Fiction
Verdict: Read it if you have an interest in France
I picked up this novel at a thrift store when I was in the US becaue I was bored and needed a novel and I became a bit obsessed with other people's divorces. This book didn't really solve either problem.
The novel is about a young lady who moves to France to help her pregnant and deserted sister. She doesn't have a strong connection to France, nor any particularly compelling reason to go, besides it seems expected she will. It's then the usual story of expat adjustments, loving and hating a new country, and then becoming strangely unwilling to leave. For anyone who reads books of this sort or who has lived a life of this sort, it's a pretty text book case. I found myself unable to stay interested because at times it seemed that the author was overly invested in explaining French culture to her readers. While this is not a bad goal for another type of book, it's a pretty poor one for a novel. Fortunately, there was no happily ever after at the end - like the sister gettng back together with her useless husband nor the protagonist having some happily ever after with her May December affair. There were so many different directions the author could have pursued or deep dove into but kept it very surface level. I'm not against having mundane, every day events in a plot line, but they should be contributing something to the theme. I just didn't feel that for this book.
To be fair, I know nothing about Diane Johnson, and I try not to uselessly criticize, but I just couldn't get into this book. Perhaps if the reader is into French culture/Paris then this would be enjoyable as a time pass afternoon book.
Meh.
~Becky~
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