.com Review

Ann Hood Reviews French Lessons

Ann Hood is the author, most recently, of the bestselling novels The Red Thread and The Knitting Circle, which will be an HBO movie starring Katherine Heigl. Read her review of French Lessons:

If you are like me and you are stuck at home this summer, I have the perfect antidote for your summertime blues: buy a copy of Ellen Sussman’s new novel French Lessons, and get transported to Paris. Her characters are charming, sexy, intelligent, and most important--human. They serve as guide to the city and to the various conditions of the heart, from love to infidelity and grief to hope, with a good dose of sexual highjinks thrown in. You will savor the food and wine of Paris, discover hidden treasures, have your heartbroken and your spirits lifted, even though you are stateside. Most importantly, you will spend some hours in the pleasure of Sussman’s lovely story and storytelling. This is a trip you will want to take.

Review

“[A] luscious novel of love and longing . . . the narrative feelslight as a glass of rosé at an outdoor café, but its insightscarry the richness of a Burgundy.” —People (four stars)

“[A] sexy travelogue . . . sizzling escapist reading.”—Entertainment Weekly

“As inviting as the smell of freshly baked croissants wafting from a Parisian café, this is a novel to savor.”—Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier

“Touching, thoughtful, hilarious, and exquisite in its observations, French Lessons—Ellen Sussman’s day in Paris with a wonderful collection of characters—is a treat. . . . Très charmant!”—Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Four Ms. Bradwells

“Charming, romantic, and brimming with Sussman’s trademark joie de vivre, French Lessons is a novel to savor.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Close Your Eyes

"What a delicious read! With sexual tension that crackles on the page, I truly couldn't put down this literary page-turner. Book clubs: bust out your calendars. This novel's going on your list." --Lolly Winston, author of Good Grief

"Elegant and evocative...Sussman has created wonderful characters who take us through the city as they discover hidden places, including those in their own hearts." --Luanne Rice

"In French Lessons, Ellen Sussman has created an erotic, emotionally charged novel spanning two continents. The intriguing cast of characters, whose lives are intertwined by a common love for the world's most beautiful language, make delicious reading from the first page to the last." -- Michelle Richmond

“[An] evocative escape to the City of Love.” --Kirkus

“Three Americans explore Paris alongside their attractive French tutors and find themselves caught up in a delightful day of desire in Sussman's second novel… Sussman keeps things fresh with a strong supporting cast and some unexpected insights into the characters' pasts, embracing a soupçon of mystery to go with the scenic strolls and flights of passion.” – Publishers Weekly

"My favorite novels succeed in delivering life's best pleasures: making a new friend (the unexpected delight in encountering a sensibility both sly and sweet), being handed a surprise vacation (the joy of an exotic and stunning landscape), and, most exciting of all, finding oneself in the thrall of an intoxicating flirtation. French Lessons is just such a book." -- Antonya Nelson

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