French Lessons: A Novel [Paperback]

Ellen Sussman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 5, 2011

A single day in Paris changes the lives of three Americans as they each set off to explore the city with a French tutor, learning about language, love, and loss as their lives intersect in surprising ways.

Josie, Riley, and Jeremy have come to the City of Light for different reasons: Josie, a young high school teacher, arrives in hopes of healing a broken heart. Riley, a spirited but lonely expat housewife, struggles to feel connected to her husband and her new country. And Jeremy, the reserved husband of a renowned actress, is accompanying his wife on a film shoot, yet he feels distant from her world.

As they meet with their tutors—Josie with Nico, a sensitive poet; Riley with Phillippe, a shameless flirt; and Jeremy with the consummately beautiful Chantal—each succumbs to unexpected passion and unpredictable adventures. Yet as they traverse Paris’s grand boulevards and intimate, winding streets, they uncover surprising secrets about one another—and come to understand long-buried truths about themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ann Hood Reviews French Lessons

Ann Hood is the author, most recently, of the bestselling novels The Red Thread and The Knitting Circle, which will be an HBO movie starring Katherine Heigl. Read her review of French Lessons:

If you are like me and you are stuck at home this summer, I have the perfect antidote for your summertime blues: buy a copy of Ellen Sussman’s new novel French Lessons, and get transported to Paris. Her characters are charming, sexy, intelligent, and most important--human. They serve as guide to the city and to the various conditions of the heart, from love to infidelity and grief to hope, with a good dose of sexual highjinks thrown in. You will savor the food and wine of Paris, discover hidden treasures, have your heartbroken and your spirits lifted, even though you are stateside. Most importantly, you will spend some hours in the pleasure of Sussman’s lovely story and storytelling. This is a trip you will want to take.

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Review

“[A] luscious novel of love and longing . . . the narrative feelslight as a glass of rosé at an outdoor café, but its insightscarry the richness of a Burgundy.” —People  (four stars)
 
“[A] sexy travelogue . . . sizzling escapist reading.”—Entertainment Weekly

“As inviting as the smell of freshly baked croissants wafting from a Parisian café, this is a novel to savor.”—Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier

“Touching, thoughtful, hilarious, and exquisite in its observations, French Lessons—Ellen Sussman’s day in Paris with a wonderful collection of characters—is a treat. . . . Très charmant!”—Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Four Ms. Bradwells

“Charming, romantic, and brimming with Sussman’s trademark joie de vivre, French Lessons is a novel to savor.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Close Your Eyes

"What a delicious read! With sexual tension that crackles on the page, I truly couldn't put down this literary page-turner. Book clubs: bust out your calendars. This novel's going on your list."  --Lolly Winston, author of Good Grief
 
"Elegant and evocative...Sussman has created wonderful characters who take us through the city as they discover hidden places, including those in their own hearts."  --Luanne Rice
 
"In French Lessons, Ellen Sussman has created an erotic, emotionally charged novel spanning two continents.  The intriguing cast of characters, whose lives are intertwined by a common love for the world's most beautiful language, make delicious reading from the first page to the last."  -- Michelle Richmond

“[An] evocative escape to the City of Love.” --Kirkus
 
“Three Americans explore Paris alongside their attractive French tutors and find themselves caught up in a delightful day of desire in Sussman's second novel… Sussman keeps things fresh with a strong supporting cast and some unexpected insights into the characters' pasts, embracing a soupçon of mystery to go with the scenic strolls and flights of passion.” – Publishers Weekly

"My favorite novels succeed in delivering life's best pleasures: making a new friend (the unexpected delight in encountering a sensibility both sly and sweet), being handed a surprise vacation (the joy of an exotic and stunning landscape), and, most exciting of all, finding oneself in the thrall of an intoxicating flirtation.  French Lessons is just such a book."  -- Antonya Nelson

