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Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl [Hardcover]

Debra Ollivier
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)


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Book Description

April 19, 2003
Ever wonder what gives French women that je ne sais quoi?

At first you might think it’s the elegant figure, matchless style, and mysterious allure. Then you realize those qualities don’t come from just anywhere. They come from generations of women raised to cultivate an extraordinary sense of self. French women know who they are, like who they are, and excel at presenting who they are.

The rest of us are often susceptible to the next fad, the new thing, the ultimate diet. We’re always seeking, instead of realizing that what we already are may be just right. Rarely does an American woman feel as comfortable in her own skin as her French counterpart. And rarely does an American woman have that essentially French ability to say no---to refuse anything that doesn’t suit her, whether that thing is a job, a man, or the season’s latest styles.

Provocative and practical, lively and intelligent, Entre Nous unlocks the mystery of the French girl and the secrets of her self-possession. Why do French women always look inimitably stylish? How do they manage to sit in a café for a three-course lunch and a glass of wine...by themselves? How do they decide when they’re ready to let someone become a part of their very private lives?

Laced with practical tips, engaging sidebars, and essential observations about French women and their ways, Entre Nous is a delightful book that will help you take the best of all pages from the French girl’s book---the page that reveals how to really enjoy life.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (April 19, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312308760
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312308766
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most American women would agree that those Frenchies have something going on. La Femme Nikita, Catherine Deneuve, even Audrey Tatou of Amélie fame-they all possess a certain je ne sais quoi. In this cutesy pick-me-up of a book, Ollivier-an American married to a Frenchman-insists that you, too, can be glamorous, mythic and mysterious; "a star in the pantheon of feminine beauty and strength." How can American gals tap into their inner Frenchness? Ollivier lays down the law, interspersing her must-dos with sidebars detailing, for example, legendary French ladies from Josephine Bonaparte to Coco Chanel. Among Ollivier's tips: for loungewear, think silk mou-mous or padded zebra-skin mules, not baggy sweat pants; toss the Equal and use regular sugar in your coffee; and go ahead and gossip, but be discreet. Stereotypical? Peut-être. But Ollivier's overall advice-seek beauty everywhere; accept character flaws; don't rush to define a romantic relationship-goes far beyond the realm of France and its women, and is evident in smart women the world over.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A fun, interesting read with more to offer than fashion tips...(Ollivier) cracks the French style code."
- Palm Beach Post

"Ollivier dishes on that je ne sais quois that French women seem to have, and how American women can attain it."
- Dallas Morning News


"Ollivier dishes on that je ne sais quois that French women seem to have, and how American women can attain it." (Dallas Morning News)

"A fun, interesting read with more to offer than fashion tips…(Ollivier) cracks the French style code." (Palm Beach Post) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (April 19, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312308760
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312308766
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,153 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Debra Ollivier has written for Salon, Harpers, Playboy, Le Monde, and a variety of other publications. She's a California girl who married a Frenchman and lived in France, where her children were born, for a decade. She now lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

