Rating: 
Summary: Guess I'm Not French
Review: I love slow meals and good clothes. But I guess I am too American. My ex-boyfriend lived in Europe for many years and told me I was a great disappointment to him. Because I was hurt when he slept with other women. And because I was only attracted to him, one man. Guess I have a real problem. I don't know why. Maybe it was the way I was raised, maybe it's low self-esteem, I don't know. But this made me think about how much I disappointed him. I don't know why accepting and allowing my man to have mistresses makes me a real woman. Guess I am just what he called me: a little girl in a woman's body.
Rating: 
Summary: Tres Bien!!
Review: I loved Entre Nous. Okay, being a big Francophile helps. I bought this book the minute I saw it and haven't put it down since. It's definitely influenced my vision of things -- from how I eat to how I let men into my life (or not!). All my Francophile girlfriends are getting a copy, and so are my friends who've always wondered about (or been exasperated by) those mysterious Frenchies....
Rating:
Summary: Mais Oui
Review: I loved this little book. I bought it for a friend but ended up keeping it for myself (and buying another one for her). It's a gem of a book that goes past all the silly stereotypes we're familiar with: yes, French women are all thin and they don't snack... but despite a few clichés, Entre Nous is a little glimpse into French culture - and more than that it focuses on the more intangible aspects of the French woman as a way of being. In a lighthanded way, Ollivier offers bits of sage advice (like how to slow down and have a life) to us multi-tasking Americans. Despite all the anti-French hype these days ("Freedom fries?" - give me a break), French culture and particularly French women - timelessly represent something we equate with taste and allure. After reading Entre Nous I was craving a walk through a garden, a simple black dress and a candlelit bath...
Rating:
Summary: Entres Nous - What American Women Can Learn from the French!
Review: I picked up this book by chance and couldn't put it down...it's a delight to read! Sure, it plays into stereotypes but there is always some truth to stereotypes, non? I also don't think the author intended for this to be a serious lesson in revamping your American self. Instead, I think she wanted to provide casual insight into what American women can take away from their French counterparts. Dieting, mass consumption - these are very American concepts. The reason the French don't have the problems with body image that we do is because they're much more about appreciating who they are and enjoying things without swinging to extremes on the pendulum. While we deprive ourselves of butter and desserts - yet still have the highest rates of obesity - the French indulge in rich, delicious foods but they do so in moderation. Americans who subscribe to this feast or famine, all or nothing mentality need to take a page out of the French book on moderation. The moderate tendencies of the French can also apply to clothing. In America, there is a tendancy to buy as much as we can at the blowout sale. Ollivier decribes how the French woman builds her wardrobe slowly and carefully with select items that flatter her. She only pulls out her wallet when she sees something she really wants and can afford that will also enhance her wardrobe - in the longterm. Not a bad lesson for those of us with credit card debt and a closet full of mediocre clothing that either doesn't flatter us or is yesterday's trend bought in large quantity at the chain store's last big sale. The book also covers relationships, friendships, entertaining, work, and the home. While you might not be inclined to do everything that a French woman might do, you may find some gems that work for you. Since reading the book, I know I think twice now when I feel this urge to rush through my meal to get onto the next task. I also spend a little more time enjoying my coffee and reading and a little less time worrying about time and schedules. Overall, Entre Nous is entertaining, lighthearted advice for any American woman who is looking to enjoy more with less. Yes, "the joie de vivre" is something that we all deserve to have a little more of, French or not.
Rating:
Summary: No thanks
Review: I read Entre Nous with great amusemnet. Alas, it wasn't the kind that the author intended. The France that she's talking about exists only in the movies now. Paris has high crime and housing projects full of poverty and anger.
As for the delightful, French girl of the book, she's not that unique. The exact same things could be said of the most sophisticated and chic women in the world--New Yorkers. This is a lighthearted, frivolous (that's not always a bad thing) book that teenagers might enjoy but I can't see an adult woman with any kind of higher education caring for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: I read this book in one afternoon. It is an easy read but the insights into French culture in general, and specically French women, are fascinating.
The overall feeling I was left with was that the attitude of French women influences every aspect of their lives and it has been nurtured throughout their lives. There were some ideas, philosphies and attitudes toward certain areas of one's life that are certainly worth adopting.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it entertaining and insightful.
I gave it 4 stars to avoid being typically "overly enthusiastic" as Americans tend to be.
Rating: 
Summary: superficial
Review: I was very disappointed with this book. Although the portrays of French girls the author gives are not wrong, they are more stereotypes. Instead of giving interesting and original observations of French, the auther just gives individual episodes on French girls do this, Americans do that, which are not even original and seem to be like examples that fit those stereotypes. Maybe this will be a good starting point, but if you really want to know why and how French girls do it, there are much better books out like Frederic Fekkai's A Year of Style or Geneviere Antonine Dariaux's A Guide to Elegance. Finally, if you believe that the author knows French in and out because she is married to a French and lived in France for 10 years, as I did when I bought this book, unfortunately it just shows that if someone does not have an observant eye, living ten years does not improve that.
Rating:
Summary: Whatever
Review: I'm kind of unconvinced by the basic premise of this book. It says Jeanne D'Arc was the first woman warrior. Whatever. Hahahahaha. I speak French, and I like different culture exploration, like most people. But- she says that at one point she wanted to die and be reborn French. It has redeeming qualities, but this kind of thing shouldn't be published, it should be in a blog, not in the market. I wonder if there are people in France buying books that say "How to discover your inner American woman". It makes, this book, out of being French, an unequivocable quality, like being happy or being sad. That is lite non fiction at best. Something for the plane, at least. Musn't be too harsh on it, it is cute. Worst things have been published.... oh yes. Everyday. What can we do.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put this book down...I'm longing to go back.
Review: I've been to Paris twice, and this book made me long to go back. There is a major difference between the French and Americans. This book explains it to a T, plus it has tons of interesting tips, movies to rent and factoids. What a fabulous book! I already gave it to my mother for a gift. You must pick it up. You'll long to go back while you adjust your life to live more freely like the fashionable French who always appreciate a good meal. TAKE ME BACK!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Icky and embarrassing
Review: If you want a book full of steriotypical whitewash and teen-mentality superlatives, go ahead. Read up. Personally I thought I was going to throw up at one more reference to what "THE FRENCH GIRL" did, said, thought, ate, drank, etc. That phrase must appear on an average of half a dozen times per page, and in itself is enough to turn a person off. Give us names, give us specifics, or anecdotes -- fine! But I got half way through this and thought I'd had enough of Olivier's unxious descriptions and ridiculous generalizations. I'll pass, thanks.
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