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Book Reviews of Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book)

Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book)
Le Divorce - William Abrahams Book
Author: Diane Johnson
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ISBN-13: 9780452277335
ISBN-10: 0452277337
Publication Date: 1/1/1998
Pages: 309
Rating:
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 89

2.8 stars, based on 89 ratings
Publisher: Plume Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

24 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

kevinsbebe avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 165 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
An okay read but the movie is way better.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Divorce, what an ugly word you may think , right? not so ugly once you start reading this book, funny !!!!!!
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 12 more book reviews
I simply could not put this book down in spite of the fact that the characters are not all that believable and there seems to be a prejudice against the French as whole, I did have fun reading it!
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 469 more book reviews
"Here is the bestselling novel hailed by critics and readers alike--a delightful comedy of manners and morals, money, marriage, and murder, as wickedly funny as it is deeply insightful. As lingering as a French kiss, LE DIVORCE is Diane Johnson at her most sublime."
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 8 more book reviews
I disagree with some of the other reviews of this book. I found it to be an interesting novel about the differences between Americans and French when it comes to love, fidelity, marriage, divorce and culture in general. It isn't easy to read, but it's not difficult to get through and the story is entertaining. The characters are well developed and while there are many generalizations between the two cultures, the author never sinks to stereotypes and caricatures.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 4 more book reviews
It's a story of how a woman from the US goes to visit her sister in France to help her out with her divorce, and is caught up in the highflying society that is France. It was an interesting novel that is a tearjerker in some parts.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 18 more book reviews
Great book!
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 7 more book reviews
Surprisingly good- witty, intelligent, and worldly. Definitely not the hokey chick-flick that the film suggests.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 11 more book reviews
This was a wry and funny book. A great read. A fun and intelligent romance. They even made a movie with Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 72 more book reviews
A wonderful, insightful comedy.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 104 more book reviews
A fun, fluffy read for a day at the beach.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 9 more book reviews
This was a national book award finalist.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 43 more book reviews
This book is about two step-sisters from Cali. The older sister, Roxy, married a frenchman and moved to paris and started a family. Her younger sister, Isabel, comes to visit and help out as Roxy is pregnant again. The book focuses on the differences between cultures which was interesting to read about.
sealady avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 657 more book reviews
Publishers Weekly: "It's no accident that the epigraph for this delightfully urbane social tragicomedy is taken from Henry James. Isabel Walker is a latter-day Isabel Archer, a charming, intelligent American in Paris, who thinks herself sophisticated and analytical until her eyes are opened during the ironic, erotic and shocking events in the course of which she comes of age. Restless and unfocused, a drop-out from film school at Berkeley, Isabel is sent to Paris to help her pregnant step-sister, Roxy, through a difficult time: Roxy's husband, Charles-Henri Persand, has left her and their toddler daughter to run off with another woman. Isabel accepts a motley range of jobs in the American expatriate community-running errands, helping a famous writer with her files, serving at parties, etc.-and becomes aware of the jealousy and backbiting among the insular set. At first totally at sea because of the language barrier, she also gradually becomes aware that a chasm of misunderstandings and basic attitudinal differences lies beneath the cordial facade of Franco-American relationships. Meanwhile, an heirloom painting that Roxy brought to Paris is suddenly discovered to be an immensely valuable La Tour; under French law, it will be considered part of the divorce settlement. ....... By the time the various strands of the plot culminate in surreal scenes at EuroDisney and the refuse bins of Roxy's apartment building, Isabel has become wiser about herself and the world, though she realizes that her point of view will always be colored by her Californian mindset. Johnson's control of her material is impeccable. The world of American expatriates is fertile territory for her ironic wit, which is both subtle and sharp. Everything here delights the reader...."
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 8 more book reviews
I disagree with some of the other reviews of this book. I found it to be an interesting novel about the differences between Americans and French when it comes to love, fidelity, marriage, divorce and culture in general. It isn't easy to read, but it's not difficult to get through and the story is entertaining. The characters are well developed and while there are many generalizations between the two cultures, the author never sinks to stereotypes and caricatures. I didn't see the movie, but I assume it is a typical Hollywood bastardization of the book.
thebeakeeper avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 167 more book reviews
Loved this book! It kept my brain from turning to mush! I'm glad this wasn't an easy read and took me a while to get through it. The only thing i had a problem with was that it takes place in France so there's a ton of French that I didn't know and the author doesn't translate. SOme of it i could get through since I took french, but some of it i had no clue. A great story from the point of view of a twenty something who goes to visit her sister who lives in France. her sister had one child, one on the way and finds out her husband wants a divorce. The book has a great love affair, family issues and even a murder. I highly suggest it. I can't wait to read Le Affaire and Le Marriage.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 12 more book reviews
fun - light romance - setting is Paris
MOMSBOOKS avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 64 more book reviews
A fun read and escape into another world.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 65 more book reviews
A sexy smart American abroad as she arrives in Paris to visit her stepsister Roxy, a poet whose marriage into a aristocratic French family has assured her of a coveted place in Parisian society.
SanJoseCa avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 328 more book reviews
This is a "comedy of marriage, money and murder!" A story about the collision of two cultures.....American and French, in the City of Lights....Paris.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 313 more book reviews
Isabel Walker, eerily reminiscent of James's Isabel Archer, is a young film-school dropout who travels to Paris to aid her stepsister, who is going through a divorce. Isabel's California cool, American freedoms, and feminist slants comingle, successfully and fractiously, with the customs, biases, and complex sexuality of modern Europe. The result modulates between introspection and hilarity, and a quick, Hollywood-inspired sweep of violent action in the end doesn't undermine the author's mastery of Old World vs. New--in fact, it provides an ironic scrim.
FamFatale avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 369 more book reviews
A bestselling novel - set in the City of Light.
jenn27 avatar reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on
this is one book where the movie is definately more worth your time! Don't feel bad if you skip the book.
reviewed Le Divorce (William Abrahams Book) on + 47 more book reviews
Great condition.