This book was really a fun read. Sarah Luciani  |  21 reviewers made a similar statement
I find myself coming back to this book time and again. CharlotteLikesThis  |  10 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
135 of 142 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Obvious, but still plenty of good girlie fun May 10, 2004
Format:Hardcover
While there isn't anything too startingly *new* in this slim volume, I quite liked it, so I'm recommending it to all of you ladies who'd like some very light, frothy non-fiction for that three hour plane trip, or to curl up with just before bed. While a load of these sorts of books abounds right now, this author comes to her task honestly: she lived in France for 10 years, and from her likeable photo on the back cover, she's the kind of american everywoman whose point of view really might come in handy for those of us who wouldn't mind picking up a little french style. I thought her take on french women was admiring withOUT lapsing into the sort of "self-hating american" all-things-european adoration I've seen plenty of in various fashion magazines. Really a collection of ruminations on what it means to be french. And sociologists take note: her pages on the VERY different approach frenchwomen take to interpersonal relations(when meeting a new person/potential gal pal, general socializing, office demeanor, etc.)are from my limited experience absolutely on the money. In addition to the entertainment value, I'm going to try to adopt the described "french" qualities of self-restraint in gabbing, at least; I'm sure my success will be limited, but every little soupcon helps!
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171 of 182 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars The usual French stereotype February 4, 2004
Format:Hardcover
My origin is half-French, I spend most of my day in France, travel very often to Paris and my best friends are French or Swiss French. At first I was shocked to discover how very French I actually turn out to be as described in the book, and how the traditions and values that I've been bequeathed are so very French too. But then the word "archetypal" is mentioned in the prologue and you'd better bear in mind all throughout your reading that this book is more about the ideal French woman and how to bring out the archetypal French woman in you rather than a description of what French women actually are like. Though many of my friends and acquaintances fit into the French girl description, I know scores of French women who are nosey, frumpy, tacky and very gauche. Especially if you've never been to France, don't be misled: this book is full of the typical prejudices and stereotypes about the French woman as seen through the gawking eyes of the American outsider. That is, the French woman as we would like to believe she is. There are also some mistakes, like ascribing Madame de Pompadour as Louis XIV's lover (she was Louis XV's)and the fact that many of the women reviewed (Anaďs Nin, Catherine de Medici, Marie Antoinette or Pauline de Rothschild) are not even French. Anyway, the book makes interesting beach reading. The prose is feisty, fast-paced and you'll find it hard to put down.
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264 of 292 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars It is a bit too much April 6, 2006
By Sylvain
Format:Paperback
I am a French myself, I've noticed that there are a lot of books to teach people out there "how to be French", "how to eat like French", "why French are so great", for me, it is very strange. Of course France is a great place with all those history, food, museums, culture. But we also have a lot of bad things. So prasing French all the time is a bit non sense and it really makes us French more arrogant. (Yes, we are too arrogant and proud of ourselves). Even being a French myself, I have to admit it. We should learn to respect other culture and people. But all these books are making us feel like privilage. There is another book called" French women don't get fat". To be honest, we have a lot of fat people in Paris, a lot of women out there are not slim or as elegant as the books described. These books making the girls here feel like they are godness, which is bad. More and more people here are thinking they are the best. But the fact is, we have high unemployment rate, our streets, metros are so dirty, our people don't want to face the reality. We love to enjoy life too much, but we are too lazy to earn money to support ourselves and we are rejecting other culture. So wake up, we are all equal. Don't let our surface fool you.
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94 of 107 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Can you explain why the men need mistress ? February 9, 2004
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I lived in Taiwan, this book about French "girls"could easily apply to the Taiwanese "girls". But let me add my 2 cents of thought. Through the book it mentions all the time that most french guy has a mistress (the same in Taiwan). If a french girl is all that, is a marvelous girl with high standards, can you explain how a "wonderful, svelte, smart, etc etc "French girl who according to the book, just get into anything if there is quality in it, got into a non quality relationship that requires that her husband to have a mistress so the texture of the family will be rich, according to the author ?

Let me set straight, American women may be described as frumpy, just wear flat shoes, and sweaters, whatever, but the average American "girl"certainly does not need to comform herself that her husband needs a mistress out of marriage.

So the quality that French girls put in their relationship, dressing, high heel shoes (Prada if possible) is a waste of time. Let me add one more cent. Many women worldly have been asked the same question: "What did he saw in her ? " when they see their guys getting a mistress that is not perfectly svelte, has wrinkles all over, is frumpy (remember Lady Di and Prince Charles and of course, the famous Camilla).

Like Lady Di, peoples in the society sell the women the message that to be successful, loved, happy, you need to be really svelte, have a perfect no. 6 size , go under the knife, glicolic acid, whatever so your guy will stick around. This profits only the peoples in the business. Believe that the old proverb "Love is in the eyes of the beholder"is a really useful one when you are about to invest in a dress, shoe, beauty products, etc.
... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars full of generalizations
Maybe good for a teenager who is looking for strength and alternatives but it didn't help me and I did not finish reading it.
Published 19 days ago by Maxine Skuba
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun!
I can't understand why some reviewers are so critical of this book. I loved it! It's a wonderful glimpse into French culture by an American woman who lived in Paris for 10 years. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Veggie
4.0 out of 5 stars "French Girl" symbolic for sexy, independent female. Light, Fun Read.
The product was inexpensive, in great condition, shipped quickly, and was exactly what the description claimed it to be. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ana
2.0 out of 5 stars To much fluff
Great personal account of life in France. However the book was too long and included to many superfluous excerpts from other books and movies. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Beach
5.0 out of 5 stars book review
i loved this book, i'm just starting to decorate my apt, and i always admired french women and their love of life. Read more
Published 6 months ago by ms johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious
I find myself coming back to this book time and again. It's well written and it's kind of a self-help book in how to be less hung-up on the things we Americans are so often... Read more
Published 6 months ago by CharlotteLikesThis
2.0 out of 5 stars Not what it says it is, but an okay read
The title of this book makes it sound like the author is going to tell you some insider information on getting the edge many French women seem to have. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Aech Kaye
5.0 out of 5 stars Debra Ollivier is excellent!
I read this book quite a few years ago and recently re-visited it as I began working on (and recently finished) my own book on French living; not only did Debra Ollivier's Entre... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Trish Blackwell
1.0 out of 5 stars Oh, get over it!
It's a wonder madame author ever moved back to the States based on how overcome she is with "the French Girl" (note, not 'Woman'). Read more
Published 12 months ago by ACG
3.0 out of 5 stars More incorrect American stereotypes than the French believe!
As I recall, the author is an American, French by marriage, n'est pas? So I can totally get why she would have so many low opinions of Americans, if, say she were my French mother... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Nikki888
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