Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful and well written
Review: Interesting and informative. Very readable. Sometimes I envied the french girls, and sometimes I was glad I wasn't one of them. Really helped me understand a work friend who was born and raised in Paris. Don't come looking for fashion advice, this isn't it. More of a day in the life book. (I'm still looking for a book that will help me acquire with the skill French women have with scarves. C'est la vie!)
Rating:
Summary: Bien
Review: Je l'aime bien. This book offered an indepth observation in the difference between the archetypal french mentality with the American mentality. I enjoyed the first 60 pages of the book, rad through that part fast/. The part of motherhood, children, cooking and dining were less enjoyable but nonetheless gave insight to the french perspective. I did not like all the little boxes of recommendations and pictures. I did not feel like the author knew what she wanted to do with the book. It seemed contradictory at times and without a central goal despite the astute insight and observation.
Rating: 
Summary: Franchement.....
Review: Je suis Française, du Canada, mais Française tout de même. Je déplore ce genre de bouquin. Que de stéréotypes! La beauté du genre humain est dans ses différences, donc mesdemoiselles et mesdames des États-Unis, appréciez qui vous êtes dans votre culture et dans vos qualités plutôt que de chercher à ressembler à ce qui n'est pas VOUS. Soyez fières d'être Américaines comme je suis fière d'être Canadienne-Française et jetez ce livre à la poubelle. Votre façon d'être toute naturelle et votre personnalité, si vous l'assumez et vous l'aimez, fera de vous quelqu'un qui a ce "je ne sais quoi". Croyez en vous-mêmes, pas en un livre... I am French from Canada, but anyway, I'm French. I deplore that kind of book. So many stereotypes! The beauty of human gender is is its differences, so, Miss and Misses from USA, appreciate who you are and do not try to look like someone else. Be proud of being American like I'm proud of being French-Canadian and put this book in garbage. Your natural way of being yourself and your personnality, if you assume it and if you like it, will make you the person with that "je ne sais quoi". Believe in yourself, not in a book... And I'm sorry for my poor translation.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing I Didn't Already Know...
Review: Maybe I am a true "French-Girl" at heart, but I was also a disappointed girl in the sense that this book didn't really do much aside from state what I already knew about the French, the way of life, the style... Somewhat repetitive (especially in those cute little boxes thrown in every other page or so) I did find this "manual" a quick read if you want to skim, or a thought provoking read if one really stops to think about how they can incorporate this wisdom into their own lives. Given it all, I just assumed there would be something more surprising, more revealing in this book than a simple regurgitation of the usual sterotype...quality, not quantity, a few good pieces, how to tie a scarf, eat slowly, enjoy food, etc, etc.... It just left me feeling frustrated and unsatisfied. Don't we all know these things about the French? Where is the insight that sets this book apart? Yes, it was cute...would make a nice little girly gift for a friend..but as for truly giving any words of wisdom.."je ne pense pas..."
Rating: 
Summary: The usual French stereotype
Review: My origin is half-French, I spend most of my day in France, travel very often to Paris and my best friends are French or Swiss French. At first I was shocked to discover how very French I actually turn out to be as described in the book, and how the traditions and values that I've been bequeathed are so very French too. But then the word "archetypal" is mentioned in the prologue and you'd better bear in mind all throughout your reading that this book is more about the ideal French woman and how to bring out the archetypal French woman in you rather than a description of what French women actually are like. Though many of my friends and acquaintances fit into the French girl description, I know scores of French women who are nosey, frumpy, tacky and very gauche. Especially if you've never been to France, don't be misled: this book is full of the typical prejudices and stereotypes about the French woman as seen through the gawking eyes of the American outsider. That is, the French woman as we would like to believe she is. There are also some mistakes, like ascribing Madame de Pompadour as Louis XIV's lover (she was Louis XV's)and the fact that many of the women reviewed (Anaïs Nin, Catherine de Medici, Marie Antoinette or Pauline de Rothschild) are not even French. Anyway, the book makes interesting beach reading. The prose is feisty, fast-paced and you'll find it hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: it's interesting...vraiment
Review: okay, so this isn't the most important book you'll ever read. it's not going to change your life or make you re-evaluate it even. but it's fun. AND it's more than that.
