Customer Reviews

Fatale : How French Women Do It

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having traveled, studied, worked, and dated in France over the last 15 years, I have become fascinated by the sometimes vast cultural differences that separate American and French women, which was why I was so excited to read "Fatale.." However, this book falls far short of its goal to explain the mystique of the french woman. Disappointinly, this book is clearly written from an outsider's point of view...as if the research were done by surfing the internet for other francophile sites and visiting the card catalog of the local library. It is a view of the French female psyche that is 3 times removed from reality, and is merely a perpetuation of every stereotype ever put forth about their allure, without the sociological explanation and background that would actually make this a worthwhile read. There is very little new or groundbreaking in this book; much better are Polly Platt's "French or Foe," or even the now famous "Le Divorce" by Diane Johnson. And if you purchased this book to bring a little of the french "mystique" into your life, you would be much better buying a copy of Cosmopolitan and a round trip ticket to Paris.

This is a charming little tribute to the je-ne-sais-quoi of the French woman. It's sweet, fairly interesting and a lovely little read.

Unfortunately, this books seems to be marketed as a How-to-Become-French Manual: it's not; rather, this book celebrates what it is to be feminine - delicate china, coy smiles, satin sheets, coquettish scarves tied just so, the appreciation of poetry and a good bottle of wine.

If you're inclined to believe that all you must do to be the tragically beautiful femme fatale archetype is to read this book and follow its 'instructions,' you're sorely mistaken. Instead, read this book and enjoy it for its anecdotes about historical french women and its suggestions of romance and love without guilt.

It is a little bit shorter than I expected, and the author could have delved further into each topic of her book. The length of the book and its superficial treatment of its topics were the greatest disappointments I had with the book.

This book was too hard to put down. My sister bought it and read it in a day and said the book was good. I read it after her and she was right about that. The author with her social knowledge of the French, made it entertaining and worthwhile to read. Imagine yourself in Paris at a cafe by yourself elegantly dressed and calm and by chance a man seeks your affections. This book was a breath of fresh air as to how French women celebrate their feminity and embrace life. They don't let the little stuff worry them like some of us do. While I was reading this book, I felt a bit more satisfied with who I am and how I should celebrate myself as a woman.

A book like this doesn't ask to be taken TOO seriously, so I didn't -- and I truly enjoyed it. The author is obviously interested in the "mythology" of the French -- as well as their passion for beauty, art, good food, and the pleasures of living well.

There are some interesing bits of history laced throughout the text, including stories of infamous femme fatales, which made it fun to read. (I am not sure how well-researched these were, or where they came from, as there is little documentation here.)The way I read it, the book is more or less a long, entertaining essay on the allure of French women -- not an historic treatise and certainly not an insult to American women. The author herself is clearly writing as an American, with American perspective.

With so few books available on this topic, I found this one a pleasant diversion.

This was suggested in the Style books, but it's really a glammed up history book overview of French femmes fatale over the centuries: Lots of historical factoid, with a very few touches of style advice.Entre Nous by Debra Ollivier will tell you more about how to actually be a femme fatale.

Born and raised in France, I've been living in the Midwest for 3 years. Except for a few obsolete details (such as candles (!)- that's 'trying too hard' for us ), this is an excellent book to understand French women and their ways. I have read many books on the subject; this is the only one published in the past 5 years or so that I found 'honest' and accurate. I notice authors have a strong tendency to write to satisfy and sell to a particular audience. For exemple, the recent title "2 Lipsticks and a Lover", published worldwide, was released as "All You Need to Know to Be Impossibly French" for the American audience... Other titles tell you that we don't get fat bla bla bla and they will keep telling you the same story over and over again because it sells. Lots of these books should be in the Fiction Alley.

This book was a pleasure to read and provided a small window into the French lifestyle. It is detailed, light hearted and if not taken too seriously, it will give you numerous tips on enjoying life and having fun with it.

Not as good as "Entre Nous" - less fun and more academic. But even then it is not a well written essay. The few good salient points are repeated too often, and with not much creativity or development.

Being a ravenous reader with an all-consuming hunger for books, I was attracted to this title reading the brief descriptions and reviews. ......

A trip to my local super-bookstore convinced me "Fatale: How French Women Do It" was worth every cent of the $$$$$ cover price. Edith Kuntz revals French Woman, historical and modern without being textbook dry or raunchy. Reading about Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henri II summoned up fond memories of a long ago visit to the castle she shared with the monarch.

Besides being mind candy, the layout and graphics provide a feast for the eyes. The cover features a rounded, glorious fenale who brings to mind the young Cecile in the film "Valmont". Inside paintings, sketches and photographs along with quotes draw the eye away from the main text without being annoying. Read once for the main text and then savor again for the sides.

I wish I had heeded "Amberlis's" review. This is no more than a long essay describing various French women in history and some attitudes of modern French women. The historical references are interesting, but several are repeated (some more than once) in different chapters of the book; and the last chapter (quoting at length from Henry VIII's diaries regarding his amorous adventures with a French woman) seems to have been thrown in to make the book seem longer and more titillating. The most annoying feature is the large number of typographical and grammatical errors (for example, "chaise lounge" instead of "chaise longue)." I would have enjoyed reading a condensed (and better edited)version in the New Yorker, but I really regret having paid $10.00 for the book.