French
Lessons by Ellen Sussman
C’est l’amour
A single day in Paris changes the lives of three Americans
as they each set off to explore the city with a different French tutor,
learning about language, love, and loss as their lives intersect in surprising
ways. Ellen Sussman’s novel French Lessons
is a book for those who love movies like Love
Actually and Valentine’s Day.
The three Americans traveling through their day are a
diverse lot—there’s French teacher Josie with her secret sorrow, Riley, an unhappy
expat who pines for home, and Hollywood husband Jeremy who has accompanied his
film star wife to her Paris location and is now dealing with his stepdaughter,
who’s acting out and with an unexpected attraction to the French teacher who’s
been giving him lessons.
It’s
the Americans who have the focus but it’s the French tutors who are learning
their own lessons. The ménage that exists among Nico, Chantal and Philippe
interests us and we’re by no means certain how it’s all going to turn out.
The
characters are not uniformly likeable—we adore Nico but are lukewarm about
Josie; we like Riley but know way too many guys like Philippe—but we enjoy
being a tag-along on their ramble through Paris.
The
characters are deftly drawn, even the minor characters who just have walk-on
parts. When Nico tells Josie about the raucous girl Philippe flirted with, we see that girl so completely she casts a
shadow. Riley’s little boy Cole, who seems to spend a lot of time patting his mother’s shoulder and
telling her things will be okay, is a lovely kid.
Jeremy’s
wife Dana—the movie star whose movie Nico comments does not “look as though it
will last 100 years—has a strong presence too. We know a lot about her even though her
character is mostly filtered through his point of view.
