Customer Reviews

Mademoiselle Benoir: A Novel

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This is a novel written entirely in the form of letters -- and it's a romance. "Mademoiselle Benoir" by Christine Conrad is at once an old-fashioned love story and a completely modern one. At the age of 33, Tim Reinhart buys an old farmhouse in France. Once an assistant professor, he has removed himself from the "American treadmill of success" to concentrate on his drawing. But mom and dad back in New York City aren't happy that their son has moved to France. So they write, he writes, everybody writes. As Reinhart explains, "Sometimes it is easier to pull up the deeper layers of what's going on in one's mind in a letter," so we get to see intimate details of his life.

When he falls in love, he has to deal with disapproving relatives, French laws and the Catholic church. Through the epistolary format, we witness the same event from different people and, as we see more than one side of the characters, they become very real. Reinhart describes the lively, quirky personalities in the neighborhood and the clash of cultures. He shares his love for the French countryside, "the way it spreads itself out before you in great waves, so you can appreciate every turn in the road."

The book makes the reader think about relationships, how everything changes when one's needs and priorities change. It's an enchanting story packaged in a lovely little book.

In her novel, "Mademoiselle Benoir," woman's health issues author, Christine Conrad arranges with the deftness of a Japanese floral artiste, a seemingly simplistic tableau of colors and textures that when assembled creates a rich and introspective insight into the realm of the human heart.

Written as a series of letters spanning a two year period, the plot focuses on thirty-eight year old Tim Reinhart, a former professor of mathematics who decides, on a studied impulse to sacrifice his solid academic life in New York to realize his dream to oil paint in the South of France. At first, Tim's letters reflect the typical American fascination with the cultural differences between the older French civilization and that of the socially fledgling United States/ As in other novels and travelogues, Conrad showcases not only the French love of food but presents an amusing portrait interplaying the idiosyncrasies of pastoral life with caricatures of centuries old French "types." She moves into more philosophical ground when she abandons the usual tedious albeit exuberant descriptions of chateau, farmyard and countryside and approaches the bigger more nebulous question of what ultimately delivers happiness in the realm of human existence.

When Tim meets Catherine, a woman over twenty years his senior, the tone of his letters waxes contemplative. With great proficiency, Conrad enlightens the reader to Tim's growing affection for this regally beautiful woman prior to his realization that what he feels for her is more than just respect and admiration. In fact, this illustrates but one example of Conrad's forte as a writer; her ability to depict nuanced personality traits through the medium of letters allows her audience to understand each character's perspective without a third person description of physicality or motivation.

Complimenting the pleasant cadence and development of her plotline, Conrad successfully weaves in meaningful quotations, ideas and appropriate French factoids without allowing these to become contrived or unnecessary eye-rolling displays of too thorough research asides or "isn't that interesting" minutiae that shows off the writer's knowledge of subject matter yet detracts from the overall presentation. Indeed, this women's health advocate truly understands the importance of proper balance in life---hormonal or otherwise. Her sublime working of her own personal philosophy through the mouthpieces of her characters speaks well of her transition from youth to wisdom.

To this reader's great pleasure, Conrad reworks the usual American living abroad scenario to address larger issues that face all of us as we mature and realize that "stuff" and its accoutrements belong to a material world and have little to do with the unconscious drive for further development, both artistic and spiritual, that ultimately facilitates a human life worth living.

As the fox in Saint-Exupéry's Petit Prince dictates, one can only truly see with the heart. Conrad's "Mademoiselle Benoir" bypasses both the material and the physical world and operates solely in an ideal world where essentials count as the true pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Bottom Line? "Mademoiselle Benoir" surpasses my expectations, covering more ground than I thought possible in it's prettily packaged 230 pages. Each of the players through a thoughtful revelation and analysis of fact reveal themselves as fully fleshed our individuals. The events that link their lives together form a cohesive story to which the reader connects automatically, alternately through smiles and tears. If she fails she does so only in attempting to facilitate the scenery as an additional character. Her strong portrayals circumvent this need and perpetuate in the mind of the reader Balzacian models for human vice and virtue.

Hopefully Conrad will not ruin this effort by revisiting the characters in a sequel. In this instance, Conrad has written a near perfect story which needs no reprisal. Recommended highly.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

When Tim Reinhart leaves the stress and complications of his life in New York for the rural countryside of France's Lot Valley, his family is mystified but ultimately supportive. This new-found simplicity is exactly what appeals to him, an unfolding landscape, "bend by bend, layer by layer, field by field, gorge by gorge", early inhabited by Goths, Vikings, Romans and Celts, an inspirational boon to the artist, whose sketches fill the letters he sends home to parents and sister. The story told through these missives, Tim describes his tiny, one-room farmhouse, surrounded by trees, his eccentric neighbors, the French love of food and discourse over meals and the budding romantic relationship with a young woman in the neighborhood who is at times effusive, then taciturn, certainly unpredictable, her changing circumstances an added pressure on the couple. Tim is ambivalent, drawn to her, but protective of his expanding interior life, learning by attrition the French obsession with marriage and family.

