Lessons in French: A Novel Paperback – July 29, 2014

Caveat required: I mostly dislike coming of age novels, and that's what this is. This is a literate story about the transformation of a young American woman who takes a vague and low-paying job in Paris with an "intellectual" American family in order to build her curriculum vitae. Kate thinks of herself as poor and underprivileged despite her Yale degree, and her flawless French has no accent and her accurate drawings no style. Somewhat ashamed of the provincial French family with whom she spent some growing-up years, she gradually comes to realize that the pretentiousness of the Americans she was so excited to work for is more than skin deep and that her relatives are a reliable home for her heart and her identity. Along the way, she meets a variety of interesting characters and despite her lack of money eats interesting food on just about every street in Paris. There's something for everyone here; travelogue, foodiness, psychological pathology, moral transformation, Proust. However, the main character was so formless it took me three-quarters of the book to attach to her.

Lessons in French by Hilary ReylLessons in French transcends the bounds of the usual--or even the exceptional-- tale of an American heroine's coming of age in Paris. Yes, girl meets boy and falls in love. Yes, the food and wine descriptions will make anyone with taste buds salivate. And yes, the iconic sights--the art, architecture, gardens and parks of the City of Light--particularly those of the historically resonant Sixth Arrondissement where most of the novel takes place --are beautifully rendered.But for this reader, the particular pleasure of Lessons in French is its author's astute, often wicked-funny social commentary. Reyl presents an indelible portrait of the manners and mores of a particular place at a particular time: Paris at the tag end of the 1980s.As her heroine, Kate--a recent Yale graduate who speaks perfect French--tries on other people's lives before discovering her own, she attempts to decipher the rules governing the complex social perspectives of the intellectual celebrities--would-be and actual--who frequent the household where she is employed; the aristocratic playboys--BCBG (bon chic, bon genre)-- who seem to live for oysters and champagne; the social outcasts, such as Kate's gay cousin Etienne; and his decent, conventional parents, who have scrimped all their lives on the outskirts of Paris to save up for a humdrum retirement in Orleans.But Reyl reserves her most pungent satire for Lydia Schell, Kate's narcissistic, manipulative, and utterly unforgettable employer, an American photojournalist with houses in Paris and Manhattan, and for Lydia's hapless British husband, Clarence. As Kate listens to their savage repartee and begins to decode their complicated marriage, readers will be reminded of Albee and Proust.Yet for all its bite, Reyl's ridicule never merely attacks its targets. Selfish and limited as the BCBG playboys seem, one of them weeps when his parents' divorce. Even the warring Schells never quite lose their humanity. Although their marriage seems likely to continue as a blood sport, Clarence and Lydia will remain forever joined, if only by a shared despair.Reyl's precocious heroine comes to Paris in search of "experience." Like Kate, readers of this stunning debut novel will not only find themselves whisked away to a fabled city, but they will also attain a rare understanding of the subtle social codes governing the inhabitants' behavior.7

Lessons in French is a lovely novel about a young woman's "lost" year in France - at times funny, poignant, infuriating, snarky, even almost farcical. But always warm, inviting, and evocative of both France in the 80s and a young woman's 20s. I chose it to read on a trip there, finding the book a wonderful companion and finding myself wandering to the garden she mentions.I found Kate's emotions and actions - her awkwardness, pleasures, bad decisions, wonder, uncertainty, and so forth a very real depiction of a young woman at that age. I saw that a couple reviewers commented negatively that Kate is at times naive, passive, or foolish... of course... aren't most of us at that age? Another reviewer commented favorably on how real the sights and smells of Paris were - I found myself wishing the recipes for the couscous and souffle were included at the end!The writing is delightfully fluent, the book is a great read, and I highly recommend it.

An absorbing picture of wealth and art in Paris in the late 20th century seen through the eyes of a young American intern. Intrigue and mystery are a daily experience during her year in Paris, offset by the many charms and delight of the city. The author handles the complex characters in masterly fashion.

I enjoyed reading this book because of the coming of age story and the mixture of main character's first person narration of her feelings and experiences while living abroad in France in a historical time in Europe, 1989, the year the Berlin Wall came down.I found the book to be well written and the characters were both interesting and well defined. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Merveilleux! I felt transported back to Paris in the late 80s through Kate's eyes. While Reyl's novel is sophisticated and intelligently written, it has enough drama and intrigue to make it hard to put down. Hilary Reyl has created an intelligent and interesting protagonist in Kate that I could easily relate to. Kate is real - she makes mistakes and before she knows it - gets sucked into the fascinating and complicated life of the Schells and ends up becoming everyone's confidante. Reyl's descriptions of food, the social landscape, Paris' Sixth Arrondissement are very vivid and sensual. This young woman's journey into adulthood is a great read...highly recommended.