Customer Reviews

Elegance

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I rarely read fiction. But I was attracted to the this book when I saw it in the book store because of its title, "Elegance". I own an older non-fiction book by Genevieve Dariaux also called, "Elegance". So I decided to see what the book was about.

To my surprise much of the book is based on the non-fiction book by Dariaux.

The main character in the book finds a dusty copy of "Elegance" in the used book store. Using the books advice she slowly transforms herself from an unhappy housewife with a dull job and a packed closet but nothing to wear into a woman of style and substance.

Each chapter begins with quotes from the Dariaux book (most of which are in the original book, a few have been made up by the author or changed.) And as each chapter goes along our heroine learns something that relates to the quote about style or elegance. For example, weight, men, restaurants, underwear are among the topics covered. I especially enjoyed the chapter on lingerie. As I thought of my own worn DKNY nighties, our heroine Louise is learning that "everything you own should do its job with some semblance of grace and dignity." and that we tend to dress and look better for complete strangers than our loved ones. Hmmm time for a little shopping for me!
Our heroine also learns that a sparse closet with very fine clothes that you wear and wear and always look fresh in is far better than a wardrobe jam packed with tawdry items that don't last,or look good.

The book is a learning tool for the character, Louise and for the reader.

And of course the book is not only a tool that teaches elegance but it plots the ups and downs of Louise's life.

I love the book. Though I have read many pure fashion books, this fiction book rivals them. It had me pulling out my Dariaux book and rereading for what I missed.

A super read!

Okay, I was going to swear off Brit Chick Lit. But the premise for this book appealed to me, and the fact that the author is a transplanted Yank gave me hope.

The main character, a transplanted Pittsburgher, is married but frumpy, and then she transforms herself and her life after running across a vintage style manual called "Elegance." The chapter heads, which go from A to Z, detail everything from "accessories" to "jewelry."

It's a cute premise, and some of Tessaro's writing is pithy.

However, this book suffers from the same plot, same lack of surprises and same plodding pace as other across the pond women's books like "Bad Heir Day," "Pride, Prejudice and Jasmine Field," and countless others.

It raises the same question: why can't any one of these authors think of another plot? In a nutshell, this book, and all its clones, has a slightly downtrodden, perhaps overweight or badly dressed heroine.

She starts to dress better/loses weight/gains self-confidence.

She dumps a horrible crush/boyfriend/husband.

She somehow gets out of her dead-end job/parent's house/work rut and achieves fabulous success working for a glossy women's magazine/the Royal Opera House/a hip PR firm.

She always gets some new, handsome boyfriend at the end, and she always ends up fabulously happy.

I'm all for fluff, but I'm sick of reading the same story over and over again. I'm done with Brit Chick Lit

When I first read the blurb on the dustjacket, I thought that "Elegance" read like a "Bridget Jones" type of novel except that it revolved around an unhappy and unsatisfied married woman (Louise Canova). And then I wondered if we really needed another "Bridget Jones" type of book. Well, while I was a little wrong about the novel being a "Bridget Jones" clone (there are similarities but there are a lot of differences as well), my feelings about this novel are mixed -- there were some things I really liked (like how the heroine manages to take action, make changes and so achieve happiness), there were some things that really irritated as well (like the fact that for a 32 year old woman, Louise has the appalling habit of pouting and sulking whenever things don't really go as she would like them to).

The storyline is a very basic one: Louise Canova, a married 32 year old, suddenly wakes up to the fact that she's deeply unhappy, unsatisfied with the turn that her life has taken, and that she has become very frumpish. She has an elegant ex-model mother-in-law she really dislikes (even as she craves her approval and attention), and her husband (who remains nameless throughout the novel) seems more interested in housekeeping than in her. And then Louise, a used bookstore junkie (at least for the first few chapters of "Elegance") finds a copy of a book (circa 1950s/1960s?) that promises to teach plain Janes how to become the very epitome of elegance. Louise begins to take the lessons that the book offers very much to heart, hoping to become the elegant swan she craves to be, little expecting the actual impact the book will actually have on her life. For suddenly, Louise is confronted with some uncomfortable truths about her past, present and the possible future that is in store for her if she doesn't change things soon...

If you're looking for a laugh-a-minute, witty romp of a novel a-la "Bridget Jones," think twice before picking up "Elegance." "Elegance" is a little darker, sometimes rather sad and somber novel. There are, it is true, moments of great humour and warmth, and you cannot help but root for Louise to become the elegant swan, get the job, the man and happiness that is her due. But there were also the moments when I wanted to shake our heroine really hard for all her sulking and pouting when things didn't play out as she would have wanted them to.

So was "Elegance" a worthwhile read? For me, certain passages/descriptions (like where the authour describes used bookstores and the fascination that some of us have for them and when she describes that feeling of delicious exhilaration when you're not so much with the man as in love with his fascination/attraction with/to you) that really made this book for me. Storywise, you can more or less guess in which direction the novel (and Louise) is going after the first few chapters. But the prose style, the painful lessons that Louise learns, and watching her become the 'swan' she was meant to be, all made the book a somewhat worthwhile read. Though I'd advise either borrowing a copy of "Elegance" from the library, hinting like mad that a friend lend (or give you) her copy, or else waiting a year for the book to come out in tradepaper, as it is a bit difficult to justify spending the hardcover price for this book.

I rarely read fiction. But I was attracted to the this book when I saw it in the book store because of its title, "Elegance". I own an older non-fiction book by Genevieve Dariaux also called, "Elegance". So I decided to see what the book was about.