when i first saw the title to this book, i thought: hmmm, that sounds interesting, and so i checked it out of the library. in retrospect i would have bought it. on the shelf, i thought it was probably very silly and self-indulgent, which, of course, it is. the problem with certain reviewers is expecting it to be more than that. but i anticipated an insight, maybe two, and i ended up with a library book of post-it'd pages. it's good, and it's fun. if you have the money, spend it.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended for insight to French culture.....
Review: Olivier is an enthusiastic and adoring commentator on culture of upper class France with good insight on this refined and ancient society. And her description of the concrete support the French government gives to families (maternal leave, affordable child care) puts the self-righteous lip service of our government to shame. I think this would be an excellent book to read before visiting France, if only to assure that you don't add to the myth of the "Ugly American Abroad".
However, if you are an American girl who, amazingly, manages to live with style, discretion and good food despite the lack of exposure to France, prepare to feel a little incredulous at the white-hot adoration with which Olivier describes her French girl while asserting her (and the French's) fondness for her description of the overly enthusiastic puppy-sish, sweats-clad, Velveeta-munching American girl. (Velveeta? I've never bought Velveeta in my life!)
As a native of California who has found much style, grace, and rituals of good food in my home region as did my sister Californians, M.F.K. Fischer and Julia Child, I am pleased that Olivier has found such joy in her culture by marriage. However, I hope I do not sound too jingoistic when I say that in her very acceptance and appreciation of the French culture (a very American/Californian trait) Olivier tends to treat her native culture with thinly veiled condescension ....a very French trait.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Fun
Review: Ollivier's 'Entre Nous' is a fun book to read; its akin to being Sabrina, rushing off to a mental France to learn a little sophistication and buy some wonderfully chic clothes that will never go out of style. All the stars awarded for this book are mostly due to the wonderful compendium of "asides" that the author sprinkles magazine-wise throughout the text in the form of French Girl Biographies (Audrey Tatou and Edith Piaf come to mind), French films which exemplify certain French lifestyle traits to the max, recipes, and a colorful melange of other varied topics which range from 'what a French girl has in her closet' to 'what she keeps in her refrigerator.' Every one of these little sidebars are a delight to read and will fuel your own need to make the little things in life memorable and full of the joy of knowing that what you do is well done.
However the main text which categorizes such priceless accoutrements to a life well lived as French strikes me as unrealistic, albeit still fun. Many women of varied ethnicities can be attributed with that charismatic 'je ne sais quoi' that can be as heady and delicious as plunging your nose in a thousand fresh roses. Ollivier directs most of her admonitions to her Anglo-Saxon compatriots--but to think that all American women are of Anglo Saxon descent or worse, to think that all American women are Anglo Saxon wannabees, sadly misrepresents the majority of women in the United States. As an Italian American New Yorker, many of the tips and secrets Ollivier defines as solely 'French' are second nature to me--yet I am still an American. Comparing the sterotype of a swelte French woman, cigarette dangling, beret, striped leotard, tight-black skirt-wearing to the stereotype of the All-American cheerleader who would kill for football tickets is fine for those of us who were all American cheerleaders and love sports--I, for one, was not and do not, and I find it amusing, and charming that most of the things dictated in this book are now not considered foreign or too different, but actually desirable and exotic!!!! I guess our pluralistic society does work in that it offers choices rather than conformity.
I also find it strange that even though Ollivier demands that we 'be ourselves' proudly, she benchmarks 'French' traits as those which every woman would wish to aspire. Again, I find it okay to agree or disaggree--if Madame B. accepts her husband's indiscretions, why should I care? What I do is my own business and not for public consumption--is this a French idea? NO, I am not French, simply wise enough to know that you cannot change people. Ollivier's stereotypical French girl exists in all of us in bits and pieces. Yet, let's face it, she conforms to her idea of what she needs to be in her own environment. If we are comfortable enacting a repressed Anglo-Saxon persona it is probably because this is what was taught from the cradle and what our neighbors enact--does Ollivier expect an instant resolution to change? How can one be oneself and change due to advise given in a book? Impossible unless an environment change results.
