Diane Johnson, two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and three-time finalist for the National Book Award, delivers an enchanting and wickedly funny novel about an American abroad and the delicate questions of love, death and . When Amy Hawkins, a young dot-com executive from California who has made her fortune at the top of NASDAQ, overhears a pair of elderly and thus much wiser socialites decry the new generation for their incompetence in all things worldly, she 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. A few days into her trip, Amy is nearly swept away by an avalanche (started, some say, by low-American warplanes). Two of the hotel's guests, esteemed English publisher Adrian Venn and his much younger American wife, Kerry, were not as fortunate as Amy. Both lie comatose in a nearby hospital. Learning that French and English law dictate a very different division of depending on where Adrian dies, Adrian's children-young, old, legitimate, and illegitimate-emble in Valmeri to protect their interests should he not pull through. Amy, already suspect as an American, finds that her nationality zes the social climate as she steps in to ist the family. In her innocence, Amy sets in motion a series of events in France and England that spotlight ancient national differences, customs, and laws. Add one or two small affairs that may topple carefully balanced alliances, and soon it is as the French say, a situation. Hailed as witty, delicious, nuanced and fresh by book critics across the country, Diane Johnson has composed her most amusing and insightful character to date in young Amy Hawkins. A contemporary masterpiece sure to entertain, L'Affaie is a perfectly drawn comedy of manners abroad.
Immensely amusing devilishly on target. ("The New York Times Book Review") [Johnson] whips up an international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp. ("Los Angeles Times") A delectable entertainmenta novel that feels completely effortless and charming. ("The New York Times") Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwisea pleasure. ("The Atlantic Monthly")
Immensely amusinga] devilishly on target. ("The New York Times Book Review") [Johnson] whips up an international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp. ("Los Angeles Times") A delectable entertainmentaa novel that feels completely effortless and charming. ("The New York Times") Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwisea]a pleasure. ("The Atlantic Monthly")
Immensely amusing? devilishly on target. ("The New York Times Book Review") [Johnson] whips up an international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp. ("Los Angeles Times") A delectable entertainment?a novel that feels completely effortless and charming. ("The New York Times") Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise?a pleasure. ("The Atlantic Monthly")
"Immensely amusing... devilishly on target." --The New York Times Book Review
"[Johnson] whips up an international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp." --Los Angeles Times
"Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise...a pleasure." --The Atlantic Monthly
"Immensely amusing devilishly on target." The New York Times Book Review
"[Johnson] whips up an international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp." Los Angeles Times
"Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise a pleasure." The Atlantic Monthly"
"Immensely amusing devilishly on target." The New York Times Book Review
"[Johnson] whips up an international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp." Los Angeles Times
"Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise a pleasure." The Atlantic Monthly
"
"In
Le Divorce and
Le Mariage, Johnson polished her skill for sophisticated social comedy involving the cultural disconnections of Americans in France. Here, she perfects it in a deliciously entertaining story of a group of people drawn together--and divided by--the sharply different laws of succession in France and Britain... Johnson's dexterity with plot builds astounding but credible complications, and she is adept at rendering a kind of fugal counterpoint in which each character misunderstands what each of the others thinks. Because love and money are never far apart in Johnson's oeuvre, four affairs take place, with mixed results. Johnson is more droll than Henry James, to whom she's been compared, and she's as witty as a modern-day Voltaire. Vraiment,
L'Affaire, c'est irresistible!"--
Publishers Weekly "Like the wildly successful
Le Divorce and
Le Mariage, Johnson's latest novel explores the strange alchemy that occurs when American and European social mores collide... Johnson's novel is exactly the kind of intricate, bittersweet comedy of manners her many fans have come to expect."--
Booklist "Immensely amusing... devilishly on target."--
The New York Times Book Review "An international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp." --
Los Angeles Times "Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise... a pleasure."--
The Atlantic "An engaging story of Americans abroad and the cultural mayhem that follows in their wake. Johnson's trademark ability to deliver insightful observations on cultural stereotypes makes the novel delightfully entertaining. This fresh and sophisticated satire brings each character's motivations and prejudices sharply into focus, making the reader aware that perhaps we are all more alike than we care to think."--
Joni Rendon, BookPage-In
Le Divorce and
Le Mariage, Johnson polished her skill for sophisticated social comedy involving the cultural disconnections of Americans in France. Here, she perfects it in a deliciously entertaining story of a group of people drawn together--and divided by--the sharply different laws of succession in France and Britain... Johnson's dexterity with plot builds astounding but credible complications, and she is adept at rendering a kind of fugal counterpoint in which each character misunderstands what each of the others thinks. Because love and money are never far apart in Johnson's oeuvre, four affairs take place, with mixed results. Johnson is more droll than Henry James, to whom she's been compared, and she's as witty as a modern-day Voltaire. Vraiment,
L'Affaire, c'est irresistible!---
Publishers Weekly -Like the wildly successful
Le Divorce and
Le Mariage, Johnson's latest novel explores the strange alchemy that occurs when American and European social mores collide... Johnson's novel is exactly the kind of intricate, bittersweet comedy of manners her many fans have come to expect.---
Booklist -Immensely amusing... devilishly on target.---
The New York Times Book Review -An international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp.- --
Los Angeles Times -Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise... a pleasure.---
The Atlantic -An engaging story of Americans abroad and the cultural mayhem that follows in their wake. Johnson's trademark ability to deliver insightful observations on cultural stereotypes makes the novel delightfully entertaining. This fresh and sophisticated satire brings each character's motivations and prejudices sharply into focus, making the reader aware that perhaps we are all more alike than we care to think.---
Joni Rendon, BookPage