To my surprise much of the book is based on the non-fiction book by Dariaux.

The main character in the book finds a dusty copy of "Elegance" in the used book store. Using the books advice she slowly transforms herself from an unhappy housewife with a dull job and a packed closet but nothing to wear into a woman of style and substance.

Each chapter begins with quotes from the Dariaux book (most of which are in the original book, a few have been made up by the author or changed.) And as each chapter goes along our heroine learns something that relates to the quote about style or elegance. For example, weight, men, restaurants, underwear are among the topics covered. I especially enjoyed the chapter on lingerie. As I thought of my own worn DKNY nighties, our heroine Louise is learning that "everything you own should do its job with some semblance of grace and dignity." and that we tend to dress and look better for complete strangers than our loved ones. Hmmm time for a little shopping for me!
Our heroine also learns that a sparse closet with very fine clothes that you wear and wear and always look fresh in is far better than a wardrobe jam packed with tawdry items that don't last,or look good.

The book is a learning tool for the character, Louise and for the reader.

And of course the book is not only a tool that teaches elegance but it plots the ups and downs of Louise's life.

I love the book. Though I have read many pure fashion books, this fiction book rivals them. It had me pulling out my Dariaux book and rereading for what I missed.

A super read!

Louise has a bit of a problem. She is quite unhappy with her life. Her husband, a nice guy but not very affectionate, is an actor. Louise wanted to be an actress herself; instead she is a ticket clerk at the local theater. Louise begins to throw herself into fashion to cope with her miserable life. She finds a musty book in a second hand store on how to dress with elegance. Louise takes the words to heart and soon has a new lease on life. Unfortunately, she lost her husband in the process. But with the help of her two new roommates, Louise sets out to find love in high style.

The description of this novel was so charming, I had to read it. Louise is a transplanted American living in England who throws her life into upheaval on the advice of an ancient book. It was too splendid. Overall, the novel was quite good and I would recommend it to others. However, my disappointment lay in the latter half of the novel. The first half was incredibly strong and I thought that this book would not be another predictable installment in the Chick Lit genre. But sadly, the last half of the novel did just that. It was all too tidy and tied up in nice packages.

If you are looking for a breath of fresh air in the stale climate of Chick Lit, this is not the book for you.

pick it up if you want something to read on the beach or in the country. Not a brilliant piece of literature, but light entertainment for a weekend.

Correction to the editorial review: Genevieve Dariaux is very real and alive and still impecably elegant - at nearly 90 years of age.

Can I ask the author to give me my two days back? She suckered me in with a cute cover and a great premise. I liked the excerpts she used from the old-school book of the same title, and I'm a sucker for Cinderella transformations. I loved seeing Louise turning into a glamour girl, and thought the book would continue to have the same fun and light tone.

My biggest problem came after the halfway point (where the book should have ended, in my opinion). That's when book dragged on like she was trying to make the publisher's minimum word count. This is where the author gives Louise a more and more depressing past in an attempt to give the book and the main character some depth. This is also where Louise starts turning into a ditsy Bridget clone (see the self-tanner incident).

I figure if an author is going to make a depressing book, they should have the good sense to make it dark from the get-go. Don't sucker me in with something light and airy, then sneak all the dark stuff upon me. There is something to be said for consistency.

Two stars for the first half. I'm feeling generous.

I am reviewing the ABRIDGED version of this book. If the other reviews are anything to go by, it appears they've cut out all of the funny bits during the abridgement because I sure couldn't find 'em.

The book features a 30ish woman who is stuck in a dead end job and married to a man who has no sex drive and is more interested in decorating their living room (and if you can't see the reason coming a mile away well then you simply haven't read enough Chick Lit books yet!). When she finds an old tome entitled Elegance in a book store it gives her the incentive to dress better and is the beginning of some major changes in her current stale situation.

I was expecting some fun antics but instead I thought the whole thing was more sad than funny. The heroine's life is rather pathetic and she's a real weepy doormat who is in a lousy situation due mainly to her own insecurities and poor choices. It's hard not to cringe at some of the things she thinks, says and does but it's also very difficult to dredge up a drop of sympathy for her as well.

Not helping out matters any is the fact that narrator reads the book in a sort of depressed tone of voice which I'm sure was intentional but I don't particularly like being depressed. My long ride to work is depressing enough!

In the end I just did not click with Louise on any level. This is a woman who needs some professional help and not simply a hunky younger man to cure everything (cause I'm betting she screws it up sooner rather than later). This woman has a SERIOUS eating disorder that the author doesn't seem to think is a big deal. Bulemia is dangerous and goes far deeper than the simple act of eating and purging. Here it is made to seem like a solution to eating lots of fattening stuff and staying slim.

I didn't find this book a fun experience and won't be re-reading it.

I was looking in Harrod's book department and came across this gem. I saw that it won a best book award from the London Times last year and thought it might keep me occupied on the long flight home.
It was so much better than I expected. It takes you on a journey similar to others in the British Chick Lit genre, but the low notes in the story, the jaw-dropping pain she sometimes endures makes her eventual rise all the sweeter.
I loaned the book to my best friend upon my return and she loved it as much as I did. I'm thinking of starting a book club...this would definitely be the first selection.

I don't know how this got to be a best seller. The author took a wonderful premise and did almost nothing with it. Boring and predictable. Save your time and money and pass on this one.