Rating: 
Summary: manners and morals
Review: Diane Johnson knows the French from her own experience, but for those of you who plan to live in France I also recommend French or Foe by Polly Platt for a non-fiction report. Johnson acknowledges her use of the Platt book and they make a great pair.
Rating:
Summary: The best Laid plans... .
Review: Finally, an Anglo-American has pulled something original out of the raked-over coals of pop-France literature. Le Divorce is far more than a patchwork of unrelated cultural anecdotes, or an amateur psycho-analysis of French mindsets. Her novel contains a concrete plot supported by a melange of romance, gossip, and violence--all the requisites of a good novel. Talk about the best laid plans... !
Rating: 
Summary: Paris when it Fizzles?
Review: I have always wanted to know much more about the French people; their customs, habits, domestic lives, what they do behind closed doors...and while I'm still not certain that this is an accurate portrtayal of the intimate habits that I had hoped to know about, those detailed in this novel are still rather amusing. I was particularly amused by the family's treatment of the mistress in this simulated slice of French life. I had however hoped that there would be less taking place from the point of view of some very select members of the expatriate American community in Paris and with some of the local characters. I must agree with other reviewers in that I never quite found myself sympathising with any of these characters and often found that Paris itself was oftenmost the aspect of this novel that kept me reading. Until I find the time and the means for an extended stay in France, I hope that these characters might have offered me a realistic portrayal of the circles painted in the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Had potential but was trite
Review: This book was such a disappointment! I actually re-read it to make sure I didn't miss anything, since I had heard such good things about it from friends and reviews, and was disappointed twice. I have spent considerable time in Paris and enjoyed Johnson's observations of French culture, especially concerning the subtleties of family interactions, gender roles and double standards that exist. These insights however were the highlight of the book - the plot was unbelievable and the American characters were one-dimensional stereotypes. Johnson's new book, Le Mariage has an unbelievably charitable review in the New Yorker this week - they hint that it is not as good as Le Divorce, so I won't even try! If I had known it was this easy to write books about Americans in Paris and get published with such success, I would have done it the first time I went to Paris, when I was 16.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time
Review: If you're French and homesick, or interested in the "real" France, stay away from this book. Every page is full of French words and sentences which the author doesn't deign to translate; even more annoying is the fact that these French phrases are full of spelling and grammar mistakes... If you want to show off, at least get it right! I am French, living in the States, and I have yet to find a cruder collection of stereotypes about my country. The French in this book spend all their time eating or having sex. Sometimes for variety the women will tie scarves and the men will make some political comments -- or kill for love. The book does not reflect well on Americans either, or on gays, or on Arabs, or Africans, or women... What a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: So predictable it's tiresome!
Review: This book failed to engage me from the first page. Isabel, Roxanne, Edgar and all the others were straight out of Central Casting. I didn't find one thing to like about this book except my perserverance in struggling through to the final page where the book just fizzled away.
Rating:
Summary: An American in Paris
Review: I really liked this story. The characters were funny and realistic, especially in their self-absorbtion. In other words, characters don't necessarily have to be likeable in order to be entertaining. I especially enjoyed the American vs. Parisian culture clashes. And the heroine's wide-eyed plunge into French cuisine and love affairs. No, it's not a perfect story. There are too many loose ends left hanging, too many attempts at subplots dealing with antique-dealing intrigues, when the education of the heroine to French culture would have been adequate. And the ending is not what it could have been. But the ride was so enjoyable, to complain about the destination (or lack of it) seems petty.
Rating:
Summary: Canned characters, bad writing, awful cliches
Review: This book was so disappointing. I am an American living in France and it seems that all the authors ideas about cultural diffeances are based on old pre war novels and tourist guides. The French are differant but they are also real. I have never noticed any French person making a big deal about powdered sugar V. cubes. D Johnson mentions the significance of this decision at least 10 times. She really should get out more.
Rating:
Summary: Culture clash American/European style
Review: I enjoyed the book for its personalities, humor, and depiction of different cultures. I have traveled and lived in Europe enough to know that Europeans often do have a different perspective on life and manners than Americans. We can learn from each other. For those readers who enjoyed this, you might also try Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie. I really enjoyed that book and didn't realize until much later that it received a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Rating:
Summary: False Start at the Starting Gate
Review: Had every intention of liking, even loving this book. I was so much dissapointed by the dull characters and story line(very predictable) that I did not bother to finish the book. What a promising cover, though.
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