The section I enjoyed the most was the one dedicated to food. I know the French enjoy eating with gusto; many courses of rich food all washed down with large quantities of red wine. Fat and cholesterol are never considered and certainly not mentioned---why ruin a good meal? Can you imagine a French woman measuring her food to adhere to the principles of the Zone? Or not eating certain foods because of her blood type? Yet, as the author states, the French woman looks nothing like her American counterpart as she ages; she may change with time, but not in the dramatic way an American does. Why? What is the secret? In a nutshell, food enhances one's life--but one does not live to eat. Ollivier states that food shopping is done everyday--not as a chore, but as a way of life--socializing with those who provide food for your table. No cars necessary, walking, conversing and choising are leisurely activities--no stress associated with 'running errands'. Only the freshest food is purchased; the ensuing meal revolves around what is seasonable, fresh and readily available. Little is left over or stocked in the refrigerator; the French woman buys only what she needs, never more. Portions are then only portions; no meals-in-a-box with preservatives are utilized at all. Although this explanation has been pointed out before by many other writers, dieticians and health care providers, Ollivier encapsulizes the concept with fun food for thought.
Bottom line: This book is fun to read and provides many enjoyable suggestions for film-viewing ideas and other streamlining projects (closet and refrigerator in particular). I do not think it is meant to be taken very seriously. Perhaps, you, like me, will enjoy the tribute to individuality and rather than adapt to so-called French ways, celebrate fully what is different about yourself---you never know, you may be writing your own book someday sharing all your own personal secrets!
Rating: 
Summary: Vignettes of French wisdom in an entertaining package
Review: This book expresses basic philosophies that seem to escape our daily existence. Through stories, antidotes, and profiles of admirable French women, this book can help you come to realize that one perfectly simple and elegant little black dress is better than a handful or mediocre ones. 'Tis better to spend your life with good friends, good food, and good belongings instead of passing the years with things that are stop-gap acceptions. I enjoy how the book helps to explain methods to find happiness that do not come from the pursuit and collection of an abundance of things that are meant to bring happiness, but miss the mark.
This book was given to me as a gift after I had spent some time in France. While there, I developed a love of French fashion and food, but also learned that there was this essence to French culture that made culture and pursuit of happiness top priorities. It was hard to keep that in my day-to-day life in the States, but this book reminded me of the basics. If you feel that "freedom" should replace all things "French", this book may not be for you. But I think it is a worthwhile read and I keep it on my bedside bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: The Power of Observation
Review: This book is an entertaining and thought-provoking read, but as is true with most of life: what you get out of it, depends on how open you are to its messages and what you choose to take away or learn. As a dual American-European citizen, I have been fortunate to have lived and worked all over the U.S. and Europe and find people's viewpoints, lifestyles, cultural rules and how they do or do not apply them to their lives fascinating. My sense is that the author is not trying to evoke a competition between the French and the American woman, rather she seems to be pointing out what makes women (in this case the French woman) unique and special...and how that uniqueness is conveyed through fashion, lifestyle, and relationships. While the actual prose is light -- which makes for easy, entertaining and lively reading, I believe the author's primary observation is a bit more profound, and that is how the (French)women's character manifests itself through the purposeful choices she makes on a daily basis in order to live in accordance with who she truly is and what she wants. Invest your time/life wisely. But she doesn't hit you over the head with self-help dribble. It's not about tying your scarf a certain way, it's about tying the scarf YOUR way (or making any decision from food, to friends to fashion) that communicates you are a unique, self-possessed, interested, confident and passionate woman....the essence of chic. As a side note, I absolutely disagree with the reviewer who doubted whether a woman of "higher education" would enjoy this book. I have several degrees, but more importantly know that life's most worthwhile lessons, are primarily learned outside of the classroom and through quiet observation - which is the crux of this book.
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