, her feelings might have been a little deeper than "I did not choose for my husband to die...but...I felt tinges of delight that I had the opportunity to start over". Also, I could not not help but think that anyone less connected with the famous and semi-famous (Patricia Wells and her husband were good friends) might not have had as much fun and ease.
All in all, fun to read about France and an American's experience with moving there, but not a less well-connected, more emotionally honest woman's guide to moving to Paris alone.
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