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Original edition (July 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034552277X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345522771
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ellen Sussman's New York Times bestselling novel, FRENCH LESSONS, was published by Ballantine in July, 2011. It also hit the Indie Bound Best Seller List, The San Francisco Chronicle best seller list and NPR's list. She is the author of the novel, ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS, a San Francisco Chronicle Best-Seller. It has been translated into six languages. She is also the editor of two anthologies, DIRTY WORDS: A LITERARY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SEX and BAD GIRLS: 26 WRITERS MISBEHAVE, which was a New York Times Editors Choice and a San Francisco Chronicle Best-Seller. She has taught at Pepperdine, UCLA and Rutgers University. She now teaches through Stanford Continuing Studies and in private classes. Her website is www.ellensussman.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars In a word: frustrating, June 21, 2011

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: French Lessons: A Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

The plot of French Lessons: A Novel intrigued me - I expected a romantic story set in Paris and instead the novel is actually an anthology of three very short and underdeveloped stories taking place on a single day featuring a Parisian tour guide - each escorting a sad sack around the City of Lights. Billed as a romance, it is actually a somewhat depressing novel more about loneliness than romance.

The one plus in the novel is that author Ellen Sussman makes Paris come alive with her vivid descriptions (and handy maps), but I found the style of writing difficult to follow - there would be dialogue which is suddenly made passive with third person narrative, sometimes detracting from the story and my enjoyment of the novel.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Summer Reading!, May 27, 2011

By 

E. M. Griffith "auntleesie" (Central Coast of California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: French Lessons: A Novel (Paperback)

(What's this?)

I finished this book in one sitting, and must applaud the author for such a unique and interesting story line. Three visitors to Paris hire a private French tutor for combination French lessons and tour guide. The novel opens with the three tutors, and then is divided into each twosome's day... the entire book takes place during one day in Paris.

Josie is running away from a tragic secret, seeking solace in the anonymity of a tourist, but Nico, her tutor, breaks through the fragile wall she's built around herself through playful flirtation and genuine caring. He is keenly observant of his pupil and seems determined to pull her back into life, if only for a day. By the end of their sesson, each has inadvertantly helped the other make a key decision that will help each move forward in their own lives.

Riley is a reluctant ex-pat in Paris, a young mother of two, and a very unhappy housewife. Her tutor, Phillipe is a overly confidant womanizer in every sense of the word. Although fluent in English, Phillipe insists on speaking only in French, which is no small challenge for Riley. Their story was difficult (for me) to read because it felt a bit like a train wreck unfolding, and (for me) the choice Riley makes is disappointing.

Jeremy has been meeting regularly with Chantal as an anniversary gift from his wife who is a well-known actress filming in Paris. He feels disconnected from his wife's movie world and has come to appreciate his French lessons and Paris day trips with Chantal... who has her own, carefully hidden secrets.

By the end of one single day, each character's life has been changed in some way, big or small. Again, it's a unique concept for a novel, very well mastered by the author, and my only real (personal) criticism is the amount of semi-graphic sexuality in the book, especially about halfway through. In my experience, at least for many women, sex is like a big banana split with hot fudge... deliciously wonderful to enjoy, but not something we think about 24/7.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, diverting novel, July 10, 2011

By 

I. DeBare (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: French Lessons: A Novel (Paperback)

I've been slogging through a bunch of novels I "should" read, and French Lessons was such a welcome relief! I tore through it in two evenings. Take six well-drawn characters coping with their own unique love issues (bereavement; estrangement; ambivalence; longing; betrayal), place them in Paris, have their paths cross in the course of one day in ways that ultimately change each of them... throw in some doses of nice erotic tension... It was a delight to read. Well written yet easy and accessible.

I notice that some reviewers have criticized French Lessons for not being a "romance." They're correct: I wouldn't describe it as genre romance. It is more nuanced, the characters' feelings more ambiguous. It's more reflective of (and reflective upon) real life! For me, that's a plus.