L'Affaire

Written by Diane Johnson

Narrated by Blair Brown

Amy Hawkins, a young dot-com executive from California who has made her fortune at the top of NASDAQ, sets off for Europe to find culture, her roots, and maybe a cause to devote her considerable fortune to. Amy starts her quest at one of the finest small hotels in the French Alps--a hotel noted for skiing and its famous cooking lessons--in the town of Valmeri, amid an assortment of Euro trash aristocrats and ski enthusiasts. She has no plans to fall in love.

On the first afternoon, she is nearly swept away by an avalanche . . .

With a memorable cast of characters assembled on an unmistakably European stage, Diane Johnson has crafted a penetrating comedy of manners about being American in Europe--and about love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 30, 2003
• ISBN: 9780739307700

Diane Johnson

DIANE JOHNSON, a three-time National Book Award finalist (most recently in 1997 for Le Divorce), is the author of twelve previous books. She divides her time between San Francisco and Paris

Reviews for L'Affaire

[jeanned_14 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Amy finds herself wealthy after her dotcom company sells, and she sets off for France for a course of self-improvement. While at a ski resort in the Alps, an avalanche puts two fellow guests in the hospital. Adrian, who is married to Kerry, is not expected to survive his injuries. Amy befriends Kerry's 14-year-old brother Kip as he shoulders responsibility for his infant half-brother Harry. Soon other of Adrian's offspring appear: Rupert, who is content to ski; Posy, who falls into bed Emile, husband of Victoire, a sister she didn't know she had. Insipid and superficial, I rate this New York Times Notable Book of 2003 at 3 out of 10 stars.

[melissavenable · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of a young, independently wealthy, American woman, who seeks a master class on sophistication in France. With the help of a female French mentor (who caters to American women) and an international group of people she meets at a ski resort, she finds more questions than answers. Overall the story seemed to lack an ending; character stories wrapped up abruptly. I enjoyed the travel aspect of this book most of all - transporting me to France, both a small skiing village and Paris, for a little while every evening.

[bobbieharv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another of her "Europeans, especially the French, and Americans are so different" books. I liked it till about 3/4 of the way through, where it became insubstantial and trivial like her previous books. Bad character development.

[amydross · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed Le Divorce, and even Le Mariage, but somehow L'Affaire left me cold. Maybe it's because Johnson's insights into cultural misunderstandings are getting a little stale; maybe it's because she insists on writing the same book over and over. But in fact, I think it's because her characterizations of the nationalities involved have become broader and less kind since her first book.

In le Divorce, everyone had their little foibles and prejudices, but they were all basically likeable and believable people. In L'Affaire, all the Americans are culturally illiterate morons, and all the French people are cruel and selfish snobs. Is it accurate? Maybe, but it's not pleasant.

But it might just be my perception. Maybe living in France and in poverty has made stories of the wealthy and titled seem a bit frivolous to me.

[tanyatomato · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Thank goodness the married man who was having an affair with a 21 year old changed his perceptions about Americans so he could have an affair with the main character too! Mostly pointless drivel. Wondering why I kept reading? - I thought the death and the legal problems were going to lead up to something significant - guess not.