While sorting through his romantic conundrum, Tim meets a dynamic and opinionated artist, Pauline LeDuc, part owner of the 15th century Chateau de la Rive, who encourages him to meet with her sister, also an artist, thinking them kindred spirits. Indeed, they are, the twenty-years older Catherine Benoir immediately enchanted with her new young friend, offering cogent advice on his relationship dilemma. Tim basks in the hospitality of the Benoir clan, the three sisters, Pauline's children and grandchildren and their decaying family chateau with its inherent problems, stimulated by this inside view of French life at its most dynamic. As much as Tim appreciates his creative discussions with Catherine, his girlfriend is adamant that a commitment to her means the release of the older woman, a fact that both saddens and confuses Tim, for Mme. Benoir has been more than gracious to both of them.

After a four-week vacation with a college friend from New York, Tim returns a changed man, the charms of his old life receding, replaced with the stimulation of a renewed artistic career. Both Tim and Catherine are appalled to realize that their evolving friendship has turned to love, what Catherine terms "a love without tyranny". Tim breaks the news to his parents, working through their natural objections. More shocking is the Benoir's reaction to the proposed marriage, orchestrated by a vitriolic Pauline, who spares no opportunity to block the religious ceremony that is critical to local society's acceptance of the couple's union: "Even a little happiness attracts a great number of enemies." Although the opposition is hurtful and prolonged, Catherine and Tim rise above the fray, withstanding the ill intentions of others, reinforced by adversity. In this most unusual novel, two people step beyond the conventional in a union born of mutual respect and an unflinching commitment to become man and wife. With the strength of character to forge their own happiness, the couple proves that, "in the end, life requires continued acts of bravery." Luan Gaines/ 2006.

Christine Conrad's intimate novel told in letters of a young man who moves to rural France to be an artist and the much older woman he finds as his soulmate and life's love is simply exquisite. Not only is it a beautiful portrait of France, but a radiant and deep portrait of an unpredictable and rich love. This will find a growing audience by word-of-mouth alone. Sometimes I had to put the book down because tears filled my eyes. Beautifully done! I am already recommending it to friends.

I was bowled over by this book. A friend of mine couldn't stop talking about it, but I'm 30 so I wasn't rushing to read a love story about a woman who gets married for the first time in her 50's -- I thought I might be jinxing myself! But I could not put the book down. Not only are you taken on a joy ride through the French countryside and Paris...but you learn so much about love, in the truest sense. I believe that every woman should read this book. I loved every minute of it.

Neither fawning priests, ossified traditions of la vielle France, nor a sister's corrosive anger can shake the love that unfolds between Mlle. Benoir, a woman of a certain age, and Tim, a young American artist. A lovely story, one that takes you away with rich descriptions of the people, the landscape and, of course, the food, in little-known region of France. A wonderful story to read and to give as a gift.

Mademoiselle Benoir is the kind of book we all love -- one you don't want to end. It is a love story that inspires the heart and uplifts the soul. It is full of surprises, sweetness and intimacy. We all have a dream like Tim, to break away from our mundane lives and begin a romantic adventure, but few of us ever do it. I found myself "experiencing" this book: from the tenderness, excitement, anticipation and exhilaration of finding your soul mate and falling in love to the challenges and triumphs of putting down roots in a foreign land. The sights and delights of France that are conveyed in this book made me want to pack up and go right now. Each of the characters is vibrant and alive. Their letters to each other reveal their innermost thoughts and feelings - feelings we can all identify with. Bravo Ms Conrad, this is a great read -- a tonic for the heart.

It wasn't only the May-December romance (with the woman on the December end, for a change) that I found enthralling about Mademoiselle Benoir. It was the insights into French culture, quirks, food, and odd traditions, along with the author's sense of humor and ability to paint vivid scenes. The Lot Valley, which I knew nothing about, really comes to life here. The letter format is a lot of fun and gives the book a lightness that makes it a very fast read. I was sorry to see it end.

A quick preface: though my thoughts come off harshly, I did finish the book and rather enjoyed it at the end of the day. It's fine beach lit and served, as one reviewer put it so well, as a nice "distraction from distractions."

Knowing from the blurb that Marce wasn't his grand love affair, the first third seemed a tad slow. The divine Madame Benoir entered without missing a beat, matching Tim's own pure and flawless personality. Conrad's 'escaping America' subtext came off heavy-handed and, though I heartily agree with her message, I simply feel it was too strong, too obvious, too early. It's easy to romanticize France and Conrad certainly does so by playing into America's poorly concieved notions of what French life really entails. Relying on stereotypes about French society, culture, and cuisine, she misguidedly suggests that fresh fruits and vegetables are 'cheap.' Nothing could be farther from the truth in my experience! Other dubious suggestions and observations also troubled me, though I won't list them here. All that being said, she certainly peppered her book with a fair number of interesting French cultural tidbits that ring true.

The format of a collection of letters was certainly ambitious and mostly well-done, but it felt contrived at crucial points. Everything seemed a little too measured for my tastes and even the hectic marriage saga never felt sufficiently chaotic and failed to reflect the messiness I enjoy in both life and novels. Essentially, I would liken Mademoiselle Benoir to Nicholas Sparks' romantic and religious drivel cut with some higher-quality prose reminiscent of Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. If you've not read anything by him, I highly encourage it. He's the original master of bucolic francophile novels and will always reign in my coeur.