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Summary: ENTRE NOUS: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Gir
Review: This book is charming and smart and though-provoking. It didn't play into the stereotypes of French women, rather it pulled back the diaphanous curtain that has long obscured real and valuable insights about them. I'm no Francophile--I'm as American as they come. But this book made me think about lots of little corners of my life in a different light. Do I need all this stuff? Is this stuff the truest expression of who I am? Does this stuff make my life better or does it just get in the way of my real life experience? I loved the author's observations about the real qualities that distinguish the French girl: Not her stylish clothes but her self-containment and sensuality and discretion. Not her mysterious allure but her deeply ingrained sense of time and quality and authenticity. And I loved the wonderful snips of stories about the author's French girlfriends and the very human ways they express these qualities. This book isn't self help, it's self exploration of a uniquely pleasurable kind.
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Summary: Oui, Oui!
Review: This book put the nuances of the French mystique into words.
The author generously gives the wanna-be Catherine Denueves (like moi), tips on fashion, philosophy and culture to keep one striving for that je ne sais quoi for years to come.
I can't wait to absorb the recommended books & movies, rid my closet of all drab, functional attire, then high-tail it to Paris to practice!
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Summary: Must be read with champagne flute in hand
Review: This book was so fun! I read it very leisurely during a span of 3 or 4 days. Is it a realistic portrayal of the French Girl? Probably not, but it reminded me to slow down and savour each sensory moment, regardless of what people think.
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Summary: Must be read with champagne flute in hand
Review: This book was so fun! I read it very leisurely during a span of 3 or 4 days. Is it a realistic portrayal of the French Girl? Probably not, but it reminded me to slow down and savour each sensory moment, regardless of what people think.
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Summary: Oh La La!!!
Review: This is a deliciously fun book. It's full of glamorous and common sense ideas that can bring joie de vivre into any girls life. Fun, fun, fun!!!
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Summary: Absolutely charming.
Review: This is a delightful little book, dappled with humorous and highly instructive observations. A manifesto for living well more than a screed from a Francophiliac town scold, it is both subtle and gracefully written. I often found myself reading particularly amusing or insightful passages aloud to my husband, who eventually told me that I'd finally found a book that vindicates the way I try to live.
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Summary: Loved this book!
Review: This is the first book I have read cover to cover in ages! Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. It is brimming with insights on French culture and offers advice on how to incorporate some French etiquette/style into your own life. For example, while most American women will form some sort of bond within a few minutes of meeting each other on a park bench (which usually leads to confiding intimate details of your life to a person you met a half hour ago), French women are much more guarded about what they say, when they say it, and who they even speak with. In other words, think before you speak. Don't divulge your life story within a few hours or even days of meeting someone new. Keep quiet and you will also keep an air of mystery to you. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the way French women handle themselves and their daily lives. A side note: Ever wonder how French can take those extra long lunches you always hear about? The book mentions that a 35 hour workweek is the law in France. Also, French citizens receive at least 4 weeks of PAID vacation per year! Mandatory! Oh, the luxeries!
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Summary: The Book We Hate to Love
Review: What is it? Surprisingly profound for a fashion manual. Lightweight for a philosophical treatise. Debra Ollivier takes us by the hand and leads us along a delightful path of discovery of daily life in the venerable French culture. Her intimate knowledge of the French as a wife, mother and long-term resident there, yet from an American perspective, takes us to places no French person could ever see. Implied in her book is the notion that the French girl's tradition-starved American cousine could benefit from lessons on slowing down and getting to know and love herself a little better. From her unique perspective, straddled between two cultures, she offers us a feasible model for a pleasant way of life that has stood the test of time. Could it be that less is really more, and that we can make do with not so much in a sensuous, rich, beautiful way rather than only through Spartan suffering? We may wonder what happened to the flip side of the coin (racism a la Le Penn for example?), but can't help but enjoy her astute observations and entertaining style and don't mind having our thoughts provoked, even if it is just a little bit. I for one am glad tht she so eloquently documented her unique experience and quite enjoyed the book once I forgave it for not meeting any expectations of what I thought it should have been.
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Summary: Obvious, but still plenty of good girlie fun
Review: While there isn't anything too startingly *new* in this slim volume, I quite liked it, so I'm recommending it to all of you ladies who'd like some very light, frothy non-fiction for that three hour plane trip, or to curl up with just before bed. While a load of these sorts of books abounds right now, this author comes to her task honestly: she lived in France for 10 years, and from her likeable photo on the back cover, she's the kind of american everywoman whose point of view really might come in handy for those of us who wouldn't mind picking up a little french style. I thought her take on french women was admiring withOUT lapsing into the sort of "self-hating american" all-things-european adoration I've seen plenty of in various fashion magazines. Really a collection of ruminations on what it means to be french. And sociologists take note: her pages on the VERY different approach frenchwomen take to interpersonal relations(when meeting a new person/potential gal pal, general socializing, office demeanor, etc.)are from my limited experience absolutely on the money. In addition to the entertainment value, I'm going to try to adopt the described "french" qualities of self-restraint in gabbing, at least; I'm sure my success will be limited, but every little soupcon helps!
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Summary: In Brazil, French women are very welcome, they are easy
Review: Yes, in Brazil every striptease house are named cabaret, joye du vivre, mon cheri and their workers usually assume a French name.
My coworkers are always happy when a French (or Swedish)girl comes by or is introduced to us, it take care of our one night stand urges without string attached. The men appreciate the fact that French girls live for the moment, are well dressed, svelte and don't demand changes or commitments from their partners, and they specially value a healthy sex life. I also have a neighboor woman with 3 adult boys and a French girl that dates and sleeps with each of them in alternate days. To understand better the French girl you need to watch that famous French movie "Betty Blue", Betty is so gorgeous naked, making love but she is kind of a little excentric but guys like us really don't mind her antics as long as the girl keeps us happy down